United States Senate: Difference between revisions

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The '''United States Senate''' is the [[upper house]] of the [[Congress of the United States|U.S. Congress]], smaller than the [[United States House of Representatives]]. Together, they compose the [[legislative branch]] of the [[Federal Government of the United States|United States government]].

[[Image:Us_senate_seal.png|framed|[[Seal of the United States Senate|Seal of the Senate]]]]

The '''Senate''' is one of the two houses of the [[Congress of the United States]], the other being the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. In the Senate, each [[U.S. state|state]] is equally represented by two members regardless of population; as a result, the total membership of the body is 100. Senators serve for six-year terms, which are staggered so that elections are held in approximately one-third of the seats every second year. The [[Vice President of the United States]] is the presiding officer of the Senate, but is not a Senator and does not vote except to break ties.

A bicameral Congress was created as a result of the [[Connecticut Compromise]], a compromise made at the [[History of the United States Constitution|Constitutional Convention]], under which states would be represented on the basis of population in the House of Representatives, but would be equally represented in the Senate. The Constitution provides that the approval of both houses is necessary for the passage of legislation. Moreover, the assent of the Senate (but not of the House) is required for the ratification of treaties and for various Presidential appointments. As a result, the responsibilities of the Senate (the "Upper House") are more extensive than those of the House of Representatives (the "Lower House").

Each [[U.S. state|state]] elects two [[list of United States Senators|senators]] through statewide elections. The [[Constitution of the United States]] endows the U.S. Senate, in addition to its duty of passing all legislation through Congress, with the exclusive responsibility of confirming certain [[President of the United States|Presidential]] appointments, including federal judges and [[United States Cabinet|cabinet]] secretaries as part of the system of [[checks and balances]]. The Senate is charged with trying presidents, federal (including [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]) justices, as well as other executive-level officers who have been [[impeachment|impeached]] by a vote of the House. The approval of a two-thirds majority in the Senate is required for the ratification of treaties.

The Senate of the United States was named after the ancient [[Roman Senate]]. The chamber of the United States Senate is located in the north wing of the [[U.United S.States Capitol|Capitol]] building, in [[Washington, D.C.]]. The House of Representatives convenes in the south wing of the same building.

== Composition and elections ==