Search results
Learn about the history, powers, and procedures of the U.S. Senate, the upper chamber of the Congress. Find information on senators, committees, legislation, art and artifacts, and more.
- Senators
Senate Service • Appointed Senators • Committee Membership •...
- Bills, Acts, & Laws
Budget of the United States Government (GPO - govInfo) About...
- Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. WASHINGTON...
- Floor Proceedings
The Congressional Record is a substantially verbatim account...
- Employment & Internships
Learn about Federal Government job openings, internships,...
- Contact
United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Please include...
- Hearings & Meetings
Displayed below are brief descriptions of each committee...
- Leadership & Officers
Idea of the Senate; Parties & Leadership; Traditions &...
- States
States in the Senate. Select a state to learn about its...
- Membership & Assignments
Committee membership and assignments. Frequently Asked...
- Senators
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress. The United States Senate and the lower chamber of Congress, the United States House of Representatives, comprise the federal bicameral legislature of the United States. Together, the Senate and the House maintain authority under Article One of the U.S. Constitution to ...
- 6 years
- November 8, 2022 (35 seats)
- 100
Find contact information, leadership and officers, qualifications and terms, facts and milestones, and states in the Senate for current and former senators. Search by name, state, party, or class and see the suite and phone numbers for each senator.
Senator's NameStatePartyClassWisconsinDemocraticIWyomingRepublicanIColoradoDemocraticIIITennesseeRepublicanIPeople also ask
What does a Senate do?
Where is the Senate located?
How long does a Senate term last?
How are senators elected?
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 states. This list includes all senators serving in the 118th United States Congress.
StatePortraitSenatorParty( 1954-09-18) September 18, 1954 (age ...( 1982-02-02) February 2, 1982 (age 42)( 1957-05-22) May 22, 1957 (age 66)( 1964-11-13) November 13, 1964 (age 59)- Overview
- Constitutional framework
- Organization and powers
- U.S. senators
United States Senate, one of the two houses of the legislature (Congress) of the United States, established in 1789 under the Constitution. Each state elects two senators for six-year terms. The terms of about one-third of the Senate membership expire every two years, earning the chamber the nickname “the house that never dies.”
The role of the Senate was conceived by the Founding Fathers as a check on the popularly elected House of Representatives. Thus, each state, regardless of size or population, is equally represented. Further, until the Seventeenth Amendment of the Constitution (1913), election to the Senate was indirect, by the state legislatures. They are now elected directly by voters of each state.
Britannica Quiz
U.S. History Highlights: Part One
The Senate shares with the House of Representatives responsibility for all lawmaking within the United States. For an act of Congress to be valid, both houses must approve an identical document.
As in the House of Representatives, political parties and the committee system dominate procedure and organization. Each party elects a leader, generally a senator of considerable influence in his or her own right, to coordinate Senate activities. The leader of the largest party is known as the majority leader, while the opposition leader is known as the minority leader. The Senate leaders also play an important role in appointing members of their party to the Senate committees, which consider and process legislation and exercise general control over government agencies and departments. The vice president of the United States serves as the president of the Senate but can vote only in instances where there is a tie. In the vice president’s absence, the president pro tempore—generally the longest-serving member from the majority party—is the presiding officer of the Senate.
Sixteen standing committees are grouped mainly around major policy areas, each having staffs, budgets, and various subcommittees. The chair of each committee is a member of the majority party. Among important standing committees are those on appropriations, finance, government operations, foreign relations, and the judiciary. Thousands of bills are referred to the committees during each session of Congress, though the committees take up only a fraction of these bills. At “mark-up” sessions, which may be open or closed, the final language for a law is considered. The committees hold hearings and call witnesses to testify about the legislation before them. Select and special committees are also created to make studies or to conduct investigations and report to the Senate; these committees cover aging, ethics, Indian affairs, and intelligence.
Exclusive academic rate for students! Save 67% on Britannica Premium.
Learn More
The smaller membership of the Senate permits more extended debate than is common in the House of Representatives. To check a filibuster—endless debate obstructing legislative action—three-fifths of the membership (60 senators) must vote for cloture. (In 2013 the Senate rule for invoking cloture was reinterpreted to permit cloture by majority vote for debate regarding all presidential nominations except those to the Supreme Court, and in 2017 the rule was similarly reinterpreted for Supreme Court nominations.) If the legislation under debate would change the Senate’s standing rules, cloture may be invoked only on a vote of two-thirds of those present. There is a less elaborate structure of party control in the Senate; the position taken by influential senators may be more significant than the position (if any) taken by the party.
The constitutional provisions regarding qualifications for membership of the Senate specify a minimum age of 30, citizenship of the United States for nine years, and residence in the state from which elected.
The table provides a list of current U.S. senators.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
See also: United States Senate elections, 2024. Elections to the U.S. Senate will be held on November 5, 2024, and 33 of the 100 seats are up for regular election. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies that occur in the 118th Congress . U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown.
Learn about the U.S. Senate, the upper chamber of Congress, with 100 members, two from each state, who are elected to serve for a term of six years. Find contact information, leadership, committees, and more on the official website of the U.S. government.
