The Senate is one of two bodies, or “houses,” that make up the legislative branch of the United States government.  With the House of Representatives, the two form the United States Congress.  In the United States, the Legislative branch of government has many responsibilities, but they are primarily concerned with creating laws and budgeting for federal government obligations and programs.

How many Senators are there?

There are 100 Senators.  There are two Senators from each state.

What are the requirements to becoming a Senator?

According to the United States Constitution, there are three basic requirements for becoming a Senator.  The person must be at least 30 years old; a citizen of the United States for at least nine years; and live in the state in which they are seeking election. 

How often are Senators elected?

Senators serve six-year terms.  They are not all elected at the same time, however.  The Senate is divided into three groups, or “classes.”  Every two years, one class, or about one third of the Senators, is up for reelection. There is no term-limit for Senators, so as long as they are reelected, they can serve indefinitely.

What do committees do?

Due to the large amount and complexity of work that faces the Senate, the Senate divides the work among 20 committees that cover different subject areas.  In addition, 68 subcommittees further divide up the work of the Senate.  Each committee considers and evaluates bills before they are considered by the full Senate.  The assignments to committees is made by each Senator's party. More Info

How does a bill become a law in the Senate?

First a Senator introduces his proposed law, called a bill. The bill is then referred to the relevant Senate committees, where the bill is evaluated and hearings may be held.  The bill is then voted on by the committee members, and if it passes, is edited by committee members before proceeding to the whole Senate.  Once the Senate considers the bill, and it passes, the bill is sent to a conference committee.  At the conference committee, the Senate bill's and the House bill's (which has gone through a similar process) differences are worked out, and the revised version is voted on again by both the House and the Senate.  Once this bill passes both chambers of Congress, the bill goes to the President, where he must sign the bill for it to become law.  If he chooses to veto the bill, both the House and the Senate can override his veto (still make the bill become law) by achieving a 2/3 vote in both chambers. See here for a more detailed account of how a bill becomes a law.  Click here for a more basic account of how a bill becomes a law.

What is filibuster? Cloture?

The filibuster is a legislative tool used to prevent consideration of a bill.  Senate rules allow for the debate of any bill to continue as long as a Senator wishes to speak.  A filibuster occurs when Senators debate or threaten to debate endlessly.  To stop a filibuster, cloture can be filed.  For cloture to pass and debate to end, 60 Senators must vote in favor (normally, only a majority, or 51 votes are required for a measure to pass).   Therefore, a minority of Senators may be able to stop a bill from consideration, assuming that the majority does not have 60 votes on their side. 

What is the Vice President's role in the Senate?

The Vice President serves as the President of the Senate.  The Constitution states that the Vice President may cast the deciding vote if the Senate reaches a tie.  When the Vice President is not at the Senate, the President Pro Tempore and others fulfill his or her other duties.

History of the Senate

When designing our government, the framers of the U.S. Constitution disagreed over how the legislature should be formed.  People from states with larger populations thought that representatives should be elected proportionally by population with larger states having more representation than smaller states.  Alternatively, smaller states felt that every state should have equal representation.  The compromise was to form a bicameral or two-house legislature.  The people would directly elect members to the lower-house, House of Representatives, proportional to a state's population.  The state's legislatures would appoint the members of the Senate, two for each state.  In this way, the House of Representatives would be more responsive to the people, whereas the Senate would be more responsive to the states. It was not until 1913 with the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that Senators were elected directly by the people and not by state legislatures. When the Senate first met in New York City on March 4, 1789, it had 26 members (13 states).  Today, there are 100 Senators, two representing every one of the 50 states, and they meet at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC.  Read more about the history of the senate.

The Capitol

The United States Capitol is one of the most famous buildings in the world.  The Capitol not only serves as the meeting place of the 100 Senators and 435 Representatives, it also houses some of the greatest works of historical American art. Construction began in 1793, and by 1810, the Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court all met in the Capitol.  After being burned by the British in 1814, the Capitol was rebuilt and subsequently expanded.  Currently, the Capitol is undergoing its largest expansion–the construction of the new Capitol Visitors Center. To learn about the Capitol, its art, history and function, visit the Architect of the Capitol's website here.