The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which, along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—constitutes the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol Building, in Washington, D.C.
The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The Senate is composed of senators, each of whom represents a single state in its entirety. Each state, regardless of its population size, is equally represented by two senators who serve staggered terms of six years. There being at present 50 states in the Union, there are currently 100 senators. From 1789 to 1913, senators were appointed by legislatures of the states they represented; they are now elected by popular vote, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913.
As the upper chamber of Congress, the Senate has several powers of advice and consent that are unique to it. These include the approval of treaties, and the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, flag officers, regulatory officials, ambassadors, federal executive officials, and other federal uniformed officers. In addition to these, in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for vice president, the duty falls to the Senate to elect one of the top two recipients of electors for that office. Furthermore, the Senate has the responsibility of conducting the trials of those impeached by the House.
The Senate is widely considered both a more deliberative and more prestigious body than the House of Representatives due to its longer terms, smaller size, and statewide constituencies, which historically led to a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere. The presiding officer of the Senate is the vice president of the United States, who is president of the Senate. In the vice president's absence, the president pro tempore, who is customarily the senior member of the party holding a majority of seats, presides over the Senate. In the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers.
Members[]
Qualifications[]
Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, sets three qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least 30 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of the United States for the past nine years or longer; and (3) they must be inhabitants of the states they seek to represent at the time of their election. The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives. In Federalist No. 62, James Madison justified this arrangement by arguing that the "senatorial trust" called for a "greater extent of information and stability of character".
Elections[]
Between Week 1 and Week 8 of a U.S. Senate election year in your state, there will be a post on the Jobs tab, that will allow you to run for U.S. Senator. At times, you may be challenged by other members of your party, which will lead to a primary election on Week 19. All elections, however, will be processed on Week 45. Unlike Representative elections, Senate elections give you an accompanying map of the state with its counties that fill in over the course of the election.
Term[]
Senators serve terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the seats are up for election every two years. This was achieved by dividing the senators of the 1st Congress into thirds (called classes), where the terms of one-third expired after two years, the terms of another third expired after four, and the terms of the last third expired after six years. This arrangement was also followed after the admission of new states into the union. The staggering of terms has been arranged such that both seats from a given state are not contested in the same general election. For an analysis of each of the 3 Senate classes and their ramifications on particular election years, see Vote Counting in the Senate.
Committees[]
A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction. Committees are broken down into four sections:
- Super-A Committee
- Class A Committees
- Class B Committees
- Class C Committees
In these committees, there are sub-committees focused on a more specific issue in that range of topics; such as the Economic Policy sub-committee in Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. The list of sub-committees for a specific committee can be found by clicking on the committee article for committees that are available. There are certain committees in the simulator that you are unable to join, such as the Budget Committee; as well as sub-committees that you are unable to join such as the National Security and International Trade and Finance sub-committee in Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Senate committee structure ranges between 20-23 members; but no less than 20 members.
Super-A Committees[]
Super-A Committees are the most 'prestigious' committees and are usually reserved for senators with the most seniority. A senator may not serve on more than one Super-A Committee.
| Committees | Description | Available | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate Finance Committee | The Senate Finance Committee is responsible for tax and revenue legislation. It also has jurisdiction over programs such as social security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well as any other program funded by a payroll tax. | Yes 
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| Senate Armed Services Committee | The Senate Armed Services Committee is responsible for legislation concerning military defense, including military research and development. | No 
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| Senate Appropriations Committee | The Senate Appropriations Committee is one of the most important committees; it oversees the appropriation process, which allocates the funding needed to run all federal government agencies and programs. Without the appropriations process, the federal government would shut down. | Yes
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| Senate Foreign Relations Committee | The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is responsible for foreign-policy legislation such as treaties and foreign aid. | No
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Class A Committees[]
A senator may not serve on more than two committees in Class A, one of which may be a Super-A Committee.
| Committees | Description | Available | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee | The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee is responsible for agricultural policy, rural development, and nutritional programs such as food stamps and school lunch programs. | Yes
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| Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is responsible for legislation concerning a variety of programs and policies. It has jurisdiction over policies concerning the labor force and wage laws. It also has jurisdiction over educational policies ranging from access to early-childhood education to higher education grants. | Yes
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| Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee | The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee is responsible for financial policy, community development, and the administration of housing programs such as permanent housing for the homeless, public housing projects, and rent assistance. | Yes
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| Senate Environment and Public Works Committee | The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee oversees legislation concerning environmental policy and the maintenance and construction of federal infrastructure. | Yes
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| Senate Judiciary Committee | The Senate Judiciary Committee oversees legislation concerning federal courts and criminal justice. | Yes
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| Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee oversees legislation concerning the Department of Homeland Security. It is also responsible for government oversight. | No
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| Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is responsible for legislation concerning inter-state commerce, consumer product regulations, scientific research, and transportation policy. | No
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| Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee | The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is responsible for legislation concerning energy policy, national parks, and federal land management. | No
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| Senate Intelligence Committee | The Senate Intelligence Committee receives weekly briefings from intelligence agencies and analysts; it is responsible for the oversight of the intelligence community. | No
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Class B Committees[]
A senator may not serve on more than one Class B committee.
| Committees | Description | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee | The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee is responsible for legislation concerning the interests and well-being of veterans. Such legislation includes veteran health care and education programs. | Yes
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| Senate Budget Committee | The Senate Budget Committee is responsible for drafting the Congressional Budget Resolution, which outlines how much revenue the Federal government is allowed to collect and how much money the Federal government is authorized to spend. The Budget Resolution creates spending limits for different government categories such as defense and education. When the appropriation committee drafts appropriation bills to fund the government, it cannot spend more than the Budget Resolution authorizes for each budget category. | No
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| Senate Rules and Administrative Committee | The Senate Rules and Administration Committee oversees rules, regulations, and administration regarding senate activities. | No
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| Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee | The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee has jurisdiction over legislation regarding the Small Business Administration. | No
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Class C Committees[]
There are no restrictions on serving on Class C committees; you are able to serve any numbers of committees for Class C.
| Committees | Descriptions | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Senate Ethics Committee | The Senate Ethics Committee investigates Senate misconduction and oversees disciplinary action for violations of Senate rules and regulations. | No
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| Senate Native American Affairs Committee | The Senate Native American Affairs Committee is responsible for all legislation concerning the interests of Native Americans. | No
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