Claim: The United States Congress has Senators.

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 , composes the legislature of the United States of America .   The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution . The Senate is composed of senators who represent each of the several states , with each state being equally represented by two senators , regardless of their population , serving staggered terms of six years ; with fifty states presently in the Union , there are 100 U.S. Senators . From 1789 until 1913 , Senators were appointed by legislatures of the states they represented ; following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913 , they are now popularly elected . The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol , in Washington , D.C.   As the upper house , the Senate has several powers of advice and consent which are unique to it ; these include the ratification of treaties , the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries , Supreme Court justices , federal judges , other federal executive officials , flag officers , regulatory officials , ambassadors , and other federal uniformed officers . In addition to these , in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for Vice President , the duty befalls upon the Senate to elect one of the top two recipients of electors for that office . It further has the responsibility of conducting 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 their absence , the President Pro Tempore , who is customarily the senior member of the controlling party , 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 .