[[File:US senate seal.png|right|200px]]
[[File:US Senate Chamber.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Senate chamber, showing visitors gallery (top) and Senator's desks on the floor.]]
The '''United States Senate''' is the upper house of the [[United States Congress]], the lower house being the [[United States House of Representatives]]. The U.S. Senate is composed of 100 Senators, two from each of the 50 [[state]]s. The Senate convenes in [[Washington, D.C.]]. Currently, Republicans control the Senate, with 44 45 Democrats and 52 54 Republicans. [[Independent]]s [[Bernie Sanders]] and [[Joe Lieberman]] caucus caucuses with the [[Democratic Party]], though the latter sometimes takes centrist viewpoints on certain issues.
On social issues like [[abortion]] the U.S. Senate is more [[liberal]] than the U.S. House, probably due to the greater influence of the media on the statewide Senate elections. Most votes on controversial issues are along party lines, although a few senators from both parties may cross lines against what their leadership endorses. Due to the clubby nature of the Senate, many bills have bipartisan support among both Republicans and Democrats.
* The Senate ratifies all treaties between the United States and foreign powers.
* If there no majority in the [[Electoral College]], the Senate selects the Vice President while the House selects the President. The Senate has only used this power once: in 1837, when it elected [[Richard Mentor Johnson]] Vice President after Virginia's delegates to the Electoral College voted for Martin Van Buren but refused to vote for him, giving him one vote shy of a majority. Under the Twelfth Amendment, the Senate elected Johnson 36 to 16 with three abstentions along sharp party lines.
* A notable difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives is the ability for the minority to filibuster; in other words, 60 votes are required to force legislation to continue onto a voting period. The filibuster is important to prevent a majority of even 51 to 49 from forcing legislation through. This was cruicial crucial during the 110th congress from 2007-2009, where the Democratic party had a majority of merely 51-49, and if not for the filibuster could have forced potentially harmful legislation through.
==Current Composition==
*'''Democratic Republican Party (Majority)''': 54*'''Republican Democratic Party (Minority)''': 45
*'''Independent Democrats''' : 1