<P> 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, with each state being equally represented by two senators, regardless of its population, serving staggered terms of six years; with 50 states currently 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. </P> <P> As the upper house, the Senate has several powers of advice and consent which are unique to it; these include the ratification of treaties and 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> The writers of the Constitution created a bicameral Congress primarily as a compromise between those who felt that each state, since it was sovereign, should be equally represented, and those who felt the Legislature must directly represent the people, as the House of Commons did in the United Kingdom . This idea of having one chamber represent people equally, while the other gives equal representation to states regardless of population, was known as the Connecticut Compromise . There was also a desire to have two Houses that could act as an internal check on each other . One was intended to be a "People's House" directly elected by the people, and with short terms obliging the representatives to remain close to their constituents . The other was intended to represent the states to such extent as they retained their sovereignty except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government . The Senate was thus not designed to serve the people of the United States equally . The Constitution provides that the approval of both chambers is necessary for the passage of legislation . </P>

Who serves as president of the us senate