The United States Senate is the upper house of the USA's bicameral legislature. It elects 100 members by First Past the Post, two from each state. Senators lead Congress and are key to passing a party's policy agenda.
Current composition
The current composition of the Senate can be viewed at http://oppressive.games/power/senate.php (there is a graph midway down the page, and a full list of members at the bottom). This wiki page is not updated with the current composition as that is too tiresome.
Senators
There are 100 Senators in the Senate, two from each of the 50 states. There are two classes, whose only difference is election time. Each member is elected by First Past the Post, and are elected to a term of six days.
Senators can propose bills and vote on bills introduced in the chamber. These bills automatically become law if they pass. In order to pass, there is a quorum in the Senate of 50 Senators. A majority of those voting must vote in favour in order for it to pass into law. Furthermore, a majority of House members (where there is no quorum) must also vote in favour of the bill to pass it into law.
Senators may spend 25 power to filibuster a bill, or a bill may be vetoed by a President. If either of these happen, the bill requires 60% of votes in the Senate in order to pass, rather than 50%. Some bills, notably energy bills, can alter lobby support nationally and the relationship a Senator has with a lobby. Senators gain 4 extra power per turn, despite the tooltip saying 2 extra per turn.
History
Throughout POWER history, the Senate has been dominated by the two major parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. In basic terms, the Senate has been Democrat through January and part of February 2017, Republican from February 2017 through to September 2017, Democrat from September through to November 2017, Republican in November and December 2017, and Democrat from late December 2017 through to present.
Historically, the largest third party in the Senate has been the Libertarian Party. During POWER III, they peaked at 13 Senators on September 20, 2017. Other notable third parties with a presence in the Senate include the All Syndicalist Convention, who had 10 Senators from August 17, 2017 to September 2, 2017. The Freedom Caucus Party also peaked with 8 Senators on September 24, 2017.
The First Senate Election in POWER history took place in December 2016. The Senate 1 elections were on December 30 and the Senate 2 elections were on December 31. The results were Republicans (49), Democrats (47), American Fascist League (1), Green Party (1), Communist Party (1), and Independent (1).
