84th United States Congress
83rd ←
→ 85th
United States Capitol (1956)
January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957
Members96 senators
435 representatives
3 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentRichard Nixon (R)
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerSam Rayburn (D)
Sessions
1st: January 5, 1955 – August 2, 1955
2nd: January 3, 1956 – July 27, 1956

The 84th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1955, to January 3, 1957, during the third and fourth years of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1950 United States census.

The Democratic Party won back majorities in both the House and Senate, thus giving them full control of Congress, although Republican Party won the Senate in the last Congress.

Major events

Major legislation

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Independent
(I)		Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 47 1 48 96 0
Begin 48 1 47 96 0
End 47 0 49
Final voting share 49.0% 0.0% 51.0%
Beginning of next congress 49 0 46 95 1

House of Representatives

Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Independent
(I)		Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 212 1 213 426 9
Begin 231 0 203 434 1
End 228 200 4287
Final voting share 53.3% 0.0% 46.7%
Beginning of next congress 233 0 200 433 2

Leadership

Senate

Senate President
Richard Nixon (R)
Senate President pro tempore
Walter F. George (D)

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House
Sam Rayburn (D)

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Caucuses

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state.

Senate

Senators are popularly elected statewide every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1958; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, facing re-election in 1960; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1956.

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.

Senate

Senate changes
State
(class)		 Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 1]
Oregon
(3)		 Wayne Morse (I) Changed Political Parties February 17, 1955 Wayne Morse (D) February 17, 1955
West Virginia
(1)		 Harley M. Kilgore (D) Died February 28, 1956 William Laird III (D) March 13, 1956
South Carolina
(2)		 Strom Thurmond (ID) Resigned April 4, 1956, to trigger a contested primary as promised to voters Thomas A. Wofford (D) April 5, 1956
Kentucky
(2)		 Alben W. Barkley (D) Died April 30, 1956 Robert Humphreys (D) June 21, 1956
Kentucky
(2)		 Robert Humphreys (D) Successor elected November 6, 1956 John Sherman Cooper (R) November 7, 1956
South Carolina
(2)		 Thomas A. Wofford (D) Successor elected November 6, 1956 Strom Thurmond (D) November 7, 1956
West Virginia
(1)		 William Laird III (D) Successor elected November 6, 1956 Chapman Revercomb (R) November 7, 1956

House of Representatives

  • Replacements: 5
  • Deaths: 9
  • Resignations: 3
  • Total seats with changes: 12
House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 1]
Florida 6th Vacant Rep. Dwight L. Rogers died during the previous congress after having been re-elected.
Successor elected January 11, 1955.		 Paul Rogers (D) January 11, 1955
Michigan 15th John Dingell Sr. (D) Died September 19, 1955.
Successor elected December 13, 1955.		 John Dingell (D) December 13, 1955
Pennsylvania 30th Vera Buchanan (D) Died November 26, 1955.
Successor elected January 24, 1956.		 Elmer J. Holland (D) January 24, 1956
New York 22nd Sidney A. Fine (D) Resigned January 2, 1956.
Successor elected February 7, 1956.		 James C. Healey (D) February 7, 1956
Illinois 14th Chauncey W. Reed (R) Died February 9, 1956
Seat remained unfilled until next term.		 Vacant
Pennsylvania 2nd William T. Granahan (D) Died May 25, 1956.
Successor elected November 6, 1956.		 Kathryn E. Granahan (D) November 6, 1956
California 20th John Carl Hinshaw (R) Died August 5, 1956.
Seat remained unfilled until next term.		 Vacant
Tennessee 5th Percy Priest (D) Died October 12, 1956.
Seat remained unfilled until next term.		 Vacant
New Mexico at-large Antonio M. Fernández (D) Died November 7, 1956.
Seat remained unfilled until next term.		 Vacant
New Jersey 2nd T. Millet Hand (R) Died December 26, 1956.
Seat remained unfilled until next term.		 Vacant
New York 19th Arthur George Klein (D) Resigned December 31, 1956 after being elected to the New York Supreme Court.
Seat remained unfilled until next term.		 Vacant
New York 20th Irwin D. Davidson (DL) Resigned December 31, 1956.
Seat remained unfilled until next term.		 Vacant

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References

    • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
    • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
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