85th United States Congress
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The Eighty-fifth 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, 1957 to January 3, 1959, during the fifth and sixth years of Dwight Eisenhower's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Seventeenth Census of the United States in 1950. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
Major events
- January 5, 1957: President Eisenhower announced the Eisenhower Doctrine in a special message to Congress
- January 20, 1957: Inauguration of President Dwight Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon for a second term
- August 21, 1957: President Eisenhower announced a 2-year suspension of nuclear testing
- August 28, 1957: Senator Strom Thurmond set a record for the longest filibuster with his 24-hour, 18-minute speech against the Civil Rights Act of 1957
- September 24, 1957: Little Rock Crisis: President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Arkansas to provide safe passage into Central High School for the Little Rock Nine.
- October 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth
- October 21, 1957: The U.S. military sustained its first combat fatality in Vietnam
- November 7, 1957: Gaither Report called for more American missiles and fallout shelters
- November 25, 1957: President Eisenhower had a stroke
- January 31, 1958: U.S. launched its first satellite, Explorer 1
- October 1, 1958: NASA started operations
Major legislation
- August 14, 1957: Airways Modernization Act, Pub.L. 85–133, 71 Stat. 349
- September 2, 1957: Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act, Pub.L. 85–256, 71 Stat. 576
- September 9, 1957: Civil Rights Act of 1957, Pub.L. 85–315, 71 Stat. 634
- July 29, 1958: National Aeronautics and Space Act, Pub.L. 85–568, 72 Stat. 426
- 1958: Transportation Act of 1958, Pub.L. 85–625
- August 23, 1958: Federal Aviation Act of 1958, Pub.L. 85–726, 72 Stat. 731
- August 28, 1958: EURATOM Cooperation Act of 1958, Pub.L. 85–846, 72 Stat. 1084
- August 28, 1958: Military Construction Appropriation Act (Advanced Research Projects Agency), Pub.L. 85–852, 72 Stat. 1096
- September 2, 1958: National Defense Education Act, Pub.L. 85–864, 72 Stat. 1580
- 1958: Department of Defense Reorganization Act, Pub.L. 85–899
States admitted
- January 3, 1959: Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.
Party summary
Senate
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Independent (I) | Republican (R) | |||
| End of the previous congress | 46 | 1 | 49 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 49 | 0 | 46 | 95 | 1 |
| End | 50 | 45 | |||
| Final voting share | 52.6% | 0.0% | 47.4% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 64 | 0 | 34 | 98 | 0 |
House of Representatives
- Democratic (D): 234 (majority)
- Republican (R): 201
TOTAL: 435
Leadership
Senate
Majority (Democratic) leadership
Minority (Republican) leadership
- Minority Leader: William F. Knowland
- Minority Whip: Everett Dirksen
- Conference Chairman: Leverett Saltonstall
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Sam Rayburn (D)
Majority (Democratic) leadership
- Majority Leader: John William McCormack
- Majority Whip: Carl Albert
- Caucus Chairman: Charles Melvin Price
Minority (Republican) leadership
- Minority Leader: Joseph William Martin, Jr.
- Minority Whip: Leslie C. Arends
- Conference Chairman: Charles B. Hoeven
Caucuses
Members
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. Senators in each state are listed in order of seniority, except for replacements, who appear below the senator they replace.
House of Representatives
Changes in membership
Senate
| State (class) |
Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (3) |
Vacant | Javitz delayed taking seat to allow for the recently inaugurated Republican majority legislature of New York to appoint his successor as New York Attorney General | Jacob K. Javits (R) | January 9, 1957 |
| Texas (1) |
Price Daniel (D) | Resigned January 14, 1957 after being elected Governor of Texas | William A. Blakley (D) | January 15, 1957 |
| Texas (1) |
William A. Blakley (D) | Successor elected April 28, 1957 | Ralph Yarborough (D) | April 29, 1957 |
| Wisconsin (1) |
Joseph McCarthy (R) | Died May 2, 1957. | William Proxmire (D) | August 28, 1957 |
| West Virginia (2) |
Matthew M. Neely (D) | Died January 18, 1958 | John D. Hoblitzell, Jr. (R) | January 25, 1958 |
| North Carolina (2) |
W. Kerr Scott (D) | Died April 16, 1958 | B. Everett Jordan (D) | April 19, 1958 |
| West Virginia (2) |
John D. Hoblitzell, Jr. (R) | Successor elected November 4, 1958. Lost special election to fill the seat. | Jennings Randolph (D) | November 4, 1958 |
| California (1) |
William F. Knowland (R) | Resigned January 2, 1959. | Vacant | Not filled this term |
House of Representatives
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico At-large | Vacant | Rep. Antonio M. Fernández died during previous congress | Joseph Montoya (D) | April 9, 1957 |
| New Jersey 2nd | Vacant | Rep. T. Millet Hand died during previous congress | Milton W. Glenn (R) | November 5, 1957 |
| Illinois 7th | James Bowler (D) | Died July 18, 1957 | Roland V. Libonati (D) | December 31, 1957 |
| Pennsylvania 13th | Samuel K. McConnell, Jr. (R) | Resigned September 1, 1957 after becoming Executive Director of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations | John A. Lafore, Jr. (R) | November 5, 1957 |
| Georgia 7th | Henderson L. Lanham (D) | Died November 10, 1957 | Harlan E. Mitchell (D) | January 8, 1958 |
| Pennsylvania 21st | Augustine B. Kelley (D) | Died November 20, 1957 | John H. Dent (D) | January 21, 1958 |
| New York 37th | W. Sterling Cole (R) | Resigned December 1, 1957 after becoming Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency | Howard W. Robison (R) | January 14, 1958 |
| Tennessee 8th | Jere Cooper (D) | Died December 18, 1957 | Robert "Fats" Everett (D) | February 1, 1958 |
| Pennsylvania 4th | Earl Chudoff (D) | Resigned January 5, 1958 after being elected judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas No. 1 | Robert N.C. Nix, Sr. (D) | May 20, 1958 |
| New Jersey 14th | Vincent J. Dellay (R) | Changed political affiliation some time in 1958 | Vincent J. Dellay (D) | ????, 1958 |
| Illinois 14th | Russell W. Keeney (R) | Died January 11, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Minnesota 1st | August H. Andresen (R) | Died January 14, 1958 | Al Quie (R) | February 18, 1958 |
| Wisconsin 1st | Lawrence H. Smith (R) | Died January 22, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| New Mexico At-large | John J. Dempsey (D) | Died March 11, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Louisiana 8th | George S. Long (D) | Died March 22, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Illinois 4th | William E. McVey (R) | Died August 10, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Pennsylvania 28th | Herman P. Eberharter (D) | Died September 9, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Ohio 17th | J. Harry McGregor (R) | Died October 7, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Illinois 20th | Sid Simpson (R) | Died October 26, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Massachusetts 13th | Richard B. Wigglesworth (R) | Resigned November 13, 1958 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| New York 4th | Henry J. Latham (R) | Resigned December 31, 1958 after becoming a judge of the New York Supreme Court | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
- Aeronautical and Space Sciences
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Appropriations
- Banking and Currency
- District of Columbia
- Finance
- Foreign Relations
- Foreign Aid Program (Special)
- Government Operations
- Interior and Insular Affairs
- Interstate and Foreign Commerce
- Judiciary
- Labor and Public Welfare
- Labor-Management Relations (Select)
- Political Activities, Lobbying and Campaign Contributions (Special)
- Post Office and Civil Service
- Preserve Historical Records of the Senate (Special)
- Public Works
- Senate Reception Room (Special)
- Small Business (Select)
- Space and Aeronautics (Special)
- Subcommittee on Internal Security
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Agriculture
- Appropriations
- Astronautics and Space Exploration (Select)
- Banking and Currency
- District of Columbia
- Education and Labor
- Foreign Affairs
- Government Operations
- House Administration
- Interior and Insular Affairs
- Merchant Marine and Fisheries
- Post Office and Civil Service
- Public Works
- Rules
- Small Business (Select)
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Un-American Activities
- Veterans' Affairs
- Ways and Means
- Whole
Joint committees
- Atomic Energy
- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- Construction of a Building for a Museum of History and Technology for the Smithsonian
- Defense Production
- Disposition of Executive Papers
- Economic
- Immigration and Nationality Policy
- Legislative Budget
- The Library
- Navajo-Hopi Indian Administration
- Printing
- Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures
- Taxation
- Washington (DC) Metropolitan Problems
Employees and legislative agency directors
Legislative branch agency directors
- Architect of the Capitol: J. George Stewart
- Attending Physician of the United States Congress: George Calver
- Comptroller General of the United States: Joseph Campbell
- Librarian of Congress: Lawrence Quincy Mumford
- Public Printer of the United States: Raymond Blattenberger
Senate
- Chaplain: Frederick Brown Harris, Methodist
- Parliamentarian: Charles Watkins
- Secretary: Felton McLellan Johnston
- Sergeant at Arms: Joseph C. Duke
House of Representatives
- Clerk: Ralph R. Roberts
- Doorkeeper: William Mosley "Fishbait" Miller
- Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
- Postmaster: H. H. Morris
- Sergeant at Arms: Zeake W. Johnson, Jr., elected January 3, 1957
- Chaplain: Bernard Braskamp (Presbyterian)
See also
- United States elections, 1956 (elections leading to this Congress)
- United States elections, 1958 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
References
- Gould, Lewis L. (2005). The Most Exclusive Club. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Group. ISBN 0-465-02778-4.
- Remini, Robert V. (2006). The House. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-088434-7.
- "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress". U.S. Congress. 2005. Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
- "Congressional History". U.S. House of Representatives. 2006. Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
- "Statistics and Lists". U.S. Senate. 2006. Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
- House of Representatives Session Calendar for the 85th Congress (PDF).
- Official Congressional Directory for the 85th Congress, 1st Session.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 85th Congress, 2nd Session.
- Pocket Congressional Directory for the 85th Congress.
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