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83rd United States Congress

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83rd United States Congress
82nd ←
→ 84th
United States Capitol (1956)
January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955
Members96 senators
435 representatives
3 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityRepublican
(with tie-breaking VP,
then with
tie-breaking VP & caucus)
Senate PresidentAlben W. Barkley (D)[a]
(until January 20, 1953)
Richard Nixon (R)
(from January 20, 1953)
House majorityRepublican
House SpeakerJoseph W. Martin Jr. (R)
Sessions
1st: January 3, 1953 – August 3, 1953
2nd: January 6, 1954 – December 2, 1954

The 83rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1953, until January 3, 1955, during the last two weeks of the Truman administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of Dwight Eisenhower's presidency. It was composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The apportionment of seats in the House was based on the 1950 U.S. census.

The Republicans gained the majority in both chambers, winning back full control of Congress for the first time since the 80th Congress in 1947, and with Dwight Eisenhower being sworn in as president on January 20, 1953, this gave the Republicans an overall federal government trifecta for the first time since the 71st Congress in 1929, and the last time until they briefly did so during the 107th Congress in 2001.

Major events

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Main articles: 1953 in the United States, 1954 in the United States, and 1955 in the United States

Major legislation

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President Eisenhower signs the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
Main article: List of United States federal legislation § 83rd United States Congress

Party summary

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Until the last week of the first session of Congress, Republicans had a 48-47-1 tied-plurality in the Senate which Republican Vice President Richard Nixon broke in the GOP’s favor. At the start of the second session, to account for whenever the Senate became tied 47-47-1 or when the Democrats held the plurality the Republican-turned-Independent, Wayne Morse, caucused with the GOP which gave them a tie-breaking majority, allowing continuity in GOP control of the Senate and the overall trifecta of government. Thus William Knowland remained Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon B. Johnson remained Senate Minority Leader, and the GOP remained continuously in control of the Senate committees. Wayne Morse would begin caucusing with Democrats at the start of the next Congress in 1955 to give them Senate control.

Senate

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Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total
Democratic Independent Republican Vacant
End of previous Congress 47 — 48 95 1
Begin 47 1 48 96 —
June 26, 1953[b] 46 95 1
July 10, 1953[b] 47 96 —
July 24, 1953[c] 47 95 1
July 31, 1953[d] 47 46 94 2
August 14, 1953[c] 47 47 95 1
November 10, 1953[d] 48 96 —
January 6, 1954[e] 48 1[e] 47 96 —
April 12, 1954[f] 48 1[e] 46 95 1
April 16, 1954[f] 48 1[e] 47 96 —
May 12, 1954[g] 47 95 1
June 5, 1954[g] 48 96 —
June 19, 1954[h] 47 95 1
June 24, 1954[h] 48 96 —
July 1, 1954[i] 47 95 1
July 3, 1954[i] 48 96 —
September 1, 1954[j] 46 95 1
September 6, 1954[j] 47 96 —
September 28, 1954[k] 46 95 1
September 6, 1954[k] 49 96 —
November 2, 1954[h] 47 48
November 2, 1954[k] 48 47
December 15, 1954[d] 47 48
December 23, 1954[j] 46 95 1
December 24, 1954[j] 47 96 —
December 31, 1954[f] 47 95 1
January 1, 1955[f] 48 96 —
Final voting share 49% 1% 50%
Beginning of the next Congress 48 1 47 96 —

House of Representatives

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Republican majority in the House becomes a plurality after the end of the last Congressional session.

Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total Vacant
Democratic Independent Republican
End of previous Congress 228 1 198 427 8
Begin 211 1 221 433 2
End 212 213 426 9
Beginning of next Congress 231 0 203 434 1

Leadership

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Senate

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Majority (Republican) leadership

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Minority (Democratic) leadership

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House of Representatives

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Majority (Republican) leadership

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Minority (Democratic) leadership

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Caucuses

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Members

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Senate

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Senators are popularly elected statewide every six years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Within each state, senators are listed in order of seniority. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election, In this Congress, Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1954; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1956; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1958.

House of Representatives

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Changes in membership

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

Senate

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See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
Senate changes
State
(class) 		Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[m]
North Carolina
(2) 		Willis Smith (D) Died June 26, 1953.
Successor appointed July 10, 1953. 		Alton Lennon (D) July 10, 1953
New Hampshire
(3) 		Charles W. Tobey (R) Died July 24, 1953.
Successor appointed August 14, 1953. 		Robert W. Upton (R) August 14, 1953
Ohio
(3) 		Robert A. Taft (R) Died July 31, 1953.
Successor appointed November 10, 1953. 		Thomas A. Burke (D) November 10, 1953
Nebraska
(2) 		Dwight Griswold (R) Died April 12, 1954.
Successor appointed April 16, 1954. 		Eva Bowring (R) April 16, 1954
North Carolina
(3) 		Clyde R. Hoey (D) Died May 12, 1954.
Successor appointed May 12, 1954 and then elected November 2, 1954. 		Sam Ervin (D) June 5, 1954
Wyoming
(2) 		Lester C. Hunt (D) Died June 19, 1954.
Successor appointed June 24, 1954. 		Edward D. Crippa (R) June 24, 1954
Nebraska
(1) 		Hugh A. Butler (R) Died July 1, 1954.
Successor appointed July 3, 1954. 		Samuel W. Reynolds (R) July 3, 1954
South Carolina
(2) 		Burnet R. Maybank (D) Died September 1, 1954.
Successor appointed September 6, 1954. 		Charles E. Daniel (D) September 6, 1954
Nevada
(3) 		Pat McCarran (D) Died September 28, 1954.
Successor appointed October 1, 1954. 		Ernest S. Brown (R) October 1, 1954
Nebraska
(1) 		Samuel W. Reynolds (R) Did not run in the special election to fill seat.
Successor elected November 2, 1954. 		Roman Hruska (R) November 8, 1954
Nebraska
(2) 		Eva Bowring (R) Did not run in the special election to fill seat.
Successor elected November 2, 1954. 		Hazel Abel (R) November 8, 1954
New Hampshire
(3) 		Robert W. Upton (R) Lost special election to fill seat.
Successor elected November 2, 1954. 		Norris Cotton (R) November 8, 1954
North Carolina
(2) 		Alton Lennon (D) Lost special election to fill seat.
Successor elected November 2, 1954. 		W. Kerr Scott (D) November 29, 1954
Wyoming
(2) 		Edward D. Crippa (R) Did not run in the special election to fill seat.
Successor elected November 2, 1954. 		Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D) November 29, 1954
Nevada
(3) 		Ernest S. Brown (R) Lost special election to fill seat.
Successor elected November 2, 1954. 		Alan Bible (D) December 2, 1954
Ohio
(3) 		Thomas A. Burke (D) Lost special election to fill seat.
Successor elected November 2, 1954. 		George H. Bender (R) December 16, 1954
South Carolina
(2) 		Charles E. Daniel (D) Resigned December 23, 1954.
Successor appointed December 24, 1954. 		Strom Thurmond (D) December 24, 1954
Nebraska
(2) 		Hazel Abel (R) Resigned December 31, 1954.
Successor was appointed January 1, 1955. 		Carl Curtis (R) January 1, 1955

House of Representatives

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See also: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[m]
Georgia 2nd Vacant Rep. Edward E. Cox died during previous congress J. L. Pilcher (D) February 4, 1953
Illinois 7th Vacant Rep. Adolph J. Sabath died during previous congress James Bowler (D) July 7, 1953
Virginia 5th Thomas B. Stanley (D) Resigned February 3, 1953, to run for Governor of Virginia William M. Tuck (D) April 14, 1953
South Carolina 4th Joseph R. Bryson (D) Died March 10, 1953 Robert T. Ashmore (D) June 2, 1953
Kentucky 2nd Garrett Withers (D) Died April 30, 1953 William Natcher (D) August 1, 1953
Wisconsin 9th Merlin Hull (R) Died May 17, 1953 Lester Johnson (D) October 13, 1953
California 24th Norris Poulson (R) Resigned June 11, 1953, after being elected Mayor of Los Angeles Glenard P. Lipscomb (R) November 10, 1953
New Jersey 6th Clifford P. Case (R) Resigned August 16, 1953 Harrison A. Williams (D) November 3, 1953
Hawaii Territory at-large Joseph Rider Farrington (R) Died June 19, 1954 Mary Elizabeth Pruett Farrington (R) August 4, 1954
New York 8th Louis B. Heller (D) Resigned July 21, 1954, after being appointed judge of the Court of Special Sessions of New York City Vacant Not filled this term
Georgia 4th Albert Sidney Camp (D) Died July 24, 1954 John Flynt (D) November 2, 1954
Michigan 3rd Paul W. Shafer (R) Died August 17, 1954 Vacant Not filled this term
Ohio 15th Robert T. Secrest (D) Resigned September 26, 1954
New Hampshire 2nd Norris Cotton (R) Resigned November 7, 1954, after being elected to the U.S. Senate
Nebraska 2nd Roman Hruska (R) Resigned November 8, 1954, after being elected to the U.S. Senate
Florida 6th Dwight L. Rogers (D) Died December 1, 1954
Ohio 15th George H. Bender (R) Resigned December 15, 1954, after being elected to the U.S. Senate
Nebraska 1st Carl Curtis (R) Resigned December 31, 1954, after being elected to the U.S. Senate
New York 21st Jacob Javits (R) Resigned December 31, 1954, after being elected New York attorney General

Committees

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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

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House of Representatives

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Joint committees

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Employees

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Legislative branch agency directors

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Senate

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House of Representatives

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ U.S. Vice President Alben W. Barkley's term as President of the Senate ended at noon January 20, 1953, when Richard Nixon's term began.
  2. ^ a b In North Carolina, Class 2 senator Willis Smith (D) died June 26, 1953, and Alton Lennon (D), was appointed July 10, 1953, to continue the term. Lennon lost the special election and W. Kerr Scott (D) was elected November 2, 1954 to finish the term.
  3. ^ a b In New Hampshire, Charles W. Tobey (R) died July 24, 1953, and Robert W. Upton (R), was appointed August 14, 1953, to continue the term. Upton lost the special election and Norris Cotton (R) was elected November 2, 1954 to finish the term, but was ineligible until resigning from the House November 8, 1954.
  4. ^ a b c In Ohio, Robert A. Taft (R) died July 31, 1953, and Thomas A. Burke (D), was appointed November 10, 1953, to continue the term. Burke lost the special election and George H. Bender (R) was elected November 2, 1954 to finish the term, but was ineligible until resigning from the House December 15, 1954.
  5. ^ a b c d Independent Wayne Morse begins caucusing with Republicans at the start of the second session of Congress.
  6. ^ a b c d In Nebraska, Class 2 senator Dwight Griswold (R) died April 12, 1954, and Eva Bowring (R), was appointed April 16, 1954, to continue the term. Bowring did not run in the special election and Hazel Abel (R) was elected November 2, 1954 to finish the term. Abel resigned December 31, 1954 and her successor to the next term, Carl Curtis (R), was appointed January 1, 1955.
  7. ^ a b In North Carolina, Class 3 senator Clyde R. Hoey (D) died May 12, 1954, and Sam Ervin (D), was appointed June 5, 1954, to continue the term. Ervin would then be elected in November 1954 to finish the term.
  8. ^ a b c In Wyoming, Lester C. Hunt (D) died June 19, 1954, and Edward D. Crippa (R), was appointed June 24, 1954, to continue the term. did not run in the special election and Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D) was elected November 2, 1954 to finish the term.
  9. ^ a b In Nebraska, Class 1 senator Hugh A. Butler (R) died July 1, 1954, and Samuel W. Reynolds (R), was appointed July 3, 1954, to continue the term. Reynolds did not run in the special election and Roman Hruska (R) was elected November 2, 1954 to finish the term.
  10. ^ a b c d In South Carolina, Burnet R. Maybank (D) died September 1, 1954, and Charles E. Daniel (D), was appointed September 6, 1954, to finish the term. Daniel resigned December 23, 1954 and his successor to the next term, Strom Thurmond (D), was appointed December 24, 1954.
  11. ^ a b c In Nevada, Pat McCarran (D) died September 28, 1954, and Ernest S. Brown (R), was appointed September 6, 1954, to continue the term. Brown lost the special election and Alan Bible (D) was elected November 2, 1954 to finish the term.
  12. ^ a b c d e The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party and are counted as Democrats.
  13. ^ a b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References

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  1. ^ "Eisenhower Presidential Library". www.eisenhower.archives.gov. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "1954 Shooting | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  3. ^ Network, The Learning (March 2012). "March 1, 1954 | Puerto Rican Nationalists Open Fire on House of Representatives". The Learning Network. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  4. ^ "U.S. Senate: The Censure Case of Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin (1954)". www.senate.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
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