84th United States Congress

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.

84th United States Congress
83rd ← → 85th
United States Capitol (1956)
January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957
Members	96 senators 435 representatives 3 non-voting delegates
Senate majority	Democratic (initially with caucus)
Senate President	Richard Nixon (R)
House majority	Democratic
House Speaker	Sam Rayburn (D)
Sessions
1st: January 5, 1955 – August 2, 1955 2nd: January 3, 1956 – July 27, 1956

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

Major events

Main articles: 1955 in the United States, 1956 in the United States, and 1957 in the United States

• January 28, 1955: Congress authorized the president to use force to protect Taiwan from the People's Republic of China
• February 10, 1955: The United States Navy helped the Republic of China evacuate Chinese Nationalist army and residents from the Tachen Islands to Taiwan.
• February 12, 1955: President Eisenhower sent the first U.S. advisers to South Vietnam.
• July 2, 1955: Senator Lyndon Johnson, Majority Leader of the United States Senate, suffered a major heart attack.
• September 24, 1955: President Eisenhower suffered a coronary thrombosis.
• November 5, 1955: Racial segregation was forbidden on trains and buses in U.S. interstate commerce.
• December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person.
• December 5, 1955: The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to become the AFL–CIO.
• March 12, 1956: 96 Congressmen signed the Southern Manifesto, a protest against the 1954 Supreme Court ruling (Brown v. Board of Education) desegregating public education.
• November 6, 1956: United States elections, 1956:
  • 1956 United States presidential election: Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Democratic challenger Adlai E. Stevenson in a rematch of their contest four years earlier.
  • United States Senate elections, 1956: The party balance of the chamber remained unchanged as Republican and Democratic gains cancelled each other.
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1956: Republicans lost a net of two seats to the majority Democrats.

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation, 1901–2001 § 84th United States Congress

• January 29, 1955: Formosa Resolution
• March 31, 1955: Career Incentive Act
• June 28, 1955: Flood Control and Coastal Emergency Act, Pub. L. 84–99, 69 Stat. 194
• July 11, 1955: To provide that all United States currency shall bear the inscription "In God We Trust", Pub. L. 84–140, 69 Stat. 290, 31 U.S.C. § 5114(b)
• July 14, 1955: Air Pollution Control Act, Pub. L. 84–159, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322
• July 23, 1955: Multiple Surface Use Mining Act, Pub. L. 94–167, ch. 730, 68 Stat. 708
• August 9, 1955: Reserve Forces Act, Pub. L. 84–305, 69 Stat. 598
• August 11, 1955: National Housing Act ("Capehart Act"), Pub. L. 84–345, 69 Stat. 646
• August 12, 1955: Poliomyelitis Vaccination Assistance Act, Pub. L. 84–377, ch. 863, 69 Stat. 704
• April 11, 1956: Colorado River Storage Project Act, Pub. L. 84–485
• June 29, 1956: Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, (National Interstate and Defense Highways Act), Pub. L. 84–627
• July 30, 1956: Health Research Facilities Act, Pub. L. 84–835, ch. 779, 70 Stat. 717
• August 8, 1956: Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, ch. 1036, 70 Stat. 1119, 16 U.S.C. § 742a

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.

The independent Wayne Morse, who caucused with Republicans in the second session of the previous Congress, began caucusing with the Democrats at the start of this Congress before ultimately becoming a Democrat himself.

Democrats would briefly lose control of the Senate after the last Congressional session.

Senate

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Democratic	Independent	Republican		Vacant
End of previous Congress	47	1	48	96	0
Begin	48	1	47	96	0
February 17, 1955	49	0	47	96	0
February 28, 1956	48			95	1
March 13, 1956	49			96	0
April 4, 1956	48			95	1
April 5, 1956	49			96	0
April 30, 1956	48			95	1
June 21, 1956	49			96	0
November 6, 1956	46		47	93	3
November 7, 1956	47		49	96	0
Final voting share	49%	0%	50%
Beginning of the 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	428	7
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)

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

Majority (Democratic) leadership

• Majority Leader and Democratic Conference chairman: Lyndon B. Johnson
• Majority Whip: Earle Clements
• Democratic Caucus Secretary: Thomas C. Hennings Jr.

Minority (Republican) leadership

• Minority Leader: William Knowland
• Minority Whip: Leverett Saltonstall
• Republican Conference chairman: Eugene Millikin
• Republican Conference Secretary: Milton Young
• National Senatorial Committee Chair: Barry Goldwater
• Policy Committee Chairman: Styles Bridges

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House
Sam Rayburn (D)

• Speaker: Sam Rayburn (D)

Majority (Democratic) leadership

• Majority Leader: John W. McCormack
• Majority Whip: Carl Albert
• Democratic Caucus chairman: John J. Rooney
• Democratic Caucus Secretary: Edna F. Kelly
• Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Michael J. Kirwan

Minority (Republican) leadership

• Minority Leader: Joseph W. Martin Jr.
• Minority Whip: Leslie C. Arends
• Republican Conference chairman: Clifford R. Hope
• Policy Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Martin Jr.
• Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Richard M. Simpson

Caucuses

• House Democratic Caucus
• Senate Democratic Caucus

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.

Alabama ▌2. John J. Sparkman (D) ▌3. J. Lister Hill (D) Arizona ▌1. Barry Goldwater (R) ▌3. Carl Hayden (D) Arkansas ▌2. John L. McClellan (D) ▌3. J. William Fulbright (D) California ▌1. William Knowland (R) ▌3. Thomas Kuchel (R) Colorado ▌2. Gordon Allott (R) ▌3. Eugene Millikin (R) Connecticut ▌1. William A. Purtell (R) ▌3. Prescott Bush (R) Delaware ▌1. John J. Williams (R) ▌2. J. Allen Frear Jr. (D) Florida ▌1. Spessard Holland (D) ▌3. George Smathers (D) Georgia ▌2. Richard Russell Jr. (D) ▌3. Walter F. George (D) Idaho ▌2. Henry Dworshak (R) ▌3. Herman Welker (R) Illinois ▌2. Paul Douglas (D) ▌3. Everett M. Dirksen (R) Indiana ▌1. William E. Jenner (R) ▌3. Homer E. Capehart (R) Iowa ▌2. Thomas E. Martin (R) ▌3. Bourke B. Hickenlooper (R) Kansas ▌2. Andrew Frank Schoeppel (R) ▌3. Frank Carlson (R) Kentucky ▌2. Alben Barkley (D), until April 30, 1956 ▌Robert Humphreys (D), June 21, 1956 – November 6, 1956 ▌John Sherman Cooper (R), from November 7, 1956 ▌3. Earle Clements (D) Louisiana ▌2. Allen J. Ellender (D) ▌3. Russell B. Long (D) Maine ▌1. Frederick G. Payne (R) ▌2. Margaret Chase Smith (R) Maryland ▌1. James Glenn Beall (R) ▌3. John Marshall Butler (R) Massachusetts ▌1. John F. Kennedy (D) ▌2. Leverett Saltonstall (R) Michigan ▌1. Charles E. Potter (R) ▌2. Patrick V. McNamara (D) Minnesota ▌1. Edward John Thye (R) ▌2. Hubert Humphrey (DFL)[a] Mississippi ▌1. John C. Stennis (D) ▌2. James Eastland (D) Missouri ▌1. Stuart Symington (D) ▌3. Thomas C. Hennings Jr. (D) Montana ▌1. Mike Mansfield (D) ▌2. James E. Murray (D) Nebraska ▌1. Roman Hruska (R) ▌2. Carl Curtis (R)

Nevada ▌1. George W. Malone (R) ▌3. Alan Bible (D) New Hampshire ▌2. Styles Bridges (R) ▌3. Norris Cotton (R) New Jersey ▌1. Howard Alexander Smith (R) ▌2. Clifford P. Case (R) New Mexico ▌1. Dennis Chávez (D) ▌2. Clinton P. Anderson (D) New York ▌1. Irving Ives (R) ▌3. Herbert H. Lehman (D) North Carolina ▌2. W. Kerr Scott (D) ▌3. Sam Ervin (D) North Dakota ▌1. William Langer (R-NPL) ▌3. Milton Young (R) Ohio ▌1. John W. Bricker (R) ▌3. George H. Bender (R) Oklahoma ▌2. Robert S. Kerr (D) ▌3. A. S. Mike Monroney (D) Oregon ▌2. Richard L. Neuberger (D) ▌▌3. Wayne Morse (I), changed to (D) April 30, 1955 Pennsylvania ▌1. Edward Martin (R) ▌3. James H. Duff (R) Rhode Island ▌1. John Pastore (D) ▌2. Theodore F. Green (D) South Carolina ▌2. Strom Thurmond (D), until April 4, 1956 ▌Thomas A. Wofford (D), April 5, 1956 – November 6, 1956 ▌Strom Thurmond (D), from November 7, 1956 ▌3. Olin D. Johnston (D) South Dakota ▌2. Karl E. Mundt (R) ▌3. Francis Case (R) Tennessee ▌1. Albert Gore Sr. (D) ▌2. Estes Kefauver (D) Texas ▌1. Price Daniel (D) ▌2. Lyndon B. Johnson (D) Utah ▌1. Arthur Vivian Watkins (R) ▌3. Wallace F. Bennett (R) Vermont ▌1. Ralph Flanders (R) ▌3. George Aiken (R) Virginia ▌1. Harry F. Byrd (D) ▌2. A. Willis Robertson (D) Washington ▌1. Henry M. Jackson (D) ▌3. Warren G. Magnuson (D) West Virginia ▌1. Harley M. Kilgore (D), until February 28, 1956 ▌William Laird III (D), March 13, 1956 – November 6, 1956 ▌Chapman Revercomb (R), from November 7, 1956 ▌2. Matthew M. Neely (D) Wisconsin ▌1. Joseph McCarthy (R) ▌3. Alexander Wiley (R) Wyoming ▌1. Frank A. Barrett (R) ▌2. Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D)

Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 84th Congress in January 1955   2 Democrats   1 Democrat and 1 Republican   2 Republicans    1 Independent and 1 Democrat Senate majority leadership Democratic leader Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic whip Earle Clements Senate minority leadership Republican leader William Knowland Republican whip Leverett Saltonstall

House of Representatives

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

Alabama ▌1. Frank W. Boykin (D) ▌2. George M. Grant (D) ▌3. George W. Andrews (D) ▌4. Kenneth A. Roberts (D) ▌5. Albert Rains (D) ▌6. Armistead I. Selden Jr. (D) ▌7. Carl Elliott (D) ▌8. Robert E. Jones Jr. (D) ▌9. George Huddleston Jr. (D) Arizona ▌1. John Jacob Rhodes (R) ▌2. Stewart Udall (D) Arkansas ▌1. Ezekiel C. Gathings (D) ▌2. Wilbur Mills (D) ▌3. James William Trimble (D) ▌4. Oren Harris (D) ▌5. Brooks Hays (D) ▌6. William F. Norrell (D) California ▌1. Hubert B. Scudder (R) ▌2. Clair Engle (D) ▌3. John E. Moss (D) ▌4. William S. Mailliard (R) ▌5. John F. Shelley (D) ▌6. John F. Baldwin Jr. (R) ▌7. John J. Allen Jr. (R) ▌8. George P. Miller (D) ▌9. J. Arthur Younger (R) ▌10. Charles Gubser (R) ▌11. J. Leroy Johnson (R) ▌12. B. F. Sisk (D) ▌13. Charles M. Teague (R) ▌14. Harlan Hagen (D) ▌15. Gordon L. McDonough (R) ▌16. Donald L. Jackson (R) ▌17. Cecil R. King (D) ▌18. Craig Hosmer (R) ▌19. Chester E. Holifield (D) ▌20. John Carl Hinshaw (R), until August 5, 1956 ▌21. Edgar W. Hiestand (R) ▌22. Joseph F. Holt (R) ▌23. Clyde Doyle (D) ▌24. Glenard P. Lipscomb (R) ▌25. Patrick J. Hillings (R) ▌26. James Roosevelt (D) ▌27. Harry R. Sheppard (D) ▌28. James B. Utt (R) ▌29. John R. Phillips (R) ▌30. Bob Wilson (R) Colorado ▌1. Byron G. Rogers (D) ▌2. William S. Hill (R) ▌3. John Chenoweth (R) ▌4. Wayne N. Aspinall (D) Connecticut ▌1. Thomas J. Dodd (D) ▌2. Horace Seely-Brown Jr. (R) ▌3. Albert W. Cretella (R) ▌4. Albert P. Morano (R) ▌5. James T. Patterson (R) ▌At-large. Antoni Sadlak (R) Delaware ▌At-large. Harris McDowell (D) Florida ▌1. William C. Cramer (R) ▌2. Charles E. Bennett (D) ▌3. Robert L. F. Sikes (D) ▌4. Dante Fascell (D) ▌5. Syd Herlong (D) ▌6. Paul Rogers (D), from January 11, 1955 ▌7. James A. Haley (D) ▌8. Donald Ray Matthews (D) Georgia ▌1. Prince Hulon Preston Jr. (D) ▌2. J. L. Pilcher (D) ▌3. Tic Forrester (D) ▌4. John Flynt (D) ▌5. James C. Davis (D) ▌6. Carl Vinson (D) ▌7. Henderson Lovelace Lanham (D) ▌8. Iris Faircloth Blitch (D) ▌9. Phillip M. Landrum (D) ▌10. Paul Brown (D) Idaho ▌1. Gracie Pfost (D) ▌2. Hamer H. Budge (R) Illinois ▌1. William L. Dawson (D) ▌2. Barratt O'Hara (D) ▌3. James C. Murray (D) ▌4. William E. McVey (R) ▌5. John C. Kluczynski (D) ▌6. Thomas J. O'Brien (D) ▌7. James Bowler (D) ▌8. Thomas S. Gordon (D) ▌9. Sidney R. Yates (D) ▌10. Richard W. Hoffman (R) ▌11. Timothy P. Sheehan (R) ▌12. Charles A. Boyle (D) ▌13. Marguerite S. Church (R) ▌14. Chauncey W. Reed (R), until February 9, 1956 ▌15. Noah M. Mason (R) ▌16. Leo E. Allen (R) ▌17. Leslie C. Arends (R) ▌18. Harold H. Velde (R) ▌19. Robert B. Chiperfield (R) ▌20. Sid Simpson (R) ▌21. Peter F. Mack Jr. (D) ▌22. William L. Springer (R) ▌23. Charles W. Vursell (R) ▌24. Melvin Price (D) ▌25. Kenneth J. Gray (D) Indiana ▌1. Ray Madden (D) ▌2. Charles A. Halleck (R) ▌3. Shepard J. Crumpacker Jr. (R) ▌4. E. Ross Adair (R) ▌5. John V. Beamer (R) ▌6. Cecil M. Harden (R) ▌7. William G. Bray (R) ▌8. Winfield K. Denton (D) ▌9. Earl Wilson (R) ▌10. Ralph Harvey (R) ▌11. Charles B. Brownson (R) Iowa ▌1. Fred Schwengel (R) ▌2. Henry O. Talle (R) ▌3. H. R. Gross (R) ▌4. Karl M. LeCompte (R) ▌5. Paul H. Cunningham (R) ▌6. James I. Dolliver (R) ▌7. Ben F. Jensen (R) ▌8. Charles B. Hoeven (R) Kansas ▌1. William H. Avery (R) ▌2. Errett P. Scrivner (R) ▌3. Myron V. George (R) ▌4. Edward Herbert Rees (R) ▌5. Clifford R. Hope (R) ▌6. Wint Smith (R) Kentucky ▌1. Noble J. Gregory (D) ▌2. William Natcher (D) ▌3. John M. Robsion Jr. (R) ▌4. Frank Chelf (D) ▌5. Brent Spence (D) ▌6. John C. Watts (D) ▌7. Carl D. Perkins (D) ▌8. Eugene Siler (R) Louisiana ▌1. F. Edward Hébert (D) ▌2. Hale Boggs (D) ▌3. Edwin E. Willis (D) ▌4. Overton Brooks (D) ▌5. Otto Passman (D) ▌6. James H. Morrison (D) ▌7. T. Ashton Thompson (D) ▌8. George S. Long (D) Maine ▌1. Robert Hale (R) ▌2. Charles P. Nelson (R) ▌3. Clifford McIntire (R) Maryland ▌1. Edward Tylor Miller (R) ▌2. James Devereux (R) ▌3. Edward Garmatz (D) ▌4. George Hyde Fallon (D) ▌5. Richard Lankford (D) ▌6. DeWitt Hyde (R) ▌7. Samuel Friedel (D) Massachusetts ▌1. John W. Heselton (R) ▌2. Edward Boland (D) ▌3. Philip J. Philbin (D) ▌4. Harold Donohue (D) ▌5. Edith Nourse Rogers (R) ▌6. William H. Bates (R) ▌7. Thomas J. Lane (D) ▌8. Torbert Macdonald (D) ▌9. Donald W. Nicholson (R) ▌10. Laurence Curtis (R) ▌11. Tip O'Neill (D) ▌12. John W. McCormack (D) ▌13. Richard B. Wigglesworth (R) ▌14. Joseph W. Martin Jr. (R) Michigan ▌1. Thaddeus M. Machrowicz (D) ▌2. George Meader (R) ▌3. August E. Johansen (R) ▌4. Clare Hoffman (R) ▌5. Gerald Ford (R) ▌6. Donald Hayworth (D) ▌7. Jesse P. Wolcott (R) ▌8. Alvin Morell Bentley (R) ▌9. Ruth Thompson (R) ▌10. Elford Albin Cederberg (R) ▌11. Victor A. Knox (R) ▌12. John B. Bennett (R) ▌13. Charles Diggs (D) ▌14. Louis C. Rabaut (D) ▌15. John D. Dingell Sr. (D), until September 19, 1955 ▌John D. Dingell Jr. (D), from December 13, 1955 ▌16. John Lesinski Jr. (D) ▌17. Martha Griffiths (D) ▌18. George A. Dondero (R) Minnesota ▌1. August H. Andresen (R) ▌2. Joseph P. O'Hara (R) ▌3. Roy Wier (DFL)[a] ▌4. Eugene McCarthy (DFL)[a] ▌5. Walter Judd (R) ▌6. Fred Marshall (DFL)[a] ▌7. Herman Carl Andersen (R) ▌8. John Blatnik (DFL)[a] ▌9. Coya Knutson (DFL)[a] Mississippi ▌1. Thomas Abernethy (D) ▌2. Jamie L. Whitten (D) ▌3. Frank Ellis Smith (D) ▌4. John Bell Williams (D) ▌5. W. Arthur Winstead (D) ▌6. William M. Colmer (D) Missouri ▌1. Frank M. Karsten (D) ▌2. Thomas B. Curtis (R) ▌3. Leonor Sullivan (D) ▌4. George H. Christopher (D) ▌5. Richard Walker Bolling (D) ▌6. William Raleigh Hull Jr. (D) ▌7. Dewey Short (R) ▌8. A. S. J. Carnahan (D) ▌9. Clarence Cannon (D) ▌10. Paul C. Jones (D) ▌11. Morgan M. Moulder (D) Montana ▌1. Lee Metcalf (D) ▌2. Orvin B. Fjare (R) Nebraska ▌1. Phillip Hart Weaver (R) ▌2. Jackson B. Chase (R) ▌3. Robert Dinsmore Harrison (R) ▌4. Arthur L. Miller (R) Nevada ▌At-large. Clarence Clifton Young (R)

New Hampshire ▌1. Chester Earl Merrow (R) ▌2. Perkins Bass (R) New Jersey ▌1. Charles A. Wolverton (R) ▌2. T. Millet Hand (R), until December 26, 1956 ▌3. James C. Auchincloss (R) ▌4. Frank Thompson (D) ▌5. Peter Frelinghuysen Jr. (R) ▌6. Harrison A. Williams (D) ▌7. William B. Widnall (R) ▌8. Gordon Canfield (R) ▌9. Frank C. Osmers Jr. (R) ▌10. Peter W. Rodino (D) ▌11. Hugh Joseph Addonizio (D) ▌12. Robert Kean (R) ▌13. Alfred Dennis Sieminski (D) ▌14. T. James Tumulty (D) New Mexico Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. ▌At-large. Antonio M. Fernández (D), until November 7, 1956 ▌At-large. John J. Dempsey (D) New York ▌1. Stuyvesant Wainwright (R) ▌2. Steven Derounian (R) ▌3. Frank J. Becker (R) ▌4. Henry J. Latham (R) ▌5. Albert H. Bosch (R) ▌6. Lester Holtzman (D) ▌7. James J. Delaney (D) ▌8. Victor Anfuso (D) ▌9. Eugene James Keogh (D) ▌10. Edna F. Kelly (D) ▌11. Emanuel Celler (D) ▌12. Francis E. Dorn (R) ▌13. Abraham J. Multer (D) ▌14. John J. Rooney (D) ▌15. John H. Ray (R) ▌16. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (D) ▌17. Frederic René Coudert Jr. (R) ▌18. James G. Donovan (D) ▌19. Arthur George Klein (D), until December 31, 1956 ▌20. Irwin D. Davidson (D-L), until December 31, 1956 ▌21. Herbert Zelenko (D) ▌22. Sidney A. Fine (D), until January 2, 1956 ▌James C. Healey (D), from February 7, 1956 ▌23. Isidore Dollinger (D) ▌24. Charles A. Buckley (D) ▌25. Paul A. Fino (R) ▌26. Ralph A. Gamble (R) ▌27. Ralph W. Gwinn (R) ▌28. Katharine St. George (R) ▌29. J. Ernest Wharton (R) ▌30. Leo W. O'Brien (D) ▌31. Dean P. Taylor (R) ▌32. Bernard W. Kearney (R) ▌33. Clarence E. Kilburn (R) ▌34. William R. Williams (R) ▌35. R. Walter Riehlman (R) ▌36. John Taber (R) ▌37. W. Sterling Cole (R) ▌38. Kenneth Keating (R) ▌39. Harold C. Ostertag (R) ▌40. William E. Miller (R) ▌41. Edmund P. Radwan (R) ▌42. John R. Pillion (R) ▌43. Daniel A. Reed (R) North Carolina ▌1. Herbert Covington Bonner (D) ▌2. Lawrence H. Fountain (D) ▌3. Graham A. Barden (D) ▌4. Harold D. Cooley (D) ▌5. Richard Thurmond Chatham (D) ▌6. Carl T. Durham (D) ▌7. Frank Ertel Carlyle (D) ▌8. Charles B. Deane (D) ▌9. Hugh Quincy Alexander (D) ▌10. Charles R. Jonas (R) ▌11. Woodrow W. Jones (D) ▌12. George A. Shuford (D) North Dakota Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. ▌At-large. Usher L. Burdick (R-NPL) ▌At-large. Otto Krueger (R) Ohio ▌1. Gordon H. Scherer (R) ▌2. William E. Hess (R) ▌3. Paul F. Schenck (R) ▌4. William Moore McCulloch (R) ▌5. Cliff Clevenger (R) ▌6. James G. Polk (D) ▌7. Clarence J. Brown (R) ▌8. Jackson Edward Betts (R) ▌9. Thomas L. Ashley (D) ▌10. Thomas A. Jenkins (R) ▌11. Oliver P. Bolton (R) ▌12. John M. Vorys (R) ▌13. Albert David Baumhart Jr. (R) ▌14. William Hanes Ayres (R) ▌15. John E. Henderson (R) ▌16. Frank T. Bow (R) ▌17. J. Harry McGregor (R) ▌18. Wayne Hays (D) ▌19. Michael J. Kirwan (D) ▌20. Michael A. Feighan (D) ▌21. Charles Vanik (D) ▌22. Frances P. Bolton (R) ▌23. William Edwin Minshall Jr. (R) Oklahoma ▌1. Page Belcher (R) ▌2. Ed Edmondson (D) ▌3. Carl Albert (D) ▌4. Tom Steed (D) ▌5. John Jarman (D) ▌6. Victor Wickersham (D) Oregon ▌1. A. Walter Norblad (R) ▌2. Sam Coon (R) ▌3. Edith Green (D) ▌4. Harris Ellsworth (R) Pennsylvania ▌1. William A. Barrett (D) ▌2. William T. Granahan (D), until May 25, 1956 ▌Kathryn E. Granahan (D), from November 6, 1956 ▌3. James A. Byrne (D) ▌4. Earl Chudoff (D) ▌5. William J. Green Jr. (D) ▌6. Hugh Scott (R) ▌7. Benjamin F. James (R) ▌8. Karl C. King (R) ▌9. Paul B. Dague (R) ▌10. Joseph L. Carrigg (R) ▌11. Dan Flood (D) ▌12. Ivor D. Fenton (R) ▌13. Samuel K. McConnell Jr. (R) ▌14. George M. Rhodes (D) ▌15. Francis E. Walter (D) ▌16. Walter M. Mumma (R) ▌17. Alvin Bush (R) ▌18. Richard M. Simpson (R) ▌19. James M. Quigley (D) ▌20. James E. Van Zandt (R) ▌21. Augustine B. Kelley (D) ▌22. John P. Saylor (R) ▌23. Leon H. Gavin (R) ▌24. Carroll D. Kearns (R) ▌25. Frank M. Clark (D) ▌26. Thomas E. Morgan (D) ▌27. James G. Fulton (R) ▌28. Herman P. Eberharter (D) ▌29. Robert J. Corbett (R) ▌30. Vera Buchanan (D), until November 26, 1955 ▌Elmer J. Holland (D), from January 24, 1956 Rhode Island ▌1. Aime Forand (D) ▌2. John E. Fogarty (D) South Carolina ▌1. L. Mendel Rivers (D) ▌2. John J. Riley (D) ▌3. William Jennings Bryan Dorn (D) ▌4. Robert T. Ashmore (D) ▌5. James P. Richards (D) ▌6. John L. McMillan (D) South Dakota ▌1. Harold Lovre (R) ▌2. Ellis Yarnal Berry (R) Tennessee ▌1. B. Carroll Reece (R) ▌2. Howard Baker Sr. (R) ▌3. James B. Frazier Jr. (D) ▌4. Joe L. Evins (D) ▌5. Percy Priest (D), until October 12, 1956 ▌6. Ross Bass (D) ▌7. Tom J. Murray (D) ▌8. Jere Cooper (D) ▌9. Clifford Davis (D) Texas ▌1. Wright Patman (D) ▌2. Jack Brooks (D) ▌3. Brady P. Gentry (D) ▌4. Sam Rayburn (D) ▌5. Bruce Alger (R) ▌6. Olin E. Teague (D) ▌7. John Dowdy (D) ▌8. Albert Thomas (D) ▌9. Clark W. Thompson (D) ▌10. Homer Thornberry (D) ▌11. William R. Poage (D) ▌12. Jim Wright (D) ▌13. Frank N. Ikard (D) ▌14. John J. Bell (D) ▌15. Joe M. Kilgore (D) ▌16. J. T. Rutherford (D) ▌17. Omar Burleson (D) ▌18. Walter E. Rogers (D) ▌19. George H. Mahon (D) ▌20. Paul J. Kilday (D) ▌21. O. C. Fisher (D) ▌At-large. Martin Dies Jr. (D) Utah ▌1. Henry Aldous Dixon (R) ▌2. William A. Dawson (R) Vermont ▌At-large. Winston L. Prouty (R) Virginia ▌1. Edward J. Robeson Jr. (D) ▌2. Porter Hardy Jr. (D) ▌3. J. Vaughan Gary (D) ▌4. Watkins Moorman Abbitt (D) ▌5. William M. Tuck (D) ▌6. Richard Harding Poff (R) ▌7. Burr Harrison (D) ▌8. Howard W. Smith (D) ▌9. W. Pat Jennings (D) ▌10. Joel Broyhill (R) Washington ▌1. Thomas Pelly (R) ▌2. Jack Westland (R) ▌3. Russell V. Mack (R) ▌4. Hal Holmes (R) ▌5. Walt Horan (R) ▌6. Thor C. Tollefson (R) ▌At-large. Donald H. Magnuson (D) West Virginia ▌1. Bob Mollohan (D) ▌2. Harley Orrin Staggers (D) ▌3. Cleveland M. Bailey (D) ▌4. Maurice G. Burnside (D) ▌5. Elizabeth Kee (D) ▌6. Robert Byrd (D) Wisconsin ▌1. Lawrence H. Smith (R) ▌2. Glenn Robert Davis (R) ▌3. Gardner R. Withrow (R) ▌4. Clement J. Zablocki (D) ▌5. Henry S. Reuss (D) ▌6. William Van Pelt (R) ▌7. Melvin Laird (R) ▌8. John W. Byrnes (R) ▌9. Lester Johnson (D) ▌10. Alvin O'Konski (R) Wyoming ▌At-large. Edwin Keith Thomson (R) Non-voting members ▌Alaska Territory. Bob Bartlett (D) ▌Hawaii Territory. Mary Elizabeth Pruett Farrington (R) ▌Puerto Rico. Antonio Fernós-Isern (PPD)

House seats by party holding plurality in state   80+% to 100% Democratic   80+% to 100% Republican   60+% to 80% Democratic   60+% to 80% Republican   Up to 60% Democratic   Up to 60% Republican House Majority Leader John W. McCormack (D) House Majority Whip Leverett Saltonstall (D) House Minority Leader Joseph W. Martin Jr. (R) House Minority Whip Leslie C. Arends (R)

Changes in membership

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

Senate

• Replacements: 3
  • Democratic: 1 net loss
  • Independent Democratic: 1 net loss
  • Republican: 2 net gain
• Deaths: 2
• Resignations: 1
• Interim appointments: 3
• Total seats with changes: 3

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[b]
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
  • Democratic: no net change
  • Republican: no net change
• Deaths: 9
• Resignations: 3
• Total seats with changes: 12

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[b]
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

• Agriculture and Forestry (Chairman: Allen J. Ellender; Ranking Member: George D. Aiken)
• Appropriations (Chairman: Carl Hayden; Ranking Member: Styles Bridges)
• Armed Services (Chairman: Richard B. Russell; Ranking Member: Styles Bridges)
• Banking and Currency (Chairman: J. William Fulbright; Ranking Member: Homer Capehart)
• Contribution Investigation (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Matthew M. Neely; Ranking Member: J. Glenn Beall)
• Finance (Chairman: Harry F. Byrd; Ranking Member: Eugene D. Millikin)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: Walter F. George; Ranking Member: Alexander Wiley)
• Foreign Aid Program (Special)
• Government Operations (Chairman: John Little McClellan; Ranking Member: Joseph McCarthy)
• Interior and Insular Affairs (Chairman: James E. Murray; Ranking Member: Eugene D. Millikin)
• Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: Warren G. Magnuson; Ranking Member: John W. Bricker)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Harley M. Kilgore; Ranking Member: Alexander Wiley)
• Labor and Public Welfare (Chairman: J. Lister Hill; Ranking Member: H. Alexander Smith)
• Political Activities, Lobbying and Campaign Contributions (Special)
• Post Office and Civil Service (Chairman: Olin D. Johnston; Ranking Member: Frank Carlson)
• Public Works (Chairman: Dennis Chavez; Ranking Member: Edward Martin)
• Rules and Administration (Chairman: Theodore F. Green; Ranking Member: William E. Jenner)
• Senate Reception Room (Special) (Chairman: [data missing]; Ranking Member: [data missing])
• Small Business (Select) (Chairman: John J. Sparkman)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Agriculture (Chairman: Harold D. Cooley; Ranking Member: Clifford R. Hope)
• Appropriations (Chairman: Clarence Cannon; Ranking Member: John Taber)
• Armed Services (Chairman: Carl Vinson; Ranking Member: Dewey J. Short)
• Banking and Currency (Chairman: Brent Spence; Ranking Member: Jesse P. Wolcott)
• Benefits for Dependents of Armed Services Veterans (Select) (Chairman: Porter Hardy Jr.)
• Defense Production (Chairman: [data missing]; Ranking Member: [data missing])
• District of Columbia (Chairman: John L. McMillan; Ranking Member: Sid Simpson)
• Education and Labor (Chairman: Graham A. Barden; Ranking Member: Samuel K. McConnell Jr.)
• Foreign Affairs (Chairman: James P. Richards; Ranking Member: Robert B. Chiperfield)
• Government Operations (Chairman: William L. Dawson; Ranking Member: Clare E. Hoffman)
• House Administration (Chairman: Omar Burleson; Ranking Member: Karl M. LeCompte)
• Investigate the Incorporation of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R. (Select) (Chairman: [data missing]; Ranking Member: [data missing])
• Interior and Insular Affairs (Chairman: Clair Engle; Ranking Member: A.L. Miller)
• Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: J. Percy Priest; Ranking Member: Charles A. Wolverton)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Emanuel Celler; Ranking Member: Chauncey W. Reed then Kenneth B. Keating)
• Merchant Marine and Fisheries (Chairman: Herbert C. Bonner; Ranking Member: Thor C. Tollefson)
• Post Office and Civil Service (Chairman: Tom J. Murray; Ranking Member: Edward H. Rees)
• Public Works (Chairman: Charles A. Buckley; Ranking Member: George A. Dondero)
• Rules (Chairman: Howard W. Smith; Ranking Member: Leo E. Allen)
• Small Business (Select) (Chairman: Wright Patman)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Un-American Activities (Chairman: Francis E. Walter; Ranking Member: Harold H. Velde)
• Veterans' Affairs (Chairman: Olin E. Teague; Ranking Member: Edith Nourse Rogers)
• Ways and Means (Chairman: Jere Cooper; Ranking Member: Daniel A. Reed)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Atomic Energy (Chairman: Sen. Clinton P. Anderson; Vice Chairman: Rep. Carl T. Durham)
• 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 (Chairman: Sen. Arthur V. Watkins)
• Legislative Budget
• The Library (Chairman: Omar Burleson; Vice Chairman: Theodore F. Green)
• Navajo-Hopi Indian Administration
• Printing (Chairman: Sen. Carl Hayden; Vice Chairman: Rep. Omar Burleson)
• Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures (Chairman: Sen. Harry F. Byrd; Vice Chairman: Rep. Daniel A. Reed)
• Taxation (Chairman: Rep. Jere Cooper; Vice Chairman: Sen. Paul H. Douglas)

Employees

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
• Librarian: Richard D. Hupman
• Secretary for the Majority: Robert G. Baker
• Secretary for the Minority: J. Mark Trice
• Sergeant at Arms: Joseph C. Duke

House of Representatives

• Clerk: Ralph R. Roberts
• Sergeant at Arms: Zeake W. Johnson Jr.
• Doorkeeper: William Mosley "Fishbait" Miller
• Postmaster: H. H. Morris
• Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
• Reading Clerks: George J. Maurer (D) and Alney E. Chaffee (R)
• Chaplain: Bernard Braskamp (Presbyterian)

See also

• 1954 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
  • 1954 United States Senate elections
  • 1954 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1956 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • 1956 United States presidential election
  • 1956 United States Senate elections
  • 1956 United States House of Representatives elections

Notes

1. The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) and the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party (D-NPL) are the Minnesota and North Dakota affiliates of the U.S. Democratic Party and are counted as Democrats.
2. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.