1943–1945 U.S. Congress
The 78th 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, 1943, to January 3, 1945, during the last two years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1940 United States census.
Both chambers had a Democratic majority - albeit greatly reduced from the 77th Congress, with the Democrats losing their supermajority in the House and Senate. Along with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democrats maintained an overall federal government trifecta.[1]
Major events
Major legislation
- December 17, 1943: Magnuson Act (Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943), Sess. 1, ch. 344, 57 Stat. 600
- February 3, 1944: Mustering-out Payment Act, Sess. 2, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 78–225, 58 Stat. 8
- June 6, 1944: Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill), Sess. 2, ch. 268, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 78–345, 58 Stat. 284
- June 27, 1944: Veterans' Preference Act, Sess. 2, ch. 287, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 78–359, 58 Stat. 387
- July 1, 1944: Public Health Service Act, Sess. 2, ch. 373, 58 Stat. 682
- December 22, 1944: Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act, Sess. 2, ch. 665, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 78–534, 58 Stat. 887
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Leaders
Section contents: Senate: Majority (D), Minority (R) • House: Majority (D), Minority (R)
Senate
Majority (Democratic) leadership
Minority (Republican) leadership
- Minority Leader: Charles L. McNary, until February 25, 1944
- Minority whip: No Republican whips were appointed from 1935 to 1944 since only 17 Republicans were in the Senate following the landslide reelection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Accordingly, the minutes of the Republican Conference for the period state: "On motion of Senator Hastings, duly seconded and carried, it was agreed that no Assistant Leader or Whip be elected but that the chairman be authorized to appoint Senators from time to time to assist him in taking charge of the interests of the minority." A note attached to the conference minutes added: "The chairman of the conference, Senator McNary, apparently appointed Senator Austin of Vermont as assistant leader in 1943 and 1944, until the conference adopted Rules of Organization."[2]
- Republican Conference Secretary: Wallace H. White Jr., until February 25, 1944
- National Senatorial Committee Chair: John G. Townsend Jr.
House of Representatives
Majority (Democratic) leadership
Minority (Republican) leadership
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, In this Congress, Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1944; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1946; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1948.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Changes in membership
Senate
House of Representatives
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
Caucuses
Employees
Legislative branch agency directors
Senate
House of Representatives
See also
Notes
- ^ a b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.
References
- ^ Riddick, Floyd M. (1945). "The Second Session of the Seventy-eighth Congress". American Political Science Review. 39 (2): 317–336. doi:10.2307/1949189. ISSN 0003-0554.
- ^ "Party Whips". Senate.gov. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010.
- House of Representatives Session Calendar for the 78th Congress (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 78th Congress, 1st Session.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 78th Congress, 1st Session (Revision).
- Official Congressional Directory for the 78th Congress, 2nd Session.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 78th Congress, 2nd Session (Revision).