83rd United States Congress

All you want to know about 83rd United States Congress

United States Capitol (1956)

The 'Eighty-third 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, DC from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1955, during the first two years of the first administration of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower.

1 Dates of sessions
2 Major events
3 Major legislation
- 3.1 Key Votes
  - 3.1.1 Senate
  - 3.1.2 House of Representatives
4 Party summary
- 4.1 Senate
- 4.2 House of Representatives
5 Officers
- 5.1 Senate
  - 5.1.1 Majority (Republican) leadership
  - 5.1.2 Minority (Democratic) leadership
- 5.2 House of Representatives
6 Members
- 6.1 Senate
- 6.2 House of Representatives
7 Employees
- 7.1 Senate
- 7.2 House of Representatives

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Seventeenth Census of the United States in 1950. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

Dates of sessions

January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955

First session: January 3, 1953 – August 3, 1953
Second session: January 6, 1954 – December 2, 1954

Previous: 82nd Congress • Next: 84th Congress

Major events

Further information: Events of 1953, Events of 1954

January 20, 1953: Dwight Eisenhower became President of the United States
March 11, 1954: U.S. Capitol shooting incident

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation#83rd United States Congress

1953-07-03 — Small Business Act, Pub.L. 83-163, ch. 282, 67 Stat. 232
1953-08-07 — Refugee Relief Act, Pub.L. 83-203
1953-08-07 — Submerged Lands Act, ch. 345, 67 Stat. 462
1953-08-14 — Public Law 280, Pub.L. 83-280, 18 U.S.C. § 1162
1953 -- Emergency Migration Act of 1953
1954-05-13 — Saint Lawrence Seaway Act, ch. 201, 68 Stat. 92
1954-08-12 — Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act, ch. 649, title II, §201, 68 Stat. 612
1954-08-13 — Multiple Mineral Development Act, ch. 730, 68 Stat. 708
1954-08-16 — Internal Revenue Code of 1954, Pub.L. 83-591, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 3
- Federal Unemployment Tax Act, §1(d), 68A Stat. 439
- National Firearms Act, §1(d), 68A Stat. 721
1954-08-24 — Communist Control Act of 1954, ch. 886, 68 Stat. 775
1954 -- Agricultural Act of 1954
1954 -- Atomic Energy Act of 1954
1954 -- Water Facilities Act of 1954

Key Votes

Senate

Legislation	Party	Yea	Nay
Formosa Policy	Democrats	12	32
Jan 28, 1955	Republicans	1	42
(rejected)		13	74
China Mutual Defense Treaty	Democrats	9	33
Feb 9, 1955	Republicans	1	27
(rejected)		10	60
Raising Congressional Salaries	Democrats	30	13
Feb 23, 1955	Republicans	32	11
(passed)		62	24

House of Representatives

Legislation	Party	Yea	Nay
Raising Congressional Salaries	Democrats	166	59
Feb 16, 1955	Republicans	117	59
(passed)		283	118
Reciprical Trade Extension	Democrats	80	140
Feb 18, 1955	Republicans	119	66
(rejected)		199	206
Reciprical Trade Extension	Democrats	186	35
Feb 18, 1955	Republicans	109	75
(passed)		295	110
Taxation	Democrats	16	205
Feb 25, 1955	Republicans	189	5
(rejected)		205	210

Party summary

Senate

48 Republicans, 47 Democrats, 1 Independent

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (June 2008)

House of Representatives

221 Republicans, 213 Democrats, 1 Independent

Total Membership: 435 Representatives, 2 Delegates, 1 Resident Commissioner

Officers

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.

See also: Category: United States Senators

See also: Category: United States Congressional Delegations by state