89th United States Congress

The 89th 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, 1965, to January 3, 1967, during the second and third years of Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1960 United States census.

89th United States Congress
88th ←
→ 90th

January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967
Members100 senators
435 representatives
Senate majorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentVacant
(until January 20, 1965)
Hubert Humphrey (D)
(from January 20, 1965)
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerJohn W. McCormack (D)
Sessions
1st: January 4, 1965 – October 23, 1965
2nd: January 10, 1966 – October 22, 1966

Both chambers had a Democratic supermajority, and with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson to his own term in office, maintaining an overall federal government trifecta. This is the last time Democrats or any party had a 2/3rd supermajority in the Senate.

The 89th Congress is regarded as "arguably the most productive in American history".[1] Some of its landmark legislation includes Social Security Amendments of 1965 (the creation of Medicare and Medicaid), the Voting Rights Act, Higher Education Act, Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Freedom of Information Act.

Major events

Major legislation

October 3, 1965: President Johnson visited the Statue of Liberty to sign the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.
The first page of the Voting Rights Act.

Constitutional amendments

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.

Senate

Party
(shading shows control)
TotalVacant
Democratic
(D)
Republican
(R)
End of previous congress66341000
Begin6832100 0
End 66 33 991
Final voting share 66.7% 33.3%
Beginning of next congress6435991

House of Representatives

House seats by party holding plurality in state
  80+% Democratic
  80+% Republican
  60+% to 80% Democratic
  60+% to 80% Republican
  Up to 60% Democratic
  Up to 60% Republican
Party
(shading shows control)
TotalVacant
Democratic
(D)
Republican
(R)
End of previous congress2531774305
Begin295140435 0
End 288 137 42510
Final voting share 67.8% 32.2%
Beginning of next congress2481874350

Leadership

House Republicans showing their approval for newly elected House Minority Leader Representative Gerald R. Ford as Senate Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen raises his hand.

Senate

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

House of Representatives

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Caucuses

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and representatives are listed by district.

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 this Congress, requiring reelection in 1970; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1966; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1968.

House of Representatives

Names of members are preceded by their district numbers.

Changes in membership

Senate

Senate changes
State
(class)
Vacated byReason for changeSuccessorDate of successor's
formal installation[a]
South Carolina
(3)
Olin D. Johnston (D)Died April 18, 1965.
Successor appointed April 22, 1965 to continue the term.
Donald S. Russell (D)April 22, 1965
Virginia
(1)
Harry F. Byrd (D)Resigned November 10, 1965.
Successor appointed November 12, 1965 to continue his father's term.
Harry F. Byrd Jr. (D)November 12, 1965
Michigan
(2)
Patrick V. McNamara (D)Died April 30, 1966.
Successor appointed May 11, 1966 to finish the term.
Robert P. Griffin (R)May 11, 1966
South Carolina
(3)
Donald S. Russell (D)Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term.
Successor elected November 8, 1966.
Fritz Hollings (D)November 9, 1966
Virginia
(2)
Absalom Willis Robertson (D)Resigned December 30, 1966, having lost renomination.
Successor appointed to finish the term, having already been elected to the next term.
William B. Spong Jr. (D)December 31, 1966
Tennessee
(2)
Ross Bass (D)Resigned January 2, 1967, having lost renomination.
Seat remained vacant until the end of the term (the next day).
VacantNot filled this term

House of Representatives

  • Replacements: 9
  • Deaths: 5
  • Resignations: 15
  • Total seats with changes: 20
House changes
DistrictVacated byReason for changeSuccessorDate of successor's
formal installation[a]
South Carolina 2ndAlbert Watson (D)Resigned February 1, 1965, after being stripped of seniority by the House Democratic Caucus for supporting Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Was re-elected as a Republican in a special election to replace himself.Albert Watson (R)June 15, 1965
Louisiana 7thT. Ashton Thompson (D)Died July 1, 1965Edwin Edwards (D)October 2, 1965
Ohio 7thClarence J. Brown (R)Died August 23, 1965Bud Brown (R)November 2, 1965
California 26thJames Roosevelt (D)Resigned September 30, 1965, to become the US Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social CouncilThomas M. Rees (D)December 15, 1965
North Carolina 1stHerbert Covington Bonner (D)Died November 7, 1965Walter B. Jones Sr. (D)February 5, 1966
New York 17thJohn Lindsay (R)Resigned December 31, 1965, after being elected Mayor of New York CityTheodore R. Kupferman (R)February 8, 1966
Arkansas 4thOren Harris (D)Resigned February 3, 1966, to become judge of the US Court of the Eastern and Western Districts of ArkansasDavid Pryor (D)November 8, 1966
Texas 8thAlbert Thomas (D)Died February 15, 1966Lera Millard Thomas (D)March 26, 1966
California 14thJohn F. Baldwin Jr. (R)Died March 9, 1966Jerome Waldie (D)June 7, 1966
Michigan 9thRobert P. Griffin (R)Resigned May 10, 1966, after being appointed to the U.S. SenateGuy Vander Jagt (R)November 8, 1966
Alaska at-largeRalph Julian Rivers (D)Resigned December 30, 1966VacantNot filled this term
Indiana 8thWinfield K. Denton (D)Resigned December 30, 1966
Indiana 10thRalph Harvey (R)Resigned December 30, 1966
New York 29thLeo W. O'Brien (D)Resigned December 30, 1966
North Carolina 4thHarold D. Cooley (D)Resigned December 30, 1966
Ohio 15thRobert T. Secrest (D)Resigned December 30, 1966
Pennsylvania 9thPaul B. Dague (R)Resigned December 30, 1966
Pennsylvania 16thJohn C. Kunkel (R)Resigned December 30, 1966
Tennessee 7thTom J. Murray (D)Resigned December 30, 1966
Texas 9thClark W. Thompson (D)Resigned December 30, 1966

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

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

Footnotes

  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

See also

Notes

References

External links