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77th United States Congress
1941–1943 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 77th 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, 1941, to January 3, 1943, during the ninth and tenth years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1930 United States census.
Both chambers maintained a Democratic majority - with the Senate being a supermajority. With the reelection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a then record third term, the Democrats maintained an overall federal government trifecta.
This was the first Congress to have more than one Senate president (John Garner and Henry Wallace) due to the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1933.



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Major events
- January 20, 1941: President Franklin D. Roosevelt began his third term.
- December 7, 1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor
- December 8, 1941: Joint Session of Congress met to hear President Roosevelt deliver his "Day of Infamy" speech
- December 26, 1941: Joint session of the United States Congress met in the Senate chamber for an address by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
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Major legislation and resolutions
- March 11, 1941: Lend Lease Act, Pub. L. 77–11, Sess. 1, ch. 11, 55 Stat. 31
- August 18, 1941: Flood Control Act of 1941, Pub. L. 77–228, Sess. 1, ch. 377, 55 Stat. 638
- December 8, 1941: Resolution— War between United States and Japan, Pub. L. 77–328, Sess. 1, ch. 561, 55 Stat. 795
- December 11, 1941: Resolution— War between United States and Germany, Pub. L. 77–331, Sess. 1, ch. 564, 55 Stat. 796
- December 11, 1941: Resolution— War between United States and Italy, Pub. L. 77–332, Sess. 1, ch. 565, 55 Stat. 797
- January 27, 1942: Air Raid Attack Act of 1942, Pub. L. 77–415, Sess. 2, ch. 20, 56 Stat. 19
- January 30, 1942: Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, Pub. L. 77–421, Sess. 2, ch. 26, 56 Stat. 23
- June 5, 1942: Resolution— War between United States and Bulgaria, Pub. L. 77–563, Sess. 2, ch. 323, 56 Stat. 307
- June 5, 1942: Resolution— War between United States and Hungary, Pub. L. 77–564, Sess. 2, ch. 324, 56 Stat. 307
- June 5, 1942: Resolution— War between United States and Romania, Pub. L. 77–565, Sess. 2, ch. 325, 56 Stat. 307
- June 22, 1942: Resolution— United States Flag Code, including recognition of the Pledge of Allegiance, Pub. L. 77–623, Sess. 2, ch. 435, 56 Stat. 377
- October 2, 1942: Stabilization Act of 1942, Pub. L. 77–729, Sess. 2, ch. 578, 56 Stat. 765
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Select committees
Leadership
Senate
- President: John Nance Garner (D), until January 20, 1941
- Henry A. Wallace (D), from January 20, 1941
- President pro tempore: Pat Harrison (D), until June 22, 1941
- Carter Glass (D), from July 10, 1941
Majority (Democratic) leadership
Minority (Republican) leadership
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Sam Rayburn (D)
Majority (Democratic) leadership
Minority (Republican) leadership
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Party summary
Senate

2 Democrats
2 Republicans
1 Democrat and 1 Republican
1 Republican and 1 Independent
1 Republican and 1 Progressive
House of Representatives
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Members
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Senate
Senators are 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 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1942; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1944; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1946.
Currently, this is the last Congressional session in which the Democratic Party commanded all Senate seats from the South.
Currently, this is the second and last Congressional session in which Wyoming sent 3 democrats to Congress (senators Joesph C. O'Mahoney and Harry Schwartz, as well as representative at-large John J. McIntyre).
House of Representatives
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Changes in membership
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Perspective
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
Senate
House of Representatives
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Committees
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Perspective
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.
Joint committees
- United States Congress Joint Committee to Arrange the Inauguration for President-elect|Arrange the Inauguration for President-elect (Chairman: Sen. Matthew M. Neely)
- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- United States Congress Joint Committee on the Disposition of Executive Papers|Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
- United States Congress Joint Committee on the Eradication of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly|Eradication of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly
- Forestry (Chairman: Sen. John H. Bankhead II; Vice Chairman: Rep. Hampton P. Fulmer)
- United States Congress Joint Committee on Government Organization (Chairman: Sen. James F. Byrnes)
- The Library (Chairman: Sen. Alben W. Barkley)
- Printing (Chairman: Sen. Carl Hayden; Vice Chairman: Rep. Pete Jarman)
- United States Congress Joint Committee on Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures|Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures
- Taxation (Chairman: Sen. Pat Harrison then Rep. Robert L. Doughton; Vice Chairman: Sen. Walter F. George)
- United States Congress Joint Committee on to Investigate Phosphate Resource of the United States|To Investigate Phosphate Resource of the United States (Chairman: J. Hardin Peterson)
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Caucuses
- Democratic (House)
- Democratic (Senate)
Employees
Legislative branch agency directors
Senate
- Secretary: Edwin A. Halsey
- Librarian: Ruskin McArdle
- Secretary for the Majority: Leslie Biffle
- Secretary for the Minority: Carl A. Loeffler
- Sergeant at Arms: Chesley W. Jurney
- Parliamentarian: Charles Watkins
- Chaplain: ZeBarney Thorne Phillips (Episcopal), until May 1942
- Frederick Brown Harris (Methodist), after October 10, 1942
House of Representatives
- Clerk: South Trimble
- Sergeant at Arms: Kenneth Romney
- Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
- Reading Clerks: Roger M. Calloway (D) and Alney E. Chaffee (R)
- Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott
- Postmaster: Finis E. Scott
- Chaplain: James Shera Montgomery (Methodist)
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See also
- 1940 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1942 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
Notes
- U.S. Vice President John N. Garner's term as President of the Senate ended at noon January 20, 1941, when Henry A. Wallace's term began.
References
- House of Representatives Session Calendar for the 77th Congress (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 77th Congress, 1st Session.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 77th Congress, 1st Session (Revision).
- Official Congressional Directory for the 77th Congress, 2nd Session.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 77th Congress, 2nd Session (Revision).
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