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71st United States Congress
1929–1931 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislature of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1929, to March 4, 1931, during the first two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census.
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Both the House and Senate remained under Republican control, with increased majorities in each chamber. And with Herbert Hoover being sworn in as president on March 4, 1929, the Republicans maintained an overall federal government trifecta.[1][2]
The 71st Congress also featured the most special elections of any Congress with 27 in all.
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Major events
- March 4, 1929: Herbert C. Hoover became President of the United States
- October 24, 1929 – October 29, 1929: Wall Street Crash of 1929: Three multi-digit percentage drops wipe out more than $30 billion from the New York Stock Exchange (3 times greater than the annual budget of the federal government).
- October 25, 1929: Former U.S. Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall is convicted of bribery for his role in the Teapot Dome scandal, becoming the first Presidential cabinet member to go to prison for actions in office.
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Major legislation
- June 15, 1929: Agriculture Marketing Act, ch. 24, 46 Stat. 11
- June 18, 1929: Reapportionment Act of 1929, ch. 28, 46 Stat. 21
- May 14, 1930: Federal Bureau of Prisons Act, ch. 274, 46 Stat. 325
- June 17, 1930: Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, ch. 497, 46 Stat. 590, (including: Title III, Plant Patent Act, 46 Stat. 703)
- July 3, 1930: Veterans Administration Act, ch. 863, 46 Stat. 1016
- March 3, 1931: Davis–Bacon Act, ch. 411, 46 Stat. 1494
- March 3, 1931: An Act To make The Star-Spangled Banner the national anthem of the United States of America, ch. 436, 46 Stat. 1508
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Party summary
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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
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate

Charles Curtis

George H. Moses
- President: Charles Curtis (R)
- President pro tempore: George H. Moses (R)
- Majority leader: James E. Watson (R)
- Minority leader: Joseph T. Robinson (D)
- Majority whip: Simeon D. Fess (R)
- Minority whip: Morris Sheppard (D)
- Republican Conference Secretary: Frederick Hale
- Democratic Caucus Secretary: Hugo Black
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Nicholas Longworth (R)
- Majority leader: John Q. Tilson (R)
- Minority leader: John N. Garner (D)
- Majority Whip: Albert Henry Vestal (R)
- Minority Whip: John McDuffie (D)
- Republican Conference Chair: Willis C. Hawley
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: David Hayes Kincheloe
- Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Byrns Sr.
- Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: William R. Wood
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Members
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This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and representatives are listed by district.
Senate
Senators were elected 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 1934; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1930; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1932.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their districts.
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Changes in membership
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The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
- Replacements: 15
- Democratic: 3-seat net gain
- Republican: 1-seat net loss
- Deaths: 5
- Resignations: 3
- Interim appointments: 6
- Total seats with changes: 9
House of Representatives
- Replacements: 27
- Democratic: 4 seat net gain
- Republican: 3 seat net loss
- Deaths: 25
- Resignations: 6
- Contested election: 1
- Total seats with changes: 32
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Committees
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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
- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
- The Library (Chairman: Sen. Simeon D. Fess)
- Printing (Chairman: Sen. George H. Moses then Duncan U. Fletcher; Vice Chairman: Rep. Edgar R. Kiess)
- Taxation (Chairman: Rep. Willis C. Hawley)
- Veterans' Affairs
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Caucuses
- Democratic (House)
- Democratic (Senate)
Officers
Legislative branch agency directors
Senate
- Secretary: Edwin P. Thayer
- Sergeant at Arms: David S. Barry
- Librarian: Edward C. Goodwin
- Chaplain: ZeBarney T. Phillips (Episcopalian)
- Democratic Party Secretary: Edwin A. Halsey, from 1929
- Republican Party Secretary: Carl A. Loeffler, from 1929
House of Representatives
- Clerk: William T. Page
- Sergeant at Arms: Joseph G. Rodgers
- Doorkeeper: Bert W. Kennedy
- Postmaster: Frank W. Collier
- Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
- Reading Clerks: Patrick Joseph Haltigan (D) and Alney E. Chaffee (R)
- Chaplain: James S. Montgomery (Methodist)
See also
- 1928 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1930 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
Notes
References
External links
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