Dates of sessions
January 3 1955 – January 3 1957
Previous: 83rd Congress • Next: 85th Congress
Major events
Major legislation
- 1955-08-12 — Poliomyelitis Vaccination Assistance Act, , ch. 863,
- 1954-08-13 — Multiple Surface Use Mining Act ch. 730,
- 1955 — National Housing Act
- 1956 — Health Research Facilities Act,
- 1956 — Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, (National Interstate and Defense Highways Act),
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
- Democratic (D): 47 (majority)
- Republican (R): 47
- Independent Democratic (ID): 1
- Independent (I): 1
TOTAL: 96
House of Representatives
- Democratic (D): 232 (majority)
- Republican (R): 203
TOTAL: 435
Leadership
Senate
- President of the Senate: Richard Nixon, Republican of California
- President pro tempore: Walter F. George, Democratic of Georgia
- Majority Leader: Lyndon Johnson of Texas
- Minority Leader: William F. Knowland of California
- Democratic Whip: Earle C. Clements of Kentucky
- Republican Whip: Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Sam Rayburn, Democratic of Texas
- Majority Leader: John W. McCormack of Massachusetts
- Minority Leader: John W. Martin of Massachusetts
- Democratic Whip: Carl Albert of Oklahoma
- Republican Whip: Leslie C. Arends of Illinois
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: John J. Rooney of New York
- Republican Conference Chairman: Clifford R. Hope of Kansas
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 the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1958; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1960; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1956.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide on the general ticket or otherwise at-large, are preceded by an "A/L," and the names of those elected from districts are preceded by their district numbers.Many of the congressional district numbers are linked to articles describing the district itself. Since the boundaries of the districts have changed often and substantially, the linked article may only describe the district as it exists today, and not as it was at the time of this Congress.