81st United States Congress

United States Capitol (1956)

The Eighty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprised of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3 1949 to January 3 1951, during the first two years of the second administration of U.S. President Harry S. Truman.

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Sixteenth Census of the United States in 1940. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

Dates of sessions

January 3 1949 – January 3 1951

First session: January 3 1949 – October 19 1949
Second session: January 3 1950 – January 2 1951

Previous congress: 80th Congress
Next congress: 82nd Congress

Major events

Main article: Events of 1949; Events of 1950

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation in the 81st Congress

June 20, 1949 — Central Intelligence Agency Act, ch. 227, 63 Stat. 208, 50 U.S.C. § 403a
October 25, 1949 — Hospital Survey and Construction Amendments of 1949, ch. 722, Pub.L. 81-380, 63 Stat. 898
October 26, 1949 — Fair Labor Standards Amendment, ch. 736, Pub.L. 81-393, 63 Stat. 910, 29 U.S.C. § 201
May 10, 1950 — National Science Foundation Act, ch. 171, Pub.L. 81-507, 64 Stat. 149, 42 U.S.C. § 1861
September 23, 1950 — McCarran Internal Security Act, ch. 1024, 64 Stat. 987, 50 U.S.C. § 781
1950 — Public Health Services Act Amendments, Pub.L. 81-692
January 12, 1951 — Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, ch. 1228, 64 Stat. 1245, 50 App. U.S.C. App./2251.html § 2251

Party summary

Total Membership: 435 Representatives, 2 Delegates, 1 Resident Commissioner
Party Divisions: 263 Democrats, 171 Republicans, 1 American-Labor

Officers

Senate

President of the Senate:
vacant until January 20, 1949
Alben W. Barkely, beginning January 20, 1949

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House: Sam Rayburn (D-Texas)
Majority House Leader: John W. McCormack (D-Massachusetts)
Minority House Leader: Joseph W. Martin, Jr. (R-Massachusetts)
Democratic House Whip: J. Percy Priest (D-Tennessee)
Republican House Whip: Leslie C. Arends (R-Illinois)
Majority Senate Leader: Scott W. Lucas (D-Illinois)
Minority Senate Leader: Kenneth S. Wherry (R-Nebraska)
Democratic House Whip: Francis Myers (D-Pennsylvania)
Republican House Whip: Leverett Saltonstall (R-Massachusetts)
Democratic Caucus Chairman: Francis E. Walter (D-Pennsylvania)
Republican Conference Chairman: Roy O. Woodruff (R-Michigan)

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

Alabama

2. John J. Sparkman (Dem.)
3. Joseph Lister Hill (Dem.)

Arizona

1. Ernest W. McFarland (Dem.)
3. Carl Hayden (Dem.)

Arkansas

3. J. William Fulbright (Dem.)
2. John Little McClellan (Dem.)

California

1. William F. Knowland (Rep.)
3. Sheridan Downey (Dem.), resigned

3. Richard M. Nixon (Rep.), appointed to filled vacancy

Colorado

3. Eugene D. Millikin (Rep.)
2. Edwin Carl Johnson (Dem.)

Connecticut

3. Brien McMahon (Dem.)
1. Raymond E. Baldwin (Rep.), resigned

1. William Benton (Dem.), appointed to fill vacancy

Delaware

2. J. Allen Frear, Jr. (Dem.)
1. John J. Williams (Rep.)

Florida

1. Spessard Holland (Dem.)
3. Claude Denson Pepper (Dem.)

Georgia

2. Walter Franklin George (Dem.)
3. Richard Brevard Russell (Dem.)

Idaho

2. Bert H. Miller (Dem.), died October 8, 1949

2. Henry Dworshak (Rep.), appointed to fill vacancy

3. Glen H. Taylor (Dem.)

Illinois

3. Scott W. Lucas (Dem.)
2. Paul Douglas (Dem.)

Indiana

1. William E. Jenner (Rep.)
3. Homer E. Capehart (Rep.)

Iowa

3. Bourke B. Hickenlooper (Rep.)
2. Guy M. Gillette (Dem.)

Kansas

2. Andrew F. Schoeppel (Rep.)
3. Clyde M. Reed (Rep.), died November 8, 1949

3. Harry Darby (Rep.), appointed to fill vacancy

3. Frank Carlson (Rep.), elected to fill vacancy

Kentucky

3. Alben William Barkley (Dem.), resigned

3. Garrett L. Withers (Dem.), appointed to fill vacancy

3. Earle C. Clements (Dem.), elected to fill vacancy

2. Virgil Chapman (Dem.)

Louisiana

2. Allen Joseph Ellender (Dem.)
3. Russell B. Long (Dem.)

Maine

1. Ralph Owen Brewster (Rep.)
2. Margaret Chase Smith (Rep.)

Maryland

1. Herbert O'Conor (Dem.)
3. Millard Evelyn Tydings (Dem.)

Massachusetts

2. Leverett Saltonstall (Rep.)
1. Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (Rep.)

Michigan

2. Homer Ferguson (Rep.)
1. Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg (Rep.)

Minnesota

2. Hubert Humphrey (DFL)
1. Edward John Thye (Rep.)

Mississippi

1. John C. Stennis (Dem.)
2. James O. Eastland (Dem.)

Missouri

3. Forrest C. Donnell (Rep.)
1. James P. Kem (Rep.)

Montana

2. James Edward Murray (Dem.)
1. Zales N. Ecton (Rep.)

Nebraska

1. Hugh A. Butler (Rep.)
2. Kenneth S. Wherry (Rep.)

Nevada

3. Patrick Anthony Mccarran (Dem.)
1. George W. Malone (Rep.)

New Hampshire

2. Styles Bridges (Rep.)
3. Charles W. Tobey (Rep.)

New Jersey

1. H. Alexander Smith (Rep.)
2. Robert C. Hendrickson (Rep.)

New Mexico

1. Dennis Wyatt Chavez (Dem.)
2. Clinton Presba Anderson (Dem.)

New York

1. Irving M. Ives (Rep.)
3. Robert Ferdinand Wagner (Dem.), resigned

3. John Foster Dulles (Rep.), appointed to fill vacancy

3. Herbert H. Lehman (Dem.), elected to fill vacancy

North Carolina

2. J. Melville Broughton (Dem.), died March 6, 1949

2. Frank Porter Graham (Dem.), appointed to fill vacancy

2. Willis Smith (Dem.), elected to fill vacancy

3. Clyde Roark Hoey (Dem.)

North Dakota

1. William Langer (Rep.)
3. Milton Young (Rep.)

Ohio

3. Robert Taft (Rep.)
1. John W. Bricker (Rep.)

Oklahoma

2. Robert S. Kerr (Dem.)
3. Elmer Thomas (Dem.)

Oregon

3. Wayne L. Morse (Rep.)
2. Guy Cordon (Rep.)

Pennsylvania

3. Francis J. Myers (Dem.)
1. Edward Martin (Rep.)

Rhode Island

1. J. Howard McGrath (Dem.), resigned

1. Edward L. Leahy (Dem.), appointed to fill vacancy

1. John O. Pastore (Dem.), elected to fill vacancy

2. Theodore Francis Green (Dem.)

South Carolina

2. Burnet R. Maybank (Dem.)
3. Olin D. Johnston (Dem.)

South Dakota

2. Karl E. Mundt (Rep.)
3. J. Chandler Gurney (Rep.)

Tennessee

1. Kenneth D. McKellar (Dem.)
2. C. Estes Kefauver (Dem.)

Texas

1. Thomas Terry Connally (Dem.)
2. Lyndon Johnson (Dem.)

Utah

1. Arthur V. Watkins (Rep.)
3. Elbert Duncan Thomas (Dem.)

Vermont

1. Ralph E. Flanders (Rep.)
3. George Aiken (Rep.)

Virginia

1. Harry Flood Byrd (Dem.)
2. Absalom Willis Robertson (Dem.)

Washington

3. Warren G. Magnuson (Dem.)
1. Harry P. Cain (Rep.)

West Virginia

1. Harley M. Kilgore (Dem.)
2. Matthew M. Neely (Rep.)

Wisconsin

3. Alexander Wiley (Rep.)
1. Joseph McCarthy (Rep.)

Wyoming

1. Joseph Christopher O'Mahoney (Dem.)
2. Lester C. Hunt (Dem.)

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide at-large, are preceded by an "At-Large," and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, 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.

See also: Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives

See also: Category:United States Congressional Delegations by state

Alabama