87th United States Congress
The 87th 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, 1961, to January 3, 1963, during the final weeks of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency and the first two years of John F. Kennedy's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1950 United States census, along with two seats temporarily added in 1959.
Both chambers had a Democratic majority. With President Kennedy being sworn in on January 20, 1961, this gave the Democrats an overall federal government trifecta for the first time since the 82nd Congress in 1952.
Major events
- January 3, 1961: President Eisenhower severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba.
- January 20, 1961: Inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.
- April 17, 1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba began; it fails by April 19.
- May 4, 1961: Freedom Riders began interstate bus rides to test the new U.S. Supreme Court integration decision.
- May 5, 1961: Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard Mercury-Redstone 3.
- May 25, 1961: President Kennedy announced his goal to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade
- November 16, 1961: House Speaker Sam Rayburn dies from pancreatic cancer. His funeral is held on November 20th.
- February 3, 1962: Embargo against Cuba was announced
- February 20, 1962: John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth
- March 26, 1962: Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could order state legislatures to reapportion seats
- October 1, 1962: James Meredith registered as the first black student at the University of Mississippi, escorted by Federal Marshals.
- October 14, 1962 - October 28, 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
Major legislation
- August 30, 1961 : Oil Pollution Act of 1961,,
- September 4, 1961: The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961,,
- September 13, 1961: Interstate Wire Act of 1961,,
- September 21, 1961: Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961,,
- September 22, 1961: Peace Corps Act of 1961,,
- September 26, 1961: Arms Control and Disarmament Act of 1961,,
- October 15, 1961: Community Health Services and Facilities Act,,
- March 15, 1962: Manpower Development and Training Act,,
- June 28, 1962: Migration and Refugee Assistance Act,,
- August 31, 1962: Communications Satellite Act,,
- October 11, 1962: Trade Expansion Act,,
Constitutional amendments
- March 29, 1961: Twenty-third Amendment ratified, extending the right to vote in the presidential election to citizens residing in the District of Columbia by granting the District electors in the Electoral College, as if it were a state.
- August 27, 1962: Twenty-fourth Amendment approved by Congress and sent to the states for consideration. It would prohibit both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. The amendment was later ratified on January 23, 1964.
Leadership
Senate
- President: Richard Nixon, until January 20, 1961
- * Lyndon B. Johnson, from January 20, 1961
- President pro tempore: Carl Hayden
Majority (Democratic) leadership
- Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield
- Majority Whip: Hubert Humphrey
- Democratic Conference Secretary|Democratic Caucus Secretary]: George Smathers
Minority (Republican) leadership
- Minority Leader: Everett Dirksen
- Minority Whip: Thomas Kuchel
- Republican Conference Chairman: Leverett Saltonstall
- Republican Conference Secretary: Milton Young
- Republican Senatorial Committee|National Senatorial Committee Chair]: Barry Goldwater
- Policy Committee Chairman of the United States Senate|Policy Committee Chairman]: Styles Bridges
- * Bourke B. Hickenlooper
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Sam Rayburn, until November 16, 1961
- * John W. McCormack, from January 10, 1962
Majority (Democratic) leadership
- Majority Leader: John W. McCormack until January 10, 1962
- * Carl Albert, from January 10, 1962
- Majority Whip: Carl Albert, until January 10, 1962
- * Hale Boggs, from January 10, 1962
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: Francis E. Walter
- Democratic Caucus Secretary: Leonor Sullivan
- Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Michael J. Kirwan
Minority (Republican) leadership
- Minority Leader: Charles A. Halleck
- Minority Whip: Leslie C. Arends
- Republican Conference Chairman: Charles B. Hoeven
- Policy Committee Chairman: John W. Byrnes
- Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Bob Wilson
Caucuses
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, In this Congress, Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1962; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1964; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1966.Currently, this is the last congressional session in which the Democratic Party commanded all Senate seats from the Deep South, a unity broken when a Republican 1961 [United States Senate special election in Texas|defeated] the appointed successor to Lyndon Johnson's seat in a 1961 Senate special election.
Delaware">List of United States senators from Delaware">Delaware
Kansas">List of United States senators from Kansas">Kansas
Mississippi">List of United States senators from Mississippi">Mississippi
New York">List of United States senators from New York">New York
South Carolina">List of United States senators from South Carolina">South Carolina
West Virginia">List of United States senators from West Virginia">West Virginia
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.Delaware">List of United States representatives from Delaware">Delaware
Kansas">List of United States representatives from Kansas">Kansas
Mississippi">List of United States representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi
New York">List of United States representatives from New York">New York
South Carolina">List of United States representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina
West Virginia">List of United States representatives from West Virginia">West Virginia
Non-voting members
Committees
Senate
- Aging:
- Aeronautical and Space Sciences
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Appropriations
- Armed Services
- Banking and Currency
- District of Columbia|District of Columbia]
- Finance
- Foreign Relations
- Government Operations
- Interior and Insular Affairs
- Interstate and Foreign Commerce
- Judiciary
- Labor and Public Welfare
- National Fuels Study
- National Water Resources
- Post Office and Civil Service
- Public Works
- Rules and Administration|Rules and Administration]
- Small Business
- Subcommittee on Internal Security
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Agriculture
- Appropriations
- Armed Services
- Banking and Currency
- District of Columbia
- Education and Labor
- Export Control
- Foreign Affairs
- Government Operations
- House Administration
- Interior and Insular Affairs
- Interstate and Foreign Commerce
- Judiciary
- Merchant Marine and Fisheries
- Post Office and Civil Service
- Public Works
- Rules
- Science and Astronautics
- Small Business
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Un-American Activities
- Veterans' Affairs
- Ways and Means
- Whole (United States House of Representatives)|Whole]
Joint committees
- Atomic Energy
- Conditions of Indian Tribes
- United States Congress Joint Committee on Construction of a Building for a [Museum of History and Technology for the Smithsonian|Construction of a Building for a Museum of History and Technology for the Smithsonian]
- Defense Production
- Economic Committee|Economic]
- Immigration and Nationality Policy
- Legislative Budget
- The Library
- Navajo-Hopi Indian Administration
- Printing
- Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures
- Taxation
Employees
Legislative branch agency">List of federal agencies in the United States#United States Congress">Legislative branch agency directors
- Architect of the Capitol: J. George Stewart
- Attending Physician of the United States Congress: George Calver
- Comptroller General of the United States: Joseph Campbell
- Librarian of Congress: Lawrence Quincy Mumford
- Public Printer of the United States: Raymond Blattenberger, until 1961
- * James L. Harrison, from 1961
Senate
- Chaplain: Frederick Brown Harris
- Parliamentarian: Charles Watkins
- Secretary: Felton McLellan Johnston
- Librarian: Richard D. Hupman
- Secretary for the Majority: Robert G. Baker
- Secretary for the Minority: J. Mark Trice
- Sergeant at Arms: Joseph C. Duke
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: Bernard Braskamp
- Clerk: Ralph R. Roberts
- Doorkeeper: William Mosley "Fishbait" Miller
- Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
- Postmaster: H. H. Morris
- Clerk of the United States House of Representatives|Reading Clerk]: George J. Maurer and Joe Bartlett
- Sergeant at Arms: Zeake W. Johnson Jr.