# 78th United States Congress

The 78th 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, 1943, to January 3, 1945, during the last two years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1940 United States census.
Both chambers had a Democratic majority - albeit greatly reduced from the 77th Congress, with the Democrats losing their supermajority in the House and Senate. Along with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democrats maintained an overall federal government trifecta.

## Major events

* World War II continued (1941–1945)
* June 6, 1944: Battle of Normandy
* November 7, 1944: General elections:
** President Roosevelt was re-elected to a fourth term.
** Senate Democrats kept their majority despite 1-seat net loss.
** House Democrats increased their majority with a 20-seat net gain.

## Major legislation

* December 17, 1943: Magnuson Act (Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943), Sess. 1, ch. 344, 57 Stat. 600
* February 3, 1944: Mustering-out Payment Act, Sess. 2, Pub. L. 78–225, 58 Stat. 8
* June 6, 1944: Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill), Sess. 2, ch. 268, Pub. L. 78–345, 58 Stat. 284
* June 27, 1944: Veterans' Preference Act, Sess. 2, ch. 287, Pub. L. 78–359, 58 Stat. 387
* July 1, 1944: Public Health Service Act, Sess. 2, ch. 373, 58 Stat. 682
* Contract Settlement Act of 1944, Pub. L. 78–395, Sess. 2, an act to provide for the settlement of claims arising from terminated war contracts
* December 22, 1944: Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act, Sess. 2, ch. 665, Pub. L. 78–534, 58 Stat. 887

## Party summary
### Senate

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Wisconsin Progressive (WP) | Republican (R) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 64 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 57 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 96 | 0 |
| End | 56 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 96 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 58.3% | 1.0% | 40.6% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 57 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 96 | 0 |

### House of Representatives

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Farmer– Labor (FL) | American Labor (AL) | Wisconsin Progressive (WP) | Republican (R) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 254 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 165 | 424 | 11 |
| Begin | 222 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 208 | 434 | 1 |
| End | 212 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 211 | 426 | 9 |
| Final voting share | 49.8% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 49.5% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 242 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 190 | 434 | 1 |

## Leaders

Section contents: Senate: Majority (D), Minority (R) • House: Majority (D), Minority (R)

### Senate

* President: Henry A. Wallace (D)
* President pro tempore: Carter Glass (D)

#### Majority (Democratic) leadership

* Majority Leader: Alben W. Barkley
* Majority Whip: J. Lister Hill
* Democratic Caucus Secretary: Francis T. Maloney

#### Minority (Republican) leadership

* Minority Leader: Charles L. McNary, until February 25, 1944
** Wallace H. White Jr., after February 25, 1944
* Minority whip: No Republican whips were appointed from 1935 to 1944 since only 17 Republicans were in the Senate following the landslide reelection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Accordingly, the minutes of the Republican Conference for the period state: "On motion of Senator Hastings, duly seconded and carried, it was agreed that no Assistant Leader or Whip be elected but that the chairman be authorized to appoint Senators from time to time to assist him in taking charge of the interests of the minority." A note attached to the conference minutes added: "The chairman of the conference, Senator McNary, apparently appointed Senator Austin of Vermont as assistant leader in 1943 and 1944, until the conference adopted Rules of Organization."
* Republican Conference Secretary: Wallace H. White Jr., until February 25, 1944
** Harold Hitz Burton (from February 25, 1944)
* National Senatorial Committee Chair: John G. Townsend Jr.

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: Sam Rayburn (D)

#### Majority (Democratic) leadership

* Majority Leader: John W. McCormack
* Majority whip: Robert Ramspeck
* Democratic Caucus Chairman: Harry R. Sheppard
* Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Patrick H. Drewry

#### Minority (Republican) leadership

* Minority Leader: Joseph W. Martin Jr.
* Minority whip: Harry Lane Englebright, until May 13, 1943
** Leslie C. Arends, from May 13, 1943
* Republican Conference Chairman: Roy O. Woodruff
* Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Charles A. Halleck

## 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, facing re-election in 1944; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1946; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1948.

### House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

## Committees

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.

### Senate

* Agriculture and Forestry (Chairman: Ellison D. Smith; Ranking Member: Charles L. McNary then Arthur Capper)
* Appropriations (Chairman: Carter Glass; Ranking Member: Gerald P. Nye)
* Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Scott W. Lucas; Ranking Member: Charles W. Tobey)
* Banking and Currency (Chairman: Robert F. Wagner; Ranking Member: Charles W. Tobey)
* Campaign Expenditures Investigation, 1944 (Special) (Chairman: Theodore F. Green)
* Centralization of Heavy Industry in the United States (Select)
* Civil Service (Chairman: Sheridan Downey; Ranking Member: William Langer)
* Civil Service Laws (Special)
* Claims (Chairman: Allen J. Ellender; Ranking Member: Arthur Capper)
* Commerce (Chairman: Josiah W. Bailey; Ranking Member: Charles L. McNary)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Pat McCarran; Ranking Member: Arthur Capper)
* Education and Labor (Chairman: Elbert D. Thomas; Ranking Member: Robert M. La Follette Jr.)
** Wartime Health and Education
* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Hattie W. Caraway; Ranking Member: Clyde M. Reed)
* Expenditures in Executive Departments (Chairman: J. Lister Hill; Ranking Member: James J. Davis)
* Finance (Chairman: Walter F. George; Ranking Member: Robert M. La Follette Jr.)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: Tom Connally; Ranking Member: Hiram W. Johnson)
* Fuel Situation in the Middle West (Special)
* Gasoline and Fuel Oil Shortages (Special)
* Immigration (Chairman: Richard B. Russell; Ranking Member: Hiram W. Johnson)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: Elmer Thomas; Ranking Member: Robert M. La Follette Jr.)
* Interoceanic Canals (Chairman: Bennett Champ Clark; Ranking Member: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.)
* Interstate Commerce (Chairman: Burton K. Wheeler; Ranking Member: Wallace H. White Jr.)
* Irrigation and Reclamation (Chairman: John H. Bankhead II; Ranking Member: Charles L. McNary then Hiram W. Johnson)
* Investigate the National Defense Program (Special)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Pat McCarran; Ranking Member: Warren R. Austin)
* Library (Chairman: Alben W. Barkley; Ranking Member: Charles L. McNary then Owen Brewster)
* Manufactures (Chairman: John H. Overton; Ranking Member: Robert M. La Follette Jr.)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Robert R. Reynolds; Ranking Member: Warren R. Austin)
* Mines and Mining (Chairman: Joseph F. Guffey; Ranking Member: James J. Davis)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: David I. Walsh; Ranking Member: James J. Davis)
* Patents (Chairman: Homer T. Bone; Ranking Member: Wallace H. White)
* Pensions (Chairman: James M. Tunnell; Ranking Member: Henrik Shipstead)
* Petroleum Resources (Special)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Kenneth McKellar; Ranking Member: James J. Davis)
* Post-War Economic Policy and Planning (Special) (Chairman: Walter F. George)
* Printing (Chairman: Carl Hayden; Ranking Member: William Langer)
* Privileges and Elections (Chairman: Theodore F. Green; Ranking Member: Warren R. Austin)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Francis Maloney; Ranking Member: W. Warren Barbour)
* Public Lands and Surveys (Chairman: Carl A. Hatch; Ranking Member: Gerald P. Nye)
* Rules (Chairman: Harry F. Byrd; Ranking Member: Arthur H. Vandenberg)
* Senatorial Campaign Expenditures (Special) (Chairman: Ernest W. McFarland)
* Small Business Enterprises (Special) (Chairman: James E. Murray)
* Territories and Insular Affairs (Chairman: Millard E. Tydings; Ranking Member: Gerald P. Nye)
* Whole
* Wildlife Resources (Special) (Chairman: Bennett Champ Clark)
* Wool Production (Special) (Chairman: Joseph C. O'Mahoney)

### House of Representatives

* Accounts (Chairman: John J. Cochran; Ranking Member: James Wolfenden)
* Agriculture (Chairman: Hampton P. Fulmer; Ranking Member: Clifford R. Hope)
* Appropriations (Chairman: Clarence Cannon; Ranking Member: John Taber)
* Banking and Currency (Chairman: Brent Spence; Ranking Member: Jesse P. Wolcott)
* Census (Chairman: A. Leonard Allen; Ranking Member: J. Roland Kinzer)
* Civil Service (Chairman: Robert Ramspeck; Ranking Member: Edith Nourse Rogers)
* Claims (Chairman: Dan R. McGehee; Ranking Member: J. Parnell Thomas)
* Coinage, Weights and Measures (Chairman: Andrew Somers; Ranking Member: Chauncey W. Reed)
* Conservation of Wildlife Resources (Select) (Chairman: A. Willis Robertson)
* Disposition of Executive Papers (Chairman: Alfred J. Elliott; Ranking Member: Bertrand W. Gearhart)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Jennings Randolph; Ranking Member: Everett M. Dirksen)
* Education (Chairman: Graham A. Barden; Ranking Member: George A. Dondero)
* Election of the President, Vice President and Representatives in Congress (Chairman: Eugene Worley; Ranking Member: Ralph A. Gamble)
* Elections No.#1 (Chairman: C. Jasper Bell; Ranking Member: Clarence E. Hancock)
* Elections No.#2 (Chairman: Ed Gossett; Ranking Member: Francis D. Culkin then Stephen A. Day)
* Elections No.#3 (Chairman: Hugh Peterson; Ranking Member: Charles A. Plumley)
* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Arthur G. Klein; Ranking Member: Charles Aubrey Eaton)
* Expenditures in the Executive Departments (Chairman: Carter Manasco; Ranking Member: Charles L. Gifford)
* Flood Control (Chairman: William M. Whittington; Ranking Member: Harry Lane Englebright then Charles R. Clason)
* Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Sol Bloom; Ranking Member: Charles Aubrey Eaton)
* Immigration and Naturalization (Chairman: Samuel Dickstein; Ranking Member: Noah M. Mason)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: James F. O'Connor; Ranking Member: Fred C. Gilchrist)
* Insular Affairs (Chairman: C. Jasper Bell; Ranking Member: Richard J. Welch)
* Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: Clarence F. Lea; Ranking Member: Charles A. Wolverton)
* Labor (Chairman: Mary Teresa Norton; Ranking Member: Richard J. Welch)
* Memorials (Chairman: John R. Murdock; Ranking Member: Allen T. Treadway)
* Merchant Marine and Fisheries (Chairman: S. Otis Bland; Ranking Member: Richard J. Welch)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Andrew J. May; Ranking Member: Walter G. Andrews)
* Invalid Pensions (Chairman: John Lesinski; Ranking Member: Robert A. Grant)
* Investigate Acts of Executive Agencies Beyond their Scope of Authority (Select) (Chairman: N/A)
* Investigate the Federal Communications Commission (Select) (Chairman: Edward E. Cox)
* Irrigation and Reclamation (Chairman: Compton I. White; Ranking Member: Dewey Jackson Short)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Hatton W. Sumners; Ranking Member: Ulysses S. Guyer then Clarence E. Hancock)fairs]] (Chairman: Andrew J. May; Ranking Member: Walter G. Andrews)
* Mines and Mining (Chairman: Joe L. Smith; Ranking Member: Harry Lane Englebright then John M. Robsion)
* Investigate the Seizure of Montgomery Ward and Company (Select) (Chairman: N/A)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Carl Vinson; Ranking Member: Melvin J. Maas)
* Patents (Chairman: Frank W. Boykin; Ranking Member: Fred A. Hartley Jr.)
* Pensions (Chairman: Charles A. Buckley; Ranking Member: Fred J. Douglas)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Thomas G. Burch; Ranking Member: Fred A. Hartley Jr.)
* Post-War Military Policy (Select) (Chairman: Clifton A. Woodrum)
* Post-War Economic Policy and Planning (Special) (Chairman: N/A; Ranking Member: N/A)
* Printing (Chairman: Pete Jarman; Ranking Member: N/A)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Fritz G. Lanham; Ranking Member: Pehr G. Holmes)
* Public Lands (Chairman: J. Hardin Peterson; Ranking Member: Harry Lane Englebright)
* Revision of Laws (Chairman: Eugene J. Keogh; Ranking Member: Earl C. Michener)
* Rivers and Harbors (Chairman: Joseph J. Mansfield; Ranking Member: Albert E. Carter)
* Roads (Chairman: J.W. Robinson; Ranking Member: Jesse P. Wolcott)
* Rules (Chairman: Adolph J. Sabath; Ranking Member: Hamilton Fish III)
* Small Business (Select) (Chairman: Wright Patman; Ranking Member: Usher L. Burdick)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Territories (Chairman: Robert A. Green; Ranking Member: Usher L. Burdick)
* War Claims (Chairman: Edward J. Hart; Ranking Member: Clare E. Hoffman)
* Ways and Means (Chairman: Robert L. Doughton; Ranking Member: Allen T. Treadway)
* World War Veterans' Legislation (Chairman: John E. Rankin; Ranking Member: Edith Nourse Rogers)
* Whole

### Joint committees

* Commemorate the Centennial of the Telegraph
* Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
* Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
* The Library (Chairman: Sen. Alben W. Barkley)
* Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures (Chairman: Sen. Harry F. Byrd; Vice Chairman: Rep. Robert L. Doughton)
* Organization of Congress
* Printing (Chairman: Sen. Carl Hayden; Vice Chairman: Rep. Pete Jarman)
* Selective Service Deferments
* Taxation (Chairman: Sen. Walter F. George; Vice Chairman: Rep. Robert L. Doughton)

## Caucuses

* Democratic (House)
* Democratic (Senate)

## Employees
### Legislative branch agency directors

* Architect of the Capitol: David Lynn
* Attending Physician of the United States Congress: George Calver
* Comptroller General of the United States: Lindsay C. Warren
* Librarian of Congress: Archibald MacLeish, until 1944
* Public Printer of the United States: Augustus E. Giegengack

### Senate

* Chaplain: Frederick Brown Harris (Methodist)
* Parliamentarian: Charles Watkins
* 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, until January 31, 1943
** Wall Doxey, from February 1, 1943

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: James Shera Montgomery (Methodist)
* Clerk: South Trimble
* Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott, until January 27, 1943
** Ralph R. Roberts, from February 5, 1943
* Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
* Postmaster: Finis E. Scott
* Reading Clerks: George J. Maurer (D) and Alney E. Chaffee (R)
* Sergeant at Arms: Kenneth Romney