# 83rd United States Congress

The 83rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1953, until January 3, 1955, during the last two weeks of the Truman administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of Dwight Eisenhower's presidency. It was composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The apportionment of seats in the House was based on the 1950 U.S. census.
The Republicans gained the majority in both chambers, winning back full control of Congress for the first time since the 80th Congress in 1947, and with Dwight Eisenhower being sworn in as president on January 20, 1953, this gave the Republicans an overall federal government trifecta for the first time since the 71st Congress in 1929, and the last time until they briefly did so during the 107th Congress in 2001.

## Major events

* January 20, 1953: Dwight Eisenhower is sworn in as President of the United States in his first inauguration
* March 1, 1954: U.S. Capitol shooting incident
* December 2, 1954: Joseph McCarthy is censured by the U.S. Senate

## Major legislation

* July 3, 1953: Small Business Act, Pub. L. 83–163, ch. 282, 67 Stat. 232
* August 7, 1953: Refugee Relief Act, Pub. L. 83–203
* August 7, 1953: Submerged Lands Act, ch. 345, 67 Stat. 462
* August 14, 1953: Public Law 280, Pub. L. 83–280, 18 U.S.C. § 1162
* May 13, 1954: Saint Lawrence Seaway Act, ch. 201, 68 Stat. 92
* August 12, 1954: Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act, ch. 649, title II, §201, 68 Stat. 612
* August 13, 1954: Multiple Mineral Development Act, ch. 730, 68 Stat. 708
* August 16, 1954: Internal Revenue Code of 1954, Pub. L. 83–591, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 3
** Federal Unemployment Tax Act, §1(d), 68A Stat. 439
** National Firearms Act, §1(d), 68A Stat. 721
* August 24, 1954: Communist Control Act of 1954, ch. 886, 68 Stat. 775
* August 30, 1954: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 68 Stat. 919
* 1954: Agricultural Act of 1954
* 1954: Water Facilities Act of 1954

## Party summary

Until the last week of the first session of Congress, Republicans had a 48-47-1 tied-plurality in the Senate which Republican Vice President Richard Nixon broke in the GOP’s favor. At the start of the second session, to account for whenever the Senate became tied 47-47-1 or when the Democrats held the plurality the Republican-turned-Independent, Wayne Morse, caucused with the GOP which gave them a tie-breaking majority, allowing continuity in GOP control of the Senate and the overall trifecta of government. Thus Republican leader William Knowland remained Senate Majority Leader, Democratic leader Lyndon B. Johnson remained Senate Minority Leader, and the GOP remained continuously in control of the Senate committees. Wayne Morse would begin caucusing with Democrats at the start of the next Congress in 1955 to give them Senate control.

### Senate

| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |
| Affiliation | Democratic | Independent | Republican | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Congress | 47 | — | 48 | 95 | 1 |
| Begin | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| June 26, 1953 | 46 | 1 | 48 | 95 | 1 |
| July 10, 1953 | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| July 24, 1953 | 47 | 1 | 47 | 95 | 1 |
| July 31, 1953 | 47 | 1 | 46 | 94 | 2 |
| August 14, 1953 | 47 | 1 | 47 | 95 | 1 |
| November 10, 1953 | 48 | 1 | 47 | 96 | — |
| January 6, 1954 | 48 | 1 | 47 | 96 | — |
| April 12, 1954 | 48 | 1 | 46 | 95 | 1 |
| April 16, 1954 | 48 | 1 | 47 | 96 | — |
| May 12, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 47 | 95 | 1 |
| June 5, 1954 | 48 | 1 | 47 | 96 | — |
| June 19, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 47 | 95 | 1 |
| June 24, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| July 1, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 47 | 95 | 1 |
| July 3, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| September 1, 1954 | 46 | 1 | 48 | 95 | 1 |
| September 6, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| September 28, 1954 | 46 | 1 | 48 | 95 | 1 |
| September 6, 1954 | 46 | 1 | 49 | 96 | — |
| November 2, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| November 2, 1954 | 48 | 1 | 47 | 96 | — |
| December 15, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| December 23, 1954 | 46 | 1 | 48 | 95 | 1 |
| December 24, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| December 31, 1954 | 47 | 1 | 47 | 95 | 1 |
| January 1, 1955 | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | — |
| Final voting share | 49% | 1% | 50% | | |
| Beginning of the next Congress | 48 | 1 | 47 | 96 | — |

### House of Representatives

Republican majority in the House becomes a plurality after the end of the last Congressional session.
| | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic | Independent | Republican | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous Congress | 228 | 1 | 198 | 427 | 8 |
| Begin | 211 | 1 | 221 | 433 | 2 |
| End | 212 | 1 | 213 | 426 | 9 |
| Beginning of next Congress | 231 | 0 | 203 | 434 | 1 |

## Leadership
### Senate

* President: Alben W. Barkley (D), until January 20, 1953
** Richard Nixon (R), from January 20, 1953
* President pro tempore: Styles Bridges (R)

#### Majority (Republican) leadership

* Majority Leader: Robert A. Taft, until July 31, 1953 (died)
** William Knowland, from August 3, 1953
* Majority Whip: Leverett Saltonstall
* Republican Conference Chairman: Eugene Millikin
* Republican Conference Secretary: Milton Young
* National Senatorial Committee Chair: Everett Dirksen
* Policy Committee Chairman: Homer S. Ferguson

#### Minority (Democratic) leadership

* Minority Leader and Conference Chairman: Lyndon B. Johnson
* Minority Whip: Earle Clements
* Democratic Caucus Secretary: Thomas C. Hennings Jr.

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: Joseph W. Martin Jr. (R)

#### Majority (Republican) leadership

* Majority Leader: Charles A. Halleck
* Majority Whip: Leslie C. Arends
* Republican Conference Chairman: Clifford R. Hope
* Policy Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Martin Jr.
* Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Richard M. Simpson

#### Minority (Democratic) leadership

* Minority Leader: Sam Rayburn
* Minority Whip: John W. McCormack
* Democratic Caucus Chairman: Wilbur Mills
* Democratic Caucus Secretary: Edna F. Kelly
* Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Michael J. Kirwan

## Caucuses

* House Democratic Caucus
* Senate Democratic Caucus

## Members
### Senate

Senators are popularly elected statewide every six years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Within each state, senators are listed in order of seniority. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election, In this Congress, Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1954; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1956; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1958.

### House of Representatives
## Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.

### House of Representatives
## 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: George D. Aiken; Ranking Member: Allen J. Ellender)
* Appropriations (Chairman: Styles Bridges; Ranking Member: Carl Hayden)
* Armed Services (Chairman: Leverett Saltonstall; Ranking Member: Richard B. Russell)
* Banking and Currency (Chairman: Homer E. Capehart; Ranking Member: Burnet R. Maybank)
* Censure Charges against Senator McCarthy (Select) (Chairman: [data missing]; Ranking Member: [data missing])
* Compensation of Members of Congress (Select) (Chairman: [data missing]; Ranking Member: [data missing])
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Francis Case; Ranking Member: Matthew M. Neely)
* Finance (Chairman: Eugene D. Millikin; Ranking Member: Walter F. George)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: Alexander Wiley; Ranking Member: Walter F. George)
* Government Operations (Chairman: Joseph R. McCarthy; Ranking Member: James E. Murray)
* Interior and Insular Affairs (Chairman: Hugh Butler; Ranking Member: John L. McClellan)
* Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: Charles W. Tobey; Ranking Member: Edwin C. Johnson)
* Judiciary (Chairman: William Langer; Ranking Member: Pat McCarran)
* Labor and Public Welfare (Chairman: H. Alexander Smith; Ranking Member: James E. Murray)
* Mail Cover on Senators (Special) (Chairman: [data missing]; Ranking Member: [data missing])
* Post Office and Civil Service (Chairman: Frank Carlson; Ranking Member: Olin D. Johnston)
* Public Works (Chairman: Edward Martin; Ranking Member: Dennis Chavez)
* Rules and Administration (Chairman: William E. Jenner; Ranking Member: Carl Hayden)
* Small Business (Select) (Chairman: Edward J. Thye)
* Whole

### House of Representatives

* Agriculture (Chairman: Clifford R. Hope; Ranking Member: Carl Vinson)
* Appropriations (Chairman: John Taber; Ranking Member: Brent Spence)
* Armed Services (Chairman: Dewey Jackson Short; Ranking Member: John L. McMillan)
* Banking and Currency (Chairman: Jesse P. Wolcott; Ranking Member: Brent Spence)
* Communist Aggression (Select) (Chairman: Charles J. Kersten)
* Benefits for Dependents of Armed Services Veterans (Select) (Chairman: [data missing])
* Defense Production
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Sid Simpson; Ranking Member: John L. McMillan)
* Education and Labor (Chairman: Samuel K. McConnell Jr.; Ranking Member: Graham A. Barden)
* Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Robert B. Chiperfield; Ranking Member: James P. Richards)
* House Administration (Chairman: Karl M. LeCompte; Ranking Member: Omar Burleson)
* Investigate the Incorporation of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R. (Select) (Chairman: Charles J. Kersten; Ranking Member: [data missing])
* Interior and Insular Affairs (Chairman: Arthur L. Miller; Ranking Member: Clair Engle)
* Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: Charles A. Wolverton; Ranking Member: Robert Crosser)
* Government Operations (Chairman: Clare E. Hoffman; Ranking Member: William L. Dawson)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Chauncey W. Reed; Ranking Member: Emanuel Celler)
* Merchant Marine and Fisheries (Chairman: Alvin F. Weichel; Ranking Member: Edward J. Hart)
* Post Office and Civil Service (Chairman: Edward H. Rees; Ranking Member: Tom J. Murray)
* Public Works (Chairman: George Anthony Dondero; Ranking Member: Charles A. Buckley)
* Rules (Chairman: Leo E. Allen; Ranking Member: Howard W. Smith)
* Small Business (Select) (Chairman: William S. Hill)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Survival Benefits (Select) (Chairman: N/A; Ranking Member: N/A)
* Un-American Activities (Chairman: Harold H. Velde; Ranking Member: Francis E. Walter)
* Veterans' Affairs (Chairman: Edith Nourse Rogers; Ranking Member: Olin E. Teague)
* Ways and Means (Chairman: Daniel A. Reed; Ranking Member: Jere Cooper)
* Whole

### Joint committees

* Atomic Energy
* Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
* Disposition of Executive Papers
* Economic (Chairman: Rep. Jesse P. Wolcott; Vice Chairman: Sen. Ralph Flanders)
* Immigration and Nationality Policy (Chairman: Sen. Arthur V. Watkins; Vice Chairman: Rep. Louis E. Graham)
* Legislative Budget
* The Library
* Navajo-Hopi Indian Administration
* Printing (Chairman: Sen. William E. Jenner; Vice Chairman: Rep. Karl M. LeCompte)
* Railroad Retirement Legislation
* Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures (Chairman: Sen. Harry F. Byrd; Vice Chairman: Rep. Daniel A. Reed)
* Taxation (Chairman: Rep. Daniel A. Reed; Vice Chairman: Sen. Eugene D. Millikin)

## Employees
### Legislative branch agency directors

* Architect of the Capitol: David Lynn (January 3, 1953 – September 30, 1954); J. George Stewart (September 30, 1954 – January 3, 1955)
* Attending Physician of the United States Congress: George Calver
* Comptroller General of the United States: Lindsay C. Warren, until April 30, 1954
** Joseph Campbell, from December 14, 1954
* Librarian of Congress: Luther H. Evans, until 1953
** Lawrence Quincy Mumford, from 1954
* Public Printer of the United States: John J. Deviny, until 1953
** Raymond Blattenberger, from 1953

### Senate

* Chaplain: Frederick Brown Harris (Methodist)
* Parliamentarian: Charles Watkins
* Secretary: J. Mark Trice
* Librarian: Sterling Dean, until 1954
** Gus J. Miller (acting), from 1954
* Secretary for the Majority: William T. Reed
* Secretary for the Minority: Felton McLellan Johnston
* Sergeant at Arms: Forest A. Harness

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: Bernard Braskamp (Presbyterian)
* Clerk: Lyle O. Snader
* Doorkeeper: Tom Kennamer
* Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
* Postmaster: Beecher Hess
* Reading Clerks: George J. Maurer (D) and Alney E. Chaffee (R)
* Sergeant at Arms: William F. Russell, died July 7, 1953
** Lyle O. Snader, July 8, 1953 – September 15, 1953
** William R. Bonsell, starting September 15, 1953