# 101st United States Congress

The 101st 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, 1989, to January 3, 1991, during the final weeks of Ronald Reagan's presidency and the first two years of George H. W. Bush's presidency.
The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1980 United States census. Both chambers maintained a Democratic majority.

## Major events

* January 20, 1989: George H. W. Bush became President of the United States
* February 9, 1989: President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress
* February 23, 1989: Senate Armed Services Committee rejected President Bush's nomination of John Tower for Secretary of Defense
* March 24, 1989: Exxon Valdez oil spill
* December 20, 1989: Operation Just Cause launched to overthrow Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega

## Major legislation
### Enacted

* April 10, 1989: Whistleblower Protection Act, Pub. L. 101–12, 103 Stat. 16
* August 9, 1989: Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, Pub. L. 101–73, 103 Stat. 183
* October 28, 1989: Flag Protection Act of 1989, Pub. L. 101–131, 103 Stat. 777
* May 22, 1990: Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, Pub. L. 101–298, 104 Stat. 201
* July 26, 1990: Americans with Disabilities Act, Pub. L. 101–336, 104 Stat. 327
* August 18, 1990: Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–380, 104 Stat. 484
* August 18, 1990: Ryan White CARE Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–391, 104 Stat. 576
* September 25, 1990: Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–391, 104 Stat. 747
* October 30, 1990: Native American Languages Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–477, 104 Stat. 1152
* October 30, 1990: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990. Pub. L. 101–476, 104 Stat. 1142
* November 5, 1990: Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–508, 104 Stat. 1388 (including Human Genome Project funding)
* November 12, 1990: Water Resources Development Act of 1990 (WRDA 1990), Pub. L. 101–640
* November 15, 1990: Administrative Dispute Resolution Act, Pub. L. 101–552, 104 Stat. 2736
* November 15, 1990: Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–566, 104 Stat. 2797
* November 16, 1990: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Pub. L. 101–601, 104 Stat. 3048
* November 16, 1990: Global Change Research Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–606, 104 Stat. 3096
* November 28, 1990: Tongass Timber Reform Act, Pub. L. 101–626
* November 28, 1990: Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act, Pub. L. 101–635, 104 Stat. 4583
* November 29, 1990: Negotiated Rulemaking Act, Pub. L. 101–648, 104 Stat. 4969
* November 29, 1990: Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–644, 104 Stat. 4662
* November 29, 1990: Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–649, 104 Stat. 4978
* November 29, 1990: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–647, 104 Stat. 4789
* December 1, 1990: Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–650, 104 Stat. 5128 (including Visual Artists Rights Act)

### Vetoed

* October 22, 1990: Civil Rights Act of 1990, S. 2104. Override attempt failed in Senate, 66-34 (1 vote short of 67 needed to override).

## Treaties ratified

* March 1, 1989: Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, an international treaty on copyrights, ratified

## Party summary
### Senate

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 54 | 45 | 99 | 1 |
| Begin | 55 | 45 | 100 | 0 |
| End | 55 | 45 | 100 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 55.0% | 45.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 56 | 44 | 100 | 0 |

### House of Representatives

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Independent (I) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 255 | 178 | 0 | 433 | 2 |
| Begin | 259 | 174 | 0 | 433 | 2 |
| End | 259 | 174 | 0 | 433 | 2 |
| Final voting share | 59.8% | 40.2% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 267 | 167 | 1 | 435 | 0 |

## Leadership
### Senate

* President: George H. W. Bush (R), until January 20, 1989
** Dan Quayle (R), from January 20, 1989
* President pro tempore: Robert Byrd (D)

#### Democratic majority

* Majority Leader: George J. Mitchell
* Majority Whip: Alan Cranston
* Policy Committee Co-Chair: Harry Reid
* Democratic Caucus Secretary: David Pryor
* Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: John Breaux
* Chief Deputy Whip: Alan J. Dixon

#### Republican minority

* Minority Leader: Bob Dole
* Minority Whip: Alan K. Simpson
* Republican Conference Chairman: John Chafee
* Republican Conference Secretary: Thad Cochran
* National Senatorial Committee Chair: Don Nickles
* Policy Committee Chairman: William L. Armstrong

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: Jim Wright (D), until June 6, 1989
** Tom Foley (D), from June 6, 1989

#### Democratic majority

* Majority Leader: Tom Foley, until June 6, 1989
** Dick Gephardt, from June 6, 1989
* Majority Whip: Tony Coelho, until June 15, 1989
** William H. Gray III, from June 15, 1989
* Chief Deputy Majority Whip: David Bonior
* Democratic Caucus Chairman: William H. Gray III, until June 15, 1989
** Steny Hoyer, from June 15, 1989
* Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman: Steny Hoyer, until June 21, 1989
** Vic Fazio, from June 21, 1989
* Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Beryl Anthony Jr.

#### Republican minority

* Minority Leader: Robert H. Michel
* Minority Whip: Dick Cheney, until March 20, 1989
** Newt Gingrich, from March 20, 1989
* Chief Deputy Whip: Robert Smith Walker
* Republican Conference Chairman: Jerry Lewis
* Republican Conference Vice-Chairman: Bill McCollum
* Republican Conference Secretary: Vin Weber
* Policy Committee Chairman: Mickey Edwards
* Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Guy Vander Jagt

## Caucuses

* Congressional Arts Caucus
* Congressional Automotive Caucus
* Biomedical Research Caucus
* Congressional Black Caucus
* Congressional Fire Services Caucus
* Congressional Friends of Ireland Caucus
* Congressional Hispanic Caucus
* Congressional Pediatric & Adult Hydrocephalus Caucus
* Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus
* Congresswomen's Caucus
* House Democratic Caucus
* Senate Democratic Caucus

## 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, In this Congress, Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1990; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1992; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1994.

### 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.

### Joint committees

* Economic (Chair: Sen. Paul Sarbanes; Ranking Member: Rep. Lee H. Hamilton)
* Taxation (Chair: Rep. Dan Rostenkowski; Vice Chair: Sen. Lloyd Bentsen)
* The Library (Chair: Rep. Frank Annunzio; Vice Chair: Sen. Claiborne Pell)
* Printing (Chair: Sen. Wendell H. Ford; Vice Chair: Rep. Frank Annunzio)

## Employees
### Legislative branch agency directors

* Architect of the Capitol: George M. White
* Attending Physician of the United States Congress: William Narva, until 1990
** Robert Krasner, from 1990
* Comptroller General of the United States: Charles A. Bowsher
* Director of the Congressional Budget Office: James L. Blum Jr. (acting), until March 6, 1989
** Robert D. Reischauer, from March 6, 1989
* Librarian of Congress: James H. Billington
* Public Printer of the United States: vacant, until 1990
** Robert Houk, from 1990

### Senate

* Chaplain: Richard C. Halverson (Presbyterian)
* Historian: Richard A. Baker
* Parliamentarian: Alan Frumin
* Curator: James R. Ketchum
* Secretary: Walter J. Stewart
* Librarian: Roger K. Haley
* Secretary for the Majority: C. Abbott Saffold
* Secretary for the Minority: Howard O. Greene Jr.
* Sergeant at Arms: Henry K. Giugni, until December 31, 1990; vacant thereafter

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: James David Ford (Lutheran)
* Clerk: Donnald K. Anderson
* Doorkeeper: James T. Molloy
* Historian: Ray Smock
* Reading Clerks: Meg Goetz (Democratic) and Paul Hays along with Bob Berry (Republican)
* Parliamentarian: William H. Brown
* Postmaster: Robert V. Rota
* Sergeant at Arms: Jack Russ