# 75th United States Congress

The 75th 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, 1937, to January 3, 1939, during the fifth and sixth years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.
The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1930 United States census.
Both chambers had a Democratic supermajority, with the party increasing their majority in both the House and Senate, and with the reelection of President Roosevelt, maintained an overall federal government trifecta.
This is the most recent Congress to feature a 3/4th majority in the House or Senate by either party.

## Major events

* January 20, 1937: President Franklin D. Roosevelt begins his second term.
* February 5, 1937: Roosevelt's court-packing plan proposed
* March 26, 1937: William Henry Hastie becomes the first African-American appointed to a federal judgeship.
* April 12, 1937: National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled the National Labor Relations Act constitutional.
* July 22, 1937: Senate rejects the court-packing plan
* October 5, 1937: Roosevelt delivers the Quarantine Speech

## Major legislation

* May 1, 1937: Neutrality Acts of 1937
* June 3, 1937: Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act, ch. 296, 50 Stat. 246
* August 2, 1937: Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 50 Stat. 553
* August 5, 1937: National Cancer Institute Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 75–244, ch. 565, 50 Stat. 559
* March 21, 1938: Wheeler–Lea Act, ch. 49, 52 Stat. 111
* May 11, 1938: Indian Mineral Leasing Act, ch. 198 52 Stat. 347
* May 24, 1938: La Follette–Bulwinkle Act, ch. 267, 52 Stat. 439
* June 8, 1938: Foreign Agents Registration Act, ch. 327, 52 Stat. 631
* June 21, 1938: Natural Gas Act, ch. 556, 52 Stat. 821
* June 25, 1938: Civil Aeronautics Act, ch. 601, 52 Stat. 973
* June 25, 1938: Fair Labor Standards Act, ch. 676, 52 Stat. 1060
* June 25, 1938: Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, ch. 675, 52 Stat. 1040
* June 25, 1938: Wagner-O'Day Act, ch. 697, 52 Stat. 1196

## Party summary
### Senate

| | 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 (F) | Wisconsin Progressive (P) | Republican (R) | Independent (I) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 72 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 76 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 96 | 0 |
| End | 74 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 96 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 77.1% | 2.1% | 1.0% | 18.8% | 1.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 69 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 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) | Wisconsin Progressive (P) | Republican (R) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 308 | 3 | 7 | 100 | 0 | 418 | 17 |
| Begin | 333 | 5 | 7 | 89 | 1 | 435 | 0 |
| End | 323 | 5 | 7 | 90 | 1 | 426 | 9 |
| Final voting share | 75.8% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 21.1% | 0.2% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 260 | 1 | 2 | 169 | 2 | 434 | 1 |

## Leadership
### Senate

* President: John N. Garner (D)
* President pro tempore: Key Pittman (D)
* Majority Leader: Joseph Taylor Robinson (D), until July 14, 1937
** Alben W. Barkley (D), from July 14, 1937
* Majority Whip: J. Hamilton Lewis (D)
* Minority Leader: Charles McNary (R)
* Democratic Caucus Secretary: Joshua B. Lee
* Republican Conference Secretary: Frederick Hale
* National Senatorial Committee Chairman: John G. Townsend Jr.

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: William B. Bankhead (D)
* Majority Leader: Sam Rayburn (D)
* Minority Leader: Bertrand Snell (R)
* Democratic Whip: Patrick J. Boland
* Republican Whip: Harry Lane Englebright
* Democratic Caucus Chairman: Robert L. Doughton
* Republican Conference Chairman: Roy O. Woodruff
* Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Patrick H. Drewry
* Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Martin Jr.

## 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 reelection in 1938; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1940; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1942.

### House of Representatives

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

## 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: Ellison D. Smith; Ranking Member: George W. Norris)
* Aquatic Life (Special)
* Appropriations (Chairman: Carter Glass; Ranking Member: Frederick Hale)
* Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: James F. Byrnes; Ranking Member: John G. Townsend Jr.)
* Banking and Currency (Chairman: Robert F. Wagner; Ranking Member: John G. Townsend Jr.)
* Campaign Expenditures Investigation (Special) (Chairman: Augustine Lonergan)
* Civil Service (Chairman: William J. Bulow; Ranking Member: Wallace H. White Jr.)
* Civil Service Laws (Special)
* Civil Service System (Special)
* Claims (Chairman: Josiah W. Bailey; Ranking Member: Arthur Capper)
* Commerce (Chairman: Royal S. Copeland; Ranking Member: Charles L. McNary)
* Court Reorganization and Judicial Procedure (Special)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: William H. King; Ranking Member: Arthur Capper)
* Education and Labor (Chairman: Elbert D. Thomas; Ranking Member: William E. Borah)
** Investigation Violations of Free Speech and the Rights of Labor
* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Hattie W. Caraway; Ranking Member: Arthur H. Vandenberg)
* Executive Agencies of the Government (Select)
* Expenditures in Executive Departments (Chairman: J. Hamilton Lewis; Ranking Member: James J. Davis)
* Finance (Chairman: Pat Harrison; Ranking Member: Robert M. La Follette Jr.)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: Key Pittman; Ranking Member: William E. Borah)
* Government Organization (Select)
* Immigration (Chairman: Richard B. Russell; Ranking Member: Hiram W. Johnson)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: Elmer Thomas; Ranking Member: Lynn J. Frazier)
* Insular Affairs (Chairman: Leo Kocialkowski; Ranking Member: N/A)
* Interoceanic Canals (Chairman: N/A; Ranking Member: N/A)
* 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)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Henry F. Ashurst; Ranking Member: William E. Borah)
* Library (Chairman: Alben W. Barkley; Ranking Member: Ernest W. Gibson)
* Lobbying Activities (Select)
* Manufactures (Chairman: Robert J. Bulkley; Ranking Member: Robert M. La Follette Jr.)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Morris Sheppard; Ranking Member: Warren R. Austin)
* Mines and Mining (Chairman: M.M. Logan; Ranking Member: Lynn J. Frazier)
* Mississippi Flood Control Project (Select) (Chairman: Robert F. Wagner)
* Merchant Marine (Special)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: David I. Walsh; Ranking Member: Frederick Hale)
* Patents (Chairman: William Gibbs McAdoo; Ranking Member: George W. Norris)
* Pensions (Chairman: George McGill; Ranking Member: Lynn J. Frazier)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Kenneth McKellar; Ranking Member: Lynn J. Frazier)
* Printing (Chairman: J. Walter Lambeth; Ranking Member: Arthur H. Vandenberg)
* Privileges and Elections (Chairman: Walter F. George; Ranking Member: Warren R. Austin)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Tom Connally; Ranking Member: Warren R. Austin)
* Public Lands and Surveys (Chairman: Alva B. Adams; Ranking Member: Gerald P. Nye)
* Rules (Chairman: Matthew M. Neely; Ranking Member: Frederick Hale)
* Senatorial Campaign Expenditures (Special)
* Taxation of Government Securities and Salaries (Special)
* Territories and Insular Affairs (Chairman: Millard E. Tydings; Ranking Member: Gerald P. Nye)
* Unemployment and Relief (Select)
* Whole
* Wildlife Resources (Special) (Chairman: Vacant; Ranking Member: Key Pittman)
* Wool Production (Special) (Chairman: Alva B. Adams)

### House of Representatives

* Accounts (Chairman: Lindsay C. Warren; Ranking Member: James Wolfenden)
* Agriculture (Chairman: J. Marvin Jones; Ranking Member: Clifford R. Hope)
* Appropriations (Chairman: Edward T. Taylor; Ranking Member: John Taber)
* Banking and Currency (Chairman: Henry B. Steagall; Ranking Member: Jesse P. Wolcott)
* Census (Chairman: William H. Larrabee; Ranking Member: J. Roland Kinzer)
* Civil Service (Chairman: Robert Ramspeck; Ranking Member: Edith Nourse Rogers)
* Claims (Chairman: Ambrose J. Kennedy; Ranking Member: Ulysses S. Guyer)
* Coinage, Weights and Measures (Chairman: Andrew Somers; Ranking Member: Lloyd Thurston)
* Conservation of Wildlife Resources (Select) (Chairman: A. Willis Robertson)
* Disposition of Executive Papers (Chairman: Charles J. Colden; Ranking Member: Bertrand W. Gearhart)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Vincent L. Palmisano; Ranking Member: Everett M. Dirksen)
* Education (Chairman: William H. Larrabee; Ranking Member: Albert E. Carter)
* Election of the President, Vice President and Representatives in Congress (Chairman: Caroline O'Day; Ranking Member: George H. Tinkham)
* Elections No.#1 (Chairman: N/A; Ranking Member: Clarence E. Hancock)
* Elections No.#2 (Chairman: Joseph H. Gavagan; Ranking Member: Ulysses S. Guyer)
* Elections No.#3 (Chairman: John H. Kerr; Ranking Member: Charles L. Gifford)
* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Claude V. Parsons; Ranking Member: Charles Aubrey Eaton)
* Expenditures in the Executive Departments (Chairman: John J. Cochran; Ranking Member: Charles L. Gifford)
* Flood Control (Chairman: William M. Whittington; Ranking Member: Robert F. Rich)
* Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Sam D. McReynolds; Ranking Member: Hamilton Fish III)
* Government Organization (Select) (Chairman: N/A)
* Immigration and Naturalization (Chairman: Samuel Dickstein; Ranking Member: J. Will Taylor)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: Will Rogers; Ranking Member: Fred C. Gilchrist)
* Insular Affairs (Chairman: Leo Kocialkowski; Ranking Member: Lloyd Thurston)
* Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: Clarence F. Lea; Ranking Member: Carl E. Mapes)
* Invalid Pensions (Chairman: John Lesinski; Ranking Member: Charles D. Millard)
* Investigate Real Estate Beholder's Reorganizations (Select) (Chairman: N/A)
* Irrigation and Reclamation (Chairman: Compton I. White; Ranking Member: Fred A. Hartley Jr.)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Hatton W. Sumners; Ranking Member: Ulysses S. Guyer)
* Labor (Chairman: Mary Teresa Norton; Ranking Member: Richard J. Welch)
* Library (Chairman: Kent E. Keller; Ranking Member: Allen T. Treadway)
* Memorials (Chairman: Pete Jarman; Ranking Member: Frank Crowther)
* Merchant Marine and Fisheries (Chairman: S. Otis Bland; Ranking Member: Richard J. Welch)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Andrew J. May; Ranking Member: Walter G. Andrews)
* Mines and Mining (Chairman: Joe L. Smith; Ranking Member: Harry Lane Englebright)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Carl Vinson; Ranking Member: Charles D. Millard)
* Patents (Chairman: William I. Sirovich; Ranking Member: Fred A. Hartley Jr.)
* Pensions (Chairman: Allard H. Gasque; Ranking Member: Walter G. Andrews)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: James M. Mead; Ranking Member: Fred A. Hartley Jr.)
* Printing (Chairman: J. Walter Lambeth; Ranking Member: Robert F. Rich)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Fritz G. Lanham; Ranking Member: J. Will Taylor)
* Public Lands (Chairman: René L. De Rouen; Ranking Member: Harry Lane Englebright)
* Revision of Laws (Chairman: Raymond J. Cannon; Ranking Member: Jesse P. Wolcott)
* Rivers and Harbors (Chairman: Joseph J. Mansfield; Ranking Member: George N. Seger)
* Roads (Chairman: Wilburn Cartwright; Ranking Member: Jesse P. Wolcott)
* Rules (Chairman: John J. O'Connor; Ranking Member: Joseph W. Martin Jr.)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Territories (Chairman: Robert A. Green; Ranking Member: Harry Lane Englebright)
* War Claims (Chairman: Alfred Beiter; Ranking Member: Benjamin K. Focht)
* 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

* Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
* Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
* Forestry (Chairman: Sen. John H. Bankhead II)
* Government Organization
* Hawaii
* The Library (Chairman: Sen. Alben W. Barkley)
* To Investigate Phosphate Resource of the United States
* Printing (Chairman: Sen. Carl Hayden; Vice Chairman: Rep. J. Walter Lambeth)
* Taxation (Chairman: Sen. Pat Harrison; Vice Chairman: Rep. Robert L. Doughton)
* Tax Evasion and Avoidance
* Tennessee Valley Authority

## 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
* Librarian of Congress: Herbert Putnam
* Public Printer of the United States: Augustus E. Giegengack

### Senate

* Chaplain: Reverend ZeBarney Thorne Phillips (Episcopalian)
* Parliamentarian: Charles L. Watkins
* Secretary: Edwin Alexander Halsey
* Librarian: Ruskin McArdle
* Sergeant at Arms: Chesley W. Jurney
* Democratic Party Secretary: Leslie Biffle
* Republican Party Secretary: Carl A. Loeffler

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: James Shera Montgomery (Methodist)
* Clerk: South Trimble
* Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott
* Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
* Postmaster: Finis E. Scott
* Reading Clerks: Roger M. Calloway (D) and Alney E. Chaffee (R)
* Sergeant at Arms: Kenneth Romney