Then, in the 1882 congressional elections, Republicans suffered a crushing defeat. The party lost its majority control in the House of Representatives, as Democrats, campaigning on the reform issue, defeated 40 Republican incumbents and picked up a total of 70 seats. This defeat helped convince many Republicans to support the reform proposal during the 1882 lame-duck session of Congress; the Senate approved the bill 38–5 and the House soon concurred by a vote of 155–47. Arthur signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act into law on January 16, 1883. The bill created a civil service commission to oversee civil service examinations and outlawed the use of 'assessments,' fees that political appointees were expected to pay to their respective political parties as the price for their appointments. These reforms had previously been proposed by the Jay Commission, which had investigated Arthur during his time as Collector of the Port of New York. In just two years' time, an unrepentant Stalwart had become the president who ushered in long-awaited civil service reform.