83rd United States Congress

The Eighty-third 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, DC from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1955, during the first two years of the first administration of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower.

1 Major events
2 Major legislation
- 2.1 Key Votes
  - 2.1.1 Senate
  - 2.1.2 House of Representatives
3 Party summary
- 3.1 Senate
- 3.2 House of Representatives
4 Leadership
- 4.1 Senate
  - 4.1.1 Majority (Republican) leadership
  - 4.1.2 Minority (Democratic) leadership
- 4.2 House of Representatives
  - 4.2.1 Majority (Republican) leadership
  - 4.2.2 Minority (Democratic) leadership
5 Members
- 5.1 Senate
- 5.2 House of Representatives
6 Changes in membership
- 6.1 Senate
- 6.2 House of Representatives
7 Employees
- 7.1 Senate
- 7.2 House of Representatives

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Seventeenth Census of the United States in 1950. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

Major events

Further information: Events of 1953, Events of 1954

January 20, 1953: Dwight Eisenhower became President of the United States
March 11, 1954: U.S. Capitol shooting incident

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation#83rd United States Congress

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

Key Votes

Senate

Legislation	Party	Yea	Nay
Formosa Policy	Democrats	12	32
Jan 28, 1955	Republicans	1	42
Rejected		13	74
China Mutual Defense Treaty	Democrats	9	33
Feb 9, 1955	Republicans	1	27
Rejected		10	60
Raising Congressional Salaries	Democrats	30	13
Feb 23, 1955	Republicans	32	11
Passed		62	24

House of Representatives

Legislation	Party	Yea	Nay
Raising Congressional Salaries	Democrats	166	59
Feb 16, 1955	Republicans	117	59
Passed		283	118
Reciprocal Trade Extension	Democrats	80	140
Feb 18, 1955	Republicans	119	66
Rejected		199	206
Reciprocal Trade Extension	Democrats	186	35
Feb 18, 1955	Republicans	109	75
Passed		295	110
Taxation	Democrats	16	205
Feb 25, 1955	Republicans	189	5
Rejected		205	210

Party summary

Senate

	Party (Shading shows control)			Total	Vacant

	Democratic (D)	Independent (I)	Republican (R)
End of the previous congress	48	0	47	95	1

Begin	47	1	48	96	0
End	47	1	48	96	0
Final voting share	49.0%	1.0%	50.0%

Beginning of the next congress	48	1	47	96	0

House of Representatives

221 Republicans, 213 Democrats, 1 Independent

Total Membership: 435 Representatives, 2 Delegates, 1 Resident Commissioner

Leadership

Senate

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

Majority (Republican) leadership

Majority Leader: Robert Taft, until July 31, 1953 (died)
- William F. Knowland, from August 3, 1953
Majority Whip: Leverett Saltonstall
Conference Chairman: Eugene Millikin

Minority (Democratic) leadership

House of Representatives

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

Majority (Republican) leadership

Minority (Democratic) leadership

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.

Nebraska

1. Hugh A. Butler (R), until July 1, 1954

Samuel Williams Reynolds (R), July 3, 1954 - November 7, 1954
Roman Hruska (R), from November 8, 1954

2. Dwight Griswold (R), until April 12, 1954

Eva K. Bowring (R), April 16, 1954 - November 7, 1954
Hazel Abel (R), November 8, 1954 - December 31, 1954
Carl Curtis (R), from January 1, 1955

Nevada

3. Patrick Anthony Mccarran (D), until September 28, 1954

Ernest S. Brown (R), October 1, 1954 - December 1, 1954
Alan Bible (D), from December 2, 1954

1. George W. Malone (R)

New Hampshire

2. Styles Bridges (R)
3. Charles W. Tobey (R), until July 24, 1953

Robert W. Upton (R), August 14, 1953 - November 7, 1954
Norris Cotton (R), from November 8, 1954

New Jersey

1. H. Alexander Smith (R)
2. Robert C. Hendrickson (R)

New Mexico

1. Dennis Wyatt Chavez (D)
2. Clinton Presba Anderson (D)

New York

1. Irving M. Ives (R)
3. Herbert H. Lehman (D)

North Carolina

2. Willis Smith (D), until June 26, 1953

Alton Asa Lennon (D), July 10, 1953 - November 28, 1954
W. Kerr Scott (D), from November 29, 1954

3. Clyde Roark Hoey (D), until May 12, 1954

Sam Ervin (D), from June 5, 1954

North Dakota

1. William Langer (R)
3. Milton Young (R)

Ohio

3. Robert Taft (R), until July 31, 1953

Thomas A. Burke (D), November 10, 1953 - December 2, 1954
George H. Bender (R), from December 16, 1954

1. John W. Bricker (R)

Oklahoma

2. Robert S. Kerr (D)
3. A. S. Mike Monroney (D)

Oregon

3. Wayne L. Morse (Independent)
2. Guy Cordon (R)

Pennsylvania

3. James H. Duff (R)
1. Edward Martin (R)

Rhode Island

1. John O. Pastore (D)
2. Theodore Francis Green (D)

South Carolina

2. Burnet R. Maybank (D), until September 1, 1954

Charles E. Daniel (D), September 6, 1954 - December 23, 1954
Strom Thurmond (D), from December 24, 1954

3. Olin D. Johnston (D)

South Dakota

2. Karl E. Mundt (R)
3. Francis H. Case (R)

Tennessee

1. Albert A. Gore Sr. (D)
2. C. Estes Kefauver (D)

Texas

1. Price Daniel (D)
2. Lyndon Johnson (D)

Utah

1. Arthur V. Watkins (R)
3. Wallace F. Bennett (R)

Vermont

1. Ralph E. Flanders (R)
3. George Aiken (R)

Virginia

1. Harry Flood Byrd (D)
2. Absalom Willis Robertson (D)

Washington

3. Warren G. Magnuson (D)
1. Henry M. Jackson (D)

West Virginia

1. Harley M. Kilgore (D)
2. Matthew M. Neely (D)

Wisconsin

3. Alexander Wiley (R)
1. Joseph McCarthy (R)

Wyoming

1. Frank A. Barrett (R)
2. Lester C. Hunt (D), until June 19, 1954

Edward D. Crippa (R), June 24, 1954 - November 28, 1954
Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D), from November 29, 1954

House of Representatives

Alabama

Arizona

1. John Jacob Rhodes (R)
2. Harold A. Patten (D)

Arkansas

California

1. Hubert B. Scudder (R)
2. Clair Engle (D)
3. John E. Moss (D)
4. William S. Mailliard (R)
5. John F. Shelley (D)
6. Robert Condon (D)
7. John J. Allen, Jr. (R)
8. George P. Miller (D)
9. Jesse A. Younger (R)
10. Charles S. Gubser (R)
11. Justin L. Johnson (R)
12. Allan O. Hunter (R)
13. Ernest K. Bramblett (R)
14. Harlan Hagen (D)
15. Gordon L. McDonough (R)
16. Donald L. Jackson (R)
17. Cecil R. King (D)
18. Craig Hosmer (R)
19. Chet Holifield (D)
20. John Carl Hinshaw (R)
21. Edgar W. Hiestand (R)
22. Joseph F. Holt (R)
23. Clyde Doyle (D)
24. C. Norris Poulson (R), until June 11, 1953

Glenard P. Lipscomb (R), from November 10, 1953

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

At-large. Herbert B. Warburton (R)

Florida

1. Courtney W. Campbell (D)
2. Charles Edward Bennett (D)
3. Robert L. F. Sikes (D)
4. William C. Lantaff (D)
5. Albert S. Herlong, Jr. (D)
6. Dwight L. Rogers (D), until December 1, 1954
7. James A. Haley (D)
8. Donald Ray Matthews (D)

Georgia

1. Prince H. Preston, Jr. (D)
2. J. L. Pilcher (D), from February 4, 1953
3. Tic Forrester (D)
4. A. Sidney Camp (D), until July 24, 1954

John J. Flynt, Jr. (D), from November 2, 1954

Idaho

1. Gracie Pfost (D)
2. Hamer H. Budge (R)

Illinois

1. William L. Dawson (D)
2. Barratt O'Hara (D)
3. Fred E. Busbey (R)
4. William E. McVey (R)
5. John C. Kluczynski (D)
6. Thomas Joseph O'Brien (D)
7. James B. Bowler (D), from July 7, 1953
8. Thomas S. Gordon (D)
9. Sidney R. Yates (D)
10. Richard W. Hoffman (R)
11. Timothy P. Sheehan (R)
12. Edgar A. Jonas (R)
13. Marguerite S. Church (R)
14. Chauncey W. Reed (R)
15. Noah M. Mason (R)
16. Leo E. Allen (R)
17. Leslie C. Arends (R)
18. Harold H. Velde (R)
19. Robert B. Chiperfield (R)
20. Sid Simpson (R)
21. Peter F. Mack, Jr. (D)
22. William L. Springer (R)
23. Charles W. Vursell (R)
24. Melvin Price (D)
25. C. W. Bishop (R)

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

1. Noble J. Gregory (D)
2. Garrett L. Withers (D), until April 30, 1953

William H. Natcher (D), from August 1, 1953

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

1. Thaddeus M. Machrowicz (D)
2. George Meader (R)
3. Paul W. Shafer (R), until August 17, 1954
4. Clare E. Hoffman (R)
5. Gerald Ford (R)
6. Kit F. Clardy (R)
7. Jesse P. Wolcott (R)
8. Alvin M. Bentley (R)
9. Ruth Thompson (R)
10. Elford Cederberg (R)
11. Victor A. Knox (R)
12. John B. Bennett (R)
13. George D. O'Brien (D)
14. Louis C. Rabaut (D)
15. John D. Dingell, Sr. (D)
16. John Lesinski, Jr. (D)
17. Charles G. Oakman (R)
18. George A. Dondero (R)

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

1. Lee Metcalf (D)
2. Wesley A. D'Ewart (R)

Nebraska

1. Carl T. Curtis (R), until December 31, 1954
2. Roman L. Hruska (R), until November 8, 1954
3. Robert Dinsmore Harrison (R)
4. Arthur L. Miller (R)

Nevada

At-large. Clarence Clifton Young (R)

New Hampshire

1. Charles Earl Merrow (R)
2. Norris H. Cotton (R), resigned November 7, 1954

New Jersey

1. Charles A. Wolverton (R)
2. T. Millet Hand (R)
3. James C. Auchincloss (R)
4. Charles R. Howell (D)
5. Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr. (R)
6. Clifford P. Case (R), until August 16, 1953

Harrison Williams, Jr. (D), from November 3, 1953

New Mexico

At-large: John J. Dempsey (D)
At-large: Antonio M. Fernández (D)

New York

1. Stuyvesant Wainwright (R)
2. Steven B. Derounian (R)
3. Frank J. Becker (R)
4. Henry J. Latham (R)
5. Albert H. Bosch (R)
6. Lester Holtzman (D)
7. James J. Delaney (D)
8. Louis B. Heller (D), until July 21, 1954
9. Eugene J. Keogh (D)
10. Edna F. Kelly (D)
11. Emanuel Celler (D)
12. Francis E. Dorn (R)
13. Abraham J. Multer (D)
14. John J. Rooney (D)
15. John H. Ray (R)
16. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (D)
17. Frederic R. Coudert, Jr. (R)
18. James G. Donovan (D)
19. Arthur G. Klein (D)
20. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. (D)
21. Jacob K. Javits (R), until December 31, 1954
22. Sidney A. Fine (D)
23. Isidore Dollinger (D)
24. Charles A. Buckley (D)
25. Paul A. Fino (R)
26. Ralph A. Gamble (R)
27. Ralph W. Gwinn (R)
28. Katharine St. George (R)
29. J. Ernest Wharton (R)
30. Leo W. O'Brien (D)
31. Dean P. Taylor (R)
32. Bernard W. Kearney (R)
33. Clarence E. Kilburn (R)
34. William R. Williams (R)
35. R. Walter Riehlman (R)
36. John Taber (R)
37. W. Sterling Cole (R)
38. Kenneth B. Keating (R)
39. Harold C. Ostertag (R)
40. William E. Miller (R)
41. Edmund P. Radwan (R)
42. John R. Pillion (R)
43. Daniel A. Reed (R)

North Carolina

North Dakota

At-large. Otto Krueger (R)
At-large. Usher L. Burdick (Nonpartisan Republican)

Ohio

1. Gordon H. Scherer (R)
2. William E. Hess (R)
3. Paul F. Schenck (R)
4. William M. McCulloch (R)
5. Cliff Clevenger (R)
6. James G. Polk (D)
7. Clarence J. Brown (R)
8. Jackson E. Betts (R)
9. Frazier Reams (I)
10. Thomas A. Jenkins (R)
11. Oliver P. Bolton (R)
12. John M. Vorys (R)
13. Alvin F. Weichel (R)
14. William H. Ayres (R)
15. Robert T. Secrest (D), until September 26, 1954
16. Frank T. Bow (R)
17. J. Harry McGregor (R)
18. Wayne L. Hays (D)
19. Michael J. Kirwan (D)
20. Michael A. Feighan (D)
21. Robert Crosser (D)
22. Frances P. Bolton (R)
23. George H. Bender (R), until December 15, 1954

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

1. Aime Forand (D)
2. John E. Fogarty (D)

South Carolina

1. L. Mendel Rivers (D)
2. John J. Riley (D)
3. W.J. Bryan Dorn (D)
4. Joseph R. Bryson (D), until March 10, 1953

Robert T. Ashmore (D), from June 2, 1953

5. James P. Richards (D)
6. John L. McMillan (D)

South Dakota

1. Harold O. Lovre (R)
2. E. Y. Berry (R)

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

1. Douglas R. Stringfellow (R)
2. William A. Dawson (R)

Vermont

At-large. Winston L. Prouty (R)

Virginia

1. Edward J. Robeson, Jr. (D)
2. Porter Hardy, Jr. (D)
3. J. Vaughan Gary (D)
4. Watkins Moorman Abbitt (D)
5. Thomas Bahnson Stanley (D), until February 3, 1953

William M. Tuck (D), from April 14, 1953

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Lester Johnson (D), from October 13, 1953

10. Alvin E. O'Konski (R)

Wyoming

At-large. William Henry Harrison (R)

Non-voting members

Alaska Territory. Bob Bartlett (D)
Hawaii Territory. Joseph Rider Farrington (R), until June 19, 1954

Mary Elizabeth Pruett Farrington (R), from July 31, 1954

Puerto Rico. Antonio Fernós Isern, (PPD)

Changes in membership

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

Senate

State (class)	Former senator	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's installation
North Carolina (2)	Willis Smith (D)	Died June 25, 1953	Alton Lennon (D)	July 10, 1953
New Hampshire (3)	Charles W. Tobey (R)	Died July 24, 1953	Robert W. Upton (R)	August 14, 1953
Ohio (3)	Robert Taft (R)	Died July 31, 1953.	Thomas A. Burke (D)	November 10, 1953
Nebraska (2)	Dwight Griswold (R)	Died April 12, 1954	Eva Bowring (R)	April 16, 1954
North Carolina (3)	Clyde R. Hoey (D)	Died May 12, 1954	Sam Ervin (D)	June 5, 1954
Wyoming (2)	Lester C. Hunt (D)	Died June 19, 1954.	Edward D. Crippa (R)	June 24, 1954
Nebraska (1)	Hugh A. Butler (R)	Died July 1, 1954	Samuel W. Reynolds (R)	July 3, 1954
South Carolina (2)	Burnet R. Maybank (D)	Died September 1, 1954.	Charles E. Daniel (D)	September 6, 1954
Nevada (3)	Pat McCarran (D)	Died September 28, 1954	Ernest S. Brown (R)	October 1, 1954
Nebraska (1)	Samuel W. Reynolds (R)	Successor elected November 7, 1954	Roman Hruska (R)	November 8, 1954
Nebraska (2)	Eva Bowring (R)	Successor elected November 7, 1954	Hazel Abel (R)	November 8, 1954
New Hampshire (3)	Robert W. Upton (R)	Successor elected November 7, 1954. Lost special election to fill seat.	Norris Cotton (R)	November 8, 1954
North Carolina (2)	Alton Lennon (D)	Successor elected November 28, 1954. Lost special election to fill seat.	W. Kerr Scott (D)	November 29, 1954
Wyoming (2)	Edward D. Crippa (R)	Successor elected November 28, 1954.	Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D)	November 29, 1954
Nevada (3)	Ernest S. Brown (R)	Successor elected December 1, 1954. Lost special election to fill seat.	Alan Bible (D)	December 2, 1954
Ohio (3)	Thomas A. Burke (D)	Successor elected December 2, 1954. Lost special election to fill seat.	George H. Bender (R)	December 16, 1954
South Carolina (2)	Charles E. Daniel (D)	Resigned December 23, 1954.	Strom Thurmond (D)	December 24, 1954
Nebraska (2)	Hazel Abel (R)	Resigned December 31, 1954	Carl Curtis (R)	January 1, 1955

House of Representatives

District	Vacator	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's installation
Georgia 2nd	Vacant	Rep. Edward E. Cox died during previous congress	J. L. Pilcher (D)	February 4, 1953
Illinois 7th	Vacant	Rep. Adolph J. Sabath died during previous congress	James Bowler (D)	July 7, 1953
Virginia 5th	Thomas B. Stanley (D)	resigned February 3, 1953 to run for Governor of Virginia	William M. Tuck (D)	April 14, 1953
South Carolina 4th	Joseph R. Bryson (D)	Died March 10, 1953	Robert T. Ashmore (D)	June 2, 1953
Kentucky 2nd	Garrett L. Withers (D)	Died April 30, 1953	William H. Natcher (D)	August 1, 1953
Wisconsin 9th	Merlin Hull (R)	Died May 17, 1953	Lester Johnson (D)	October 13, 1953
California 24th	Norris Poulson (R)	Resigned June 11, 1953 after being elected Mayor of Los Angeles	Glenard P. Lipscomb (R)	November 10, 1953
New Jersey 6th	Clifford P. Case (R)	Resigned August 16, 1953	Harrison A. Williams (D)	November 3, 1953
Hawaii Territory At-large	Joseph R. Farrington (R)	Resigned June 19, 1954	Elizabeth P. Farrington (R)	July 31, 1954
New York 8th	Louis B. Heller (D)	Resigned July 21, 1954 after being appointed judge of the Court of Special Sessions of New York City	Vacant	Not filled this term
Georgia 4th	A. Sidney Camp (D)	Died July 24, 1954	John J. Flynt, Jr. (D)	November 2, 1954
Michigan 3rd	Paul W. Shafer (R)	Died August 17, 1954	Vacant	Not filled this term
Ohio 15th	Robert T. Secrest (D)	Resigned September 26, 1954	Vacant	Not filled this term
New Hampshire 2nd	Norris Cotton (R)	Resigned November 7, 1954 after being elected to the US Senate	Vacant	Not filled this term
Nebraska 2nd	Roman Hruska (R)	Resigned November 8, 1954 after being elected to the US Senate	Vacant	Not filled this term
Florida 6th	Dwight L. Rogers (D)	Died December 1, 1954	Vacant	Not filled this term
Ohio 15th	George H. Bender (R)	Resigned December 15, 1954 after being elected to the US Senate	Vacant	Not filled this term
Nebraska 1st	Carl Curtis (R)	Resigned December 31, 1954 after being elected to the US Senate	Vacant	Not filled this term
New York 21st	Jacob K. Javits (R)	Resigned December 31, 1954 after being elected New York Attorney General	Vacant	Not filled this term

Employees

Architect of the Capitol: [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]

Senate

House of Representatives

Chaplain: Bernard Braskamp
Clerk: Lyle O. Snader
Doorkeeper: Tom Kennamer
Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
Postmaster: Beecher Hess
Sergeant at Arms: William F. Russell, died July 7, 1953
- Lyle O. Snader, July 8, 1953 – September 15, 1953
- William R. Bonnell, form September 15, 1953