The Seventy-fourth 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, 1935 to January 3, 1937, during the third and fourth years of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Fifteenth Census of the United States in 1930. Both chambers had a Democratic supermajority.
April 14, 1935: Dust Bowl: The great dust storm hit eastern New Mexico, Colorado, and western Oklahoma
May 6, 1935: Executive Order 7034 created the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
May 27, 1935: Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States: the U.S. Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional
June 12, 1935 – June 13, 1935: Senator Huey Long gave the second longest filibuster speech in Senate history up to that time, 15 hours and 30 minutes to retain a provision, opposed by President Franklin Roosevelt, requiring Senate confirmation for the National Recovery Administration's senior employees.
July 1, 1935: Charles Watkins was appointed as the first officially recognized Parliamentarian.
September 10, 1935: Senator Huey Long of Louisiana died, as the result of being shot by an assassin on September 8.
March 1, 1936: Construction of Hoover Dam was completed.
November 3, 1936: General elections
U.S. presidential election, 1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) was reelected with 60.8% of the vote over Alf Landon (R).
United States Senate elections, 1936: Democrats gained 5 net seats during the election, and in combination with Democratic and Farmer-Labor interim appointments and the defection of George W. Norris from the Republican Party to become independent, the Republicans were reduced to 16 seats, the most lopsided Senate since Reconstruction.
United States House of Representatives elections, 1936: Democrats gained twelve more net seats from the Republicans, bringing them above a three-fourths majority. This was the largest majority since Reconstruction. The last time a party won so decisively was in 1866.
November 25, 1936: Abraham Lincoln Brigade sailed from New York City on its way to the Spanish Civil War
April 27, 1935: Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, Sess. 1, ch. 85, 49 Stat. 163
July 5, 1935: National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act), Sess. 1, ch. 372, 49 Stat. 449
August 9, 1935: Motor Carrier Act, Sess. 1, ch. 498, 49 Stat. 546 (renamed part II of the Interstate Commerce Act)
August 14, 1935: Social Security Act, including Aid to Dependent Children, Old Age Pension Act, Pub.L. 74–271, Sess. 1, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620
August 23, 1935: Banking Act of 1935 49 Stat. 694
August 26, 1935: Public Utility Act (including: Title I: Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, Title II: Federal Power Act), Sess. 1, ch. 687, 49 Stat. 803
August 30, 1935: Revenue Act of 1935, Sess. 1, ch. 829, 49 Stat. 1014
August 31, 1935: Neutrality Act of 1935, Sess. 1, ch. 837, 49 Stat. 1081
February 29, 1936: Neutrality Act of 1936, Sess. 2, ch. 106, 49 Stat. 1153
May 20, 1936: Rural Electrification Act, Sess. 2, ch. 432, 49 Stat. 1363
June 15, 1936: Commodities Exchange Act, Sess. 2, ch. 545, 49 Stat. 1491
June 19, 1936: Robinson Patman Act, Sess. 2, ch. 592, 49 Stat. 1526
June 22, 1936: Flood Control Act of 1936, Pub.L. 74–738, Sess. 2, ch. 688
June 29, 1936: Merchant Marine Act, Sess. 2, ch. 250, 49 Stat. 1985
June 30, 1936: Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, Sess. 2, ch. 881, 49 Stat. 2036`
[ Section contents: Senate: Majority (D), Minority (R) • House: Majority (D), Minority (R) ]
President of the Senate: John N. Garner (D)
President pro tempore: Key Pittman (D)
Majority leader: Joseph T. Robinson
Assistant majority leader (Majority whip): J. Hamilton Lewis
Democratic Caucus Secretary: Hugo Black
Minority leader: Charles L. McNary
Assistant Minority leader (Minority whip): None
Republican Conference Secretary: Frederick Hale
Speaker: Joseph W. Byrns (D), died June 4, 1936
William B. Bankhead (D), elected June 4, 1936
Majority leader:
William B. Bankhead, until June 4, 1936
John J. O'Connor
Majority whip: Patrick J. Boland
Democratic Caucus Chairman: Edward T. Taylor
Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Patrick H. Drewry
Minority leader: Bertrand H. Snell
Minority whip: Harry L. Englebright
Republican Conference Chair: Frederick R. Lehlbach
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.
The names of members are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Agriculture and Forestry
Air Mail and Ocean Mail Contracts (Special)
Appropriations
Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
Banking and Currency
Bankruptcy and Receiveship (Select)
Campaign Expenditures Investigation (Special)
Civil Service
Claims
Commerce
District of Columbia
Education and Labor
Investigation Violations of Free Speech and the Rights of Labor
Enrolled Bills
Executive Agencies of the Government (Select)
Expenditures in Executive Departments
Finance
Foreign Relations
Immigration
Immigration and Naturalization
Indian Affairs
Interoceanic Canals
Interstate Commerce
Judiciary
Land and Water Policies of the United States (Special)
Library
Lobbying Activities (Select)
Manufactures
Military Affairs
Mines and Mining
Mississippi Flood Control Project (Select)
Naval Affairs
Patents
Pensions
Philippines Economic Condition (Special)
Post Office and Post Roads
Presidential and Senatorial Campaign Expenditures (Special)
Printing
Privileges and Elections
Public Buildings and Grounds
Public Lands and Surveys
Rules
Silver (Special)
Territories and Insular Affairs
Virgin Islands (Select)
Whole
Wildlife Resources (Special)
Wool Production (Special)
Accounts
Agriculture
American Retail Federation (Special)
Appropriations
Banking and Currency
Census
Civil Service
Claims
Coinage, Weights and Measures
Disposition of Executive Papers
District of Columbia
Education
Election of the President, Vice President and Representatives in Congress
Elections
Enrolled Bills
Expenditures in the Executive Departments
Flood Control
Foreign Affairs
Immigration and Naturalization
Indian Affairs
Insular Affairs
Interstate and Foreign Commerce
Invalid Pensions
Irrigation and Reclamation
Labor
Memorials
Merchant Marine and Fisheries
Military Affairs
Mines and Mining
Naval Affairs
Patents
Pensions
Post Office and Post Roads
Public Buildings and Grounds
Public Lands
Revision of Laws
Rivers and Harbors
Roads
Rules
Standards of Official Conduct
Territories
War Claims
Ways and Means
Whole
Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
The Library
Taxation
Architect of the Capitol: David Lynn
Attending Physician of the United States Congress: George Calver
Comptroller General of the United States: John R. McCarl (until June 30, 1936), vacant thereafter
Librarian of Congress: Herbert Putnam
Public Printer of the United States: Augustus E. Giegengack
Parliamentarian: Charles Watkins
Clerk: South Trimble
Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott
Postmaster: Finis E. Scott
Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
Sergeant at Arms: Kenneth Romney
Chaplain: James Shera Montgomery - Methodist
