The Eighty-seventh 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, 1961 to January 3, 1963, during the first two years of the administration of U.S. President John Kennedy. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Seventeenth Census of the United States in 1950, along with 2 seats temporarily added in 1959 (one member each from recently admitted states of Alaska and Hawaii). Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
January 3, 1961: President Eisenhower severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba.
January 20, 1961: Inauguration of President John Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson
April 17, 1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba began; it fails by April 19.
May 4, 1961: Freedom Riders began interstate bus rides to test the new U.S. Supreme Court integration decision.
May 5, 1961: Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard Mercury-Redstone 3.
May 25, 1961: President Kennedy announced his goal to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade
November 20: 1961: Funeral of Speaker Sam Rayburn, who died on November 16
February 3, 1962: Embargo against Cuba was announced
February 20, 1962: John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth
March 26, 1962: Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could order state legislatures to reapportion seats (Baker v. Carr)
October 1, 1962: James Meredith registered as the first black student at the University of Mississippi, escorted by Federal Marshals.
October 14, 1962 - October 28, 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
May 1, 1961: Area Redevelopment Act, Pub.L. 87–27, 75 Stat. 47
August 30, 1961 : Oil Pollution Act of 1961, Pub.L. 87–167, 75 Stat. 402
September 4, 1961: The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, Pub.L. 87–195, 75 Stat. 424
September 13, 1961: Interstate Wire Act of 1961, Pub.L. 87–216, 75 Stat. 491
September 21, 1961: Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Pub.L. 87–256, 75 Stat. 527
September 22, 1961: Peace Corps Act of 1961, Pub.L. 87–293, 75 Stat. 612
September 26, 1961: Arms Control and Disarmament Act of 1961, Pub.L. 87–297, 75 Stat. 631
October 15, 1961: Community Health Services and Facilities Act, Pub.L. 87–395, 75 Stat. 824
March 15, 1962: Manpower Development and Training Act, Pub.L. 87–415, 76 Stat. 23
June 28, 1962: Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, Pub.L. 87–510, 76 Stat. 121
August 13, 1962: Communications Satellite Act, Pub.L. 87–624, 76 Stat. 419
October 11, 1962: Trade Expansion Act, Pub.L. 87–794, 76 Stat. 872
October 23, 1962: Bribery Act, Pub.L. 87–849, 76 Stat. 1119
October 23, 1962: Vaccination Assistance Act of 1962, Pub.L. 87–868, 76 Stat. 1155
October 23, 1962: River and Harbor Act of 1962, Pub.L. 87–874, 76 Stat. 1173
March 29, 1961: The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote in presidential elections.
August 27, 1962: The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed Congress, which would prohibit poll taxes in voting. It would be ratified by the states in the next Congress.
President: Richard Nixon (R), until January 20, 1961
Lyndon Johnson (D), from January 20, 1961
President pro tempore: Carl Hayden (D)
Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield
Majority Whip: Hubert Humphrey
Caucus Secretary: George Smathers
Minority Leader: Everett Dirksen
Minority Whip: Thomas Kuchel
Republican Conference Chairman: Leverett Saltonstall
Republican Conference Secretary: Milton Young
National Senatorial Committee Chair: Barry Goldwater
Policy Committee Chairman: Styles Bridges (until November 26, 1961)
Bourke B. Hickenlooper (from January 3, 1962)
Speaker: Sam Rayburn (D), until November 16, 1961
John W. McCormack (D), from January 10, 1962
Majority Leader: John William McCormack until January 10, 1962
Carl Albert, from January 10, 1962
Majority Whip: Carl Albert
Hale Boggs, from January 10, 1962
Democratic Caucus Chairman: Francis E. Walter
Caucus Secretary: Leonor Sullivan
Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Michael J. Kirwan
Minority Leader: Charles A. Halleck
Minority Whip: Leslie C. Arends
Conference Chair: Charles B. Hoeven
Policy Committee Chairman: John W. Byrnes
House Democratic Caucus
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 of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Aeronautical and Space Sciences
Agriculture and Forestry
Appropriations
Banking and Currency
Commerce
District of Columbia
Finance
Foreign Relations
Government Operations
Interior and Insular Affairs
Interstate and Foreign Commerce
Judiciary
Labor and Public Welfare
National Fuels Study (Special)
National Water Resources (Select)
Post Office and Civil Service
Public Works
Small Business (Select)
Subcommittee on Internal Security
Whole
Agriculture
Appropriations
Banking and Currency
District of Columbia
Education and Labor
Foreign Affairs
Government Operations
House Administration
Interior and Insular Affairs
Merchant Marine and Fisheries
Post Office and Civil Service
Public Works
Rules
Science and Astronautics
Small Business (Select)
Standards of Official Conduct
Un-American Activities
Veterans' Affairs
Ways and Means
Whole
Atomic Energy
Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
Construction of a Building for a Museum of History and Technology for the Smithsonian
Defense Production
Economic
Immigration and Nationality Policy
Legislative Budget
The Library
Navajo-Hopi Indian Administration
Printing
Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures
Taxation
Architect of the Capitol: J. George Stewart
Attending Physician of the United States Congress: George Calver
Comptroller General of the United States: Joseph Campbell
Librarian of Congress: Lawrence Quincy Mumford
Public Printer of the United States: Raymond Blattenberger (until 1961), James L. Harrison (starting 1961)
Chaplain: Frederick Brown Harris (Methodist)
Parliamentarian: Charles Watkins
Secretary: Felton McLellan Johnston
Sergeant at Arms: Joseph C. Duke
Chaplain: Bernard Braskamp (Presbyterian)
Clerk: Ralph R. Roberts
Doorkeeper: William Mosley "Fishbait" Miller
Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
Postmaster: H. H. Morris
Sergeant at Arms: Zeake W. Johnson, Jr.
