The Eighty-ninth 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, 1965 to January 3, 1967, during the third and fourth years of Lyndon Johnson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Eighteenth Census of the United States in 1960. Both chambers had a Democratic supermajority. It is regarded as "arguably the most productive in American history". Some of its landmark legislation includes Social Security Amendments of 1965 (the creation of Medicare and Medicaid), the Voting Rights Act, Higher Education Act, and Freedom of Information Act.
January 4, 1965: President Johnson proclaimed his "Great Society" during his State of the Union Address.
January 20, 1965: Inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson as President (for a full term) and Hubert Humphrey as Vice President.
November 8, 1966: United States elections, 1966, including:
United States Senate elections, 1966
United States House of Representatives elections, 1966
April 11, 1965: Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Pub.L. 89–10
July 27, 1965: Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, Pub.L. 89–92
July 30, 1965: Social Security Act of 1965, Pub.L. 89–97 (including Medicaid and Medicare)
August 6, 1965: Voting Rights Act, Pub.L. 89–110
August 10, 1965: Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, Pub.L. 89–117
August 26, 1965: Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, Pub.L. 89–136
September 29, 1965: National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, Pub.L. 89–209
October 3, 1965: Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, (Hart-Celler Act, INS Act) Pub.L. 89–236
October 6, 1965: Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke Amendments, Pub.L. 89–239
October 20, 1965: Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act, Pub.L. 89–272 (including Solid Waste Disposal Act)
October 22, 1965: Highway Beautification Act, Pub.L. 89–285
November 8, 1965: Higher Education Act, Pub.L. 89–329
November 8, 1965: Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments Pub.L. 89–333
April 13, 1966: Uniform Time Act, Pub.L. 89–387
July 13, 1966: Cotton Research and Promotion Act, Pub.L. 89–502
September 6, 1966: Pub.L. 89–554, which (among other things) enacted what is now called the Freedom of Information Act
September 9, 1966: National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Pub.L. 89–563
October 15, 1966: National Historic Preservation Act, Pub.L. 89–665
October 15, 1966: National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, Pub.L. 89–669, §4–5
October 15, 1966: Department of Transportation Act, Pub.L. 89–670
November 2, 1966: Cuban Adjustment Act, Pub.L. 89–732
November 3, 1966: Comprehensive Health, Planning and Service Act, Pub.L. 89–749
July 6, 1965: Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution (ratified February 10, 1967)
The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.
President of the Senate: Hubert Humphrey (D), starting January 20, 1965
President pro tempore: Carl Hayden (D)
Permanent Acting President pro tempore: Lee Metcalf (D)
Majority Leader and Democratic Conference Chairman: Mike Mansfield (D)
Majority Whip: Russell B. Long (D)
Caucus Secretary: George Smathers
Minority Leader: Everett Dirksen (R)
Minority Whip: Thomas Kuchel (R)
Republican Conference Chairman: Leverett Saltonstall (R)
Republican Conference Secretary: Milton Young (R)
National Senatorial Committee Chair: Thruston Ballard Morton (R)
Policy Committee Chairman: Bourke B. Hickenlooper (R)
Speaker: John William McCormack (D)
Majority Leader: Carl Albert (D)
Majority Whip: Hale Boggs (D)
Democratic Caucus Chairman: Eugene Keogh (D)
Caucus Secretary: Leonor Sullivan (D)
Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Michael J. Kirwan (D)
Minority Leader: Gerald Ford (R)
Minority Whip: Leslie C. Arends (R)
Republican Conference Chairman: Melvin R. Laird (R)
Policy Committee Chairman: John Jacob Rhodes (R)
House Democratic Caucus
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.
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 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1970; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1966; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1968.
Names of members are preceded by their district numbers.
Replacements: 5
Democratic: 1-seat net loss
Republican: 1-seat net gain
Deaths: 2
Resignations: 2
Replacements: 9
Democratic: no net change
Republican: no net change
Deaths: 5
Resignations: 15
Total seats with changes: 20
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
Judiciary
Labor and Public Welfare
Organization of Congress (Select)
Post Office and Civil Service
Public Works
Small Business (Select)
Standards and Conduct (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
Disposition of Executive Papers
Economic
Immigration and Nationality Policy
Legislative Budget
The Library
Navajo-Hopi Indian Administration
Organization of Congress
Printing
Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures
Taxation
Architect of the Capitol: J. George Stewart
Attending Physician of the United States Congress: George Calver (until 1966), Rufus Pearson (starting 1966)
Comptroller General of the United States:
Joseph Campbell, until July 31, 1965, vacant thereafter
vacant, July 31, 1965 – March 8, 1966
Elmer B. Staats, starting March 8, 1966
Librarian of Congress: Lawrence Quincy Mumford
Public Printer of the United States: James L. Harrison
Chaplain: Frederick Brown Harris (Methodist)
Secretary: Felton McLellan Johnston, until December 30, 1965 (resigned)
Emery L. Frazier, January 1, 1966 – September 30, 1966
Francis R. Valeo, from October 1, 1966
Democratic Party Secretary: J. Stanley Kimmitt
Republican Party Secretary: J. Mark Trice
Sergeant at Arms: Joseph C. Duke, until December 30, 1965 (resigned)
Robert G. Dunphy, from January 14, 1966
Chaplain: Bernard Braskamp (Presbyterian)
Clerk: Ralph R. Roberts
Doorkeeper: William M. Miller
Postmaster: H. H. Morris
Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
Sergeant at Arms: Zeake W. Johnson
