111th United States Congress | |
---|---|
110th ← → 112th | |
![]() United States Capitol (2009) | |
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | |
Members | 100 senators 435 representatives 6 non-voting delegates |
Senate majority | Democratic |
Senate President | Dick Cheney (R) [a] (until January 20, 2009) Joe Biden (D) (from January 20, 2009) |
House majority | Democratic |
House Speaker | Nancy Pelosi (D) |
Sessions | |
1st: January 6, 2009 – December 24, 2009 2nd: January 5, 2010 – December 22, 2010 |
The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The apportionment of seats in the House was based on the 2000 U.S. census. [1] [2] [3]
In the November 2008 elections, the Democratic Party increased its majorities in both chambers (including – when factoring in the two Democratic caucusing independents – a brief filibuster-proof 60-40 supermajority in the Senate), and with Barack Obama being sworn in as president on January 20, 2009, this gave Democrats an overall federal government trifecta for the first time since the 103rd Congress in 1993.
However, the Senate supermajority only lasted for a period of 72 working days while the Senate was actually in session. A new delegate seat was created for the Northern Mariana Islands. [4] The 111th Congress had the most long-serving members in history: at the start of the 111th Congress, the average member of the House had served 10.3 years, while the average Senator had served 13.4 years. [5] The Democratic Party would not simultaneously control both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate again until more than a decade later, during the 117th Congress.
The 111th Congress was the most productive congress since the 89th Congress. [6] It enacted numerous significant pieces of legislation, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the New START treaty.
At the encouragement of the Obama administration, Congress devoted significant time considering health care reform. In March 2010, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, the first comprehensive health care reform legislation in decades, along with further amendments in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Other major reform proposals during the health care debate included:
Proposed bills include (in alphabetical order): [b]
Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Independent (caucusing with Democrats) | Republican | Vacant | ||
End of previous Congress | 48 | 2 | 49 | 99 | 1 |
Begin | 55 | 2 | 41 | 98 | 2 |
January 15, 2009 | 56 | 99 | 1 | ||
January 20, 2009 | 55 | 98 | 2 | ||
January 26, 2009 | 56 | 99 | 1 | ||
April 30, 2009 | 57 | 40 | |||
July 7, 2009 | 58 | 100 | 0 | ||
August 25, 2009 | 57 | 99 | 1 | ||
September 9, 2009 | 39 | 98 | 2 | ||
September 10, 2009 | 40 | 99 | 1 | ||
September 25, 2009 | 58 | 100 | 0 | ||
February 4, 2010 | 57 | 41 | |||
June 28, 2010 | 56 | 99 | 1 | ||
July 16, 2010 | 57 | 100 | 0 | ||
November 29, 2010 | 56 | 42 | |||
Final voting share | 58% | 42% | |||
Beginning of the next Congress | 51 | 2 | 47 | 100 | 0 |
Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Republican | Vacant | |||
End of previous Congress | 235 | 198 | 433 | 2 | |
Begin | 256 | 178 | 434 | 1 | |
January 26, 2009 | 255 | 433 | 2 | ||
February 24, 2009 | 254 | 432 | 3 | ||
March 31, 2009 | 255 | 433 | 2 | ||
April 7, 2009 | 256 | 434 | 1 | ||
June 26, 2009 | 255 | 433 | 2 | ||
July 14, 2009 | 256 | 434 | 1 | ||
September 21, 2009 | 177 | 433 | 2 | ||
November 3, 2009 | 258 | 435 | 0 | ||
December 22, 2009 | 257 | 178 | |||
January 3, 2010 | 256 | 434 | 1 | ||
February 8, 2010 | 255 | 433 | 2 | ||
February 28, 2010 | 254 | 432 | 3 | ||
March 8, 2010 | 253 | 431 | 4 | ||
March 21, 2010 | 177 | 430 | 5 | ||
April 13, 2010 | 254 | 431 | 4 | ||
May 18, 2010 | 255 | 432 | 3 | ||
May 21, 2010 | 176 | 431 | 4 | ||
May 22, 2010 | 177 | 432 | 3 | ||
June 8, 2010 | 178 | 433 | 2 | ||
November 2, 2010 | 180 | 435 | 0 | ||
November 29, 2010 | 179 | 434 | 1 | ||
Final voting share | 58.8% | 41.2% | |||
Non-voting members | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
Beginning of next Congress | 193 | 242 | 435 | 0 |
Section contents: Senate: Majority (D), Minority (R) • House: Majority (D), Minority (R)
In this Congress, Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 2010; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 2012; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 2014.
Four of the changes are associated with the 2008 presidential election and appointments to the Obama Administration, one senator changed parties, one election was disputed, two senators died, one senator resigned, and three appointed senators served only until special elections were held during this Congress.
State (class) | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation [d] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Minnesota (2) | Disputed | Incumbent Norm Coleman (R) challenged the election of Al Franken (D). The results were disputed, and the seat remained vacant at the beginning of the Congress. Following recounts and litigation, successor elected June 30, 2009. | Al Franken (DFL) | July 7, 2009 [39] |
Illinois (3) | Vacant | Barack Obama (D) resigned near the end of the previous Congress, after being elected President of the United States. [40] Successor appointed December 31, 2008, during the last Congress, but due to a credentials challenge, his credentials were not deemed "in order" until January 12, and he was not sworn in to fill his seat until 12 days after the initiation of this Congress. [41] | Roland Burris [42] (D) | January 12, 2009 [41] |
Delaware (2) | Joe Biden (D) | Resigned January 15, 2009, to assume the position of Vice President. [43] Successor appointed January 15, 2009, to finish the term. | Ted Kaufman [44] (D) | January 16, 2009 [45] |
Colorado (3) | Ken Salazar (D) | Resigned January 20, 2009, to become Secretary of the Interior. Successor appointed on January 21, 2009, and later elected for a full six-year term. | Michael Bennet [46] (D) | January 21, 2009 [47] |
New York (1) | Hillary Clinton (D) | Resigned January 21, 2009, to become Secretary of State. Successor appointed on January 26, 2009, and later elected to finish the term. | Kirsten Gillibrand [48] (D) | January 26, 2009 |
Pennsylvania (3) | Arlen Specter (R) | Changed party affiliation April 30, 2009. [30] | Arlen Specter (D) | April 30, 2009 |
Massachusetts (1) | Ted Kennedy (D) | Died August 25, 2009. Successor appointed September 23, 2009, to finish the term. [49] [50] [51] | Paul G. Kirk (D) | September 25, 2009 |
Florida (3) | Mel Martinez (R) | Resigned September 9, 2009, for personal reasons. [52] Successor appointed September 9, 2009, to finish the term. | George LeMieux (R) | September 10, 2009 [53] [54] |
Massachusetts (1) | Paul G. Kirk (D) | Appointment ended February 4, 2010. [55] Successor elected in the special election for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013. | Scott Brown (R) [56] | February 4, 2010 |
West Virginia (1) | Robert Byrd (D) | Died June 28, 2010. [57] Successor appointed July 16, 2010, to finish the term. [58] | Carte Goodwin (D) [31] | July 16, 2010 [59] |
Delaware (2) | Ted Kaufman (D) | The appointment lasted only until the November 2010 special election, in which he was not a candidate. [60] Successor elected in the special election for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015. | Chris Coons (D) | November 15, 2010 [61] [62] |
West Virginia (1) | Carte Goodwin (D) | The appointment lasted only until the November 2010 special election, in which he was not a candidate. Successor elected in the special election for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013. | Joe Manchin (D) | November 15, 2010 [61] [62] |
Illinois (3) | Roland Burris (D) | The appointment lasted only until the November 2010 special election, in which he was not a candidate. Successor elected to finish the final weeks of the Congress, and a full six-year term. | Mark Kirk (R) | November 29, 2010 [61] [62] |
Five changes are associated with appointments to the Obama Administration, four directly and one indirectly. Two representatives changed parties, one died, and five resigned. House vacancies are only filled by elections. State laws regulate when (and if) there will be special elections.
District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation [d] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Illinois 5 | Vacant | Rahm Emanuel (D) resigned near the end of the previous Congress after being named White House Chief of Staff. A special election was held April 7, 2009 | Michael Quigley (D) | April 7, 2009 |
New York 20 | Kirsten Gillibrand (D) | Resigned January 26, 2009, when appointed to the Senate. A special election was held March 31, 2009. | Scott Murphy (D) | March 31, 2009 |
Northern Marianas at-large | Gregorio Sablan (I) | Changed party affiliation February 23, 2009. [e] | Gregorio Sablan (D) | February 23, 2009 |
California 32 | Hilda Solis (D) | Resigned February 24, 2009, to become U.S. Secretary of Labor. A special election was held July 14, 2009. | Judy Chu (D) | July 14, 2009 |
California 10 | Ellen Tauscher (D) | Resigned June 26, 2009, to become U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. A special election was held November 3, 2009. | John Garamendi (D) [63] | November 3, 2009 [64] |
New York 23 | John M. McHugh (R) | Resigned September 21, 2009, to become U.S. Secretary of the Army. [65] A special election was held November 3, 2009. | Bill Owens (D) [66] | November 3, 2009 |
Alabama 5 | Parker Griffith (D) | Changed party affiliation December 22, 2009. [67] | Parker Griffith (R) | December 22, 2009 |
Florida 19 | Robert Wexler (D) | Resigned January 3, 2010, to become president of the Center for Middle East Peace & Economic Cooperation. [68] A special election was held April 13, 2010. | Ted Deutch (D) | April 13, 2010 |
Pennsylvania 12 | John Murtha (D) | Died February 8, 2010. A special election was held May 18, 2010. | Mark Critz (D) | May 18, 2010 |
Hawaii 1 | Neil Abercrombie (D) | Resigned February 28, 2010, [69] to focus on run for Governor of Hawaii. A special election was held May 22, 2010. | Charles Djou (R) | May 22, 2010 |
New York 29 | Eric Massa (D) | Resigned March 8, 2010, [70] due to a recurrence of his cancer, as well as an ethics investigation. A special election was held contemporaneously with the general election on November 2, 2010. | Tom Reed (R) | November 2, 2010 [62] [71] |
Georgia 9 | Nathan Deal (R) | Resigned March 21, 2010, to focus on run for Governor of Georgia. A special election runoff was held June 8, 2010. | Tom Graves (R) | June 8, 2010 |
Indiana 3 | Mark Souder (R) | Resigned May 21, 2010, after an affair with a staff member was revealed. [72] A special election was held contemporaneously with the general election on November 2, 2010. [73] | Marlin Stutzman (R) | November 2, 2010 [62] |
Illinois 10 | Mark Kirk (R) | Resigned November 29, 2010, after being elected U.S. Senator. | Vacant until the next Congress |
Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.
Employees include: [f]