111th United States Congress (Redirected from 111th Congress)

111th United States Congress
110th ←
→ 112th

January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Members100 senators
435 representatives
6 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentDick Cheney (R)
(until January 20, 2009)
Joe Biden (D)
(from January 20, 2009)
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerNancy Pelosi (D)
Sessions
1st: January 6, 2009 – December 24, 2009
2nd: January 5, 2010 – December 22, 2010
House of Representatives member pin for the 111th U.S. Congress
View of a large portion of a large ceremony with visible red, white and blue ornamentation and a crowd of attendees
Inauguration of Barack Obama at the U.S. Capitol, January 20, 2009.
President Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 into law, January 29, 2009.
Sonia Sotomayor testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, July 13, 2009.
President Obama addressing Congress regarding health care reform, September 9, 2009.
Tea Party protests in front of the U.S. Capitol, September 12, 2009.
President Obama delivering the 2010 State of the Union Address, January 25, 2010.
President Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, March 23, 2010.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy swearing in Elena Kagan during her first day of testimony on her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, June 28, 2010
Congressional leaders meeting with President Obama, November 30, 2010.
President Obama signing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 into law, January 2, 2011.

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.

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. 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. 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.

Major events

Major legislation

Enacted

Health care reform

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

Proposed bills include (in alphabetical order):

Vetoed

Treaties ratified

Major nomination hearings

Impeachments

Party summary

Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Changes in membership" section, below.

Senate

The United States Senate (in 2010)
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

House of Representatives

Final House Membership
     255 Democrats
     179 Republicans

     1 Vacant
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

Leadership

Section contents: Senate: Majority (D), Minority (R)House: Majority (D), Minority (R)

Senate

Senate President
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney (R)
(until January 20, 2009)
Joe Biden
Joe Biden (D)
(from January 20, 2009)
Senate President pro tempore
Robert Byrd
Robert Byrd (D)
(until June 28, 2010)
Daniel Inouye
Daniel Inouye (D)
(from June 28, 2010)

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Members

Senate

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.

House of Representatives

Changes in membership

Senate

Funeral service for Senator Robert Byrd, who died June 28, 2010. He was the longest-serving senator and the longest-serving member in the history of Congress.

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.

Senate changes
State
(class)
Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation
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
Illinois
(3)
Vacant Barack Obama (D) resigned near the end of the previous Congress, after being elected President of the United States.
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.
Roland Burris
(D)
January 12, 2009
Delaware
(2)
Joe Biden
(D)
Resigned January 15, 2009, to assume the position of Vice President.
Successor appointed January 15, 2009, to finish the term.
Ted Kaufman
(D)
January 16, 2009
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
(D)
January 21, 2009
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
(D)
January 26, 2009
Pennsylvania
(3)
Arlen Specter
(R)
Changed party affiliation April 30, 2009. Arlen Specter
(D)
April 30, 2009
Massachusetts
(1)
Ted Kennedy
(D)
Died August 25, 2009.
Successor appointed September 23, 2009, to finish the term.
Paul G. Kirk
(D)
September 25, 2009
Florida
(3)
Mel Martinez
(R)
Resigned September 9, 2009, for personal reasons.
Successor appointed September 9, 2009, to finish the term.
George LeMieux
(R)
September 10, 2009
Massachusetts
(1)
Paul G. Kirk
(D)
Appointment ended February 4, 2010.
Successor elected in the special election for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013.
Scott Brown
(R)
February 4, 2010
West Virginia
(1)
Robert Byrd
(D)
Died June 28, 2010.
Successor appointed July 16, 2010, to finish the term.
Carte Goodwin
(D)
July 16, 2010
Delaware
(2)
Ted Kaufman
(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, 2015.
Chris Coons
(D)
November 15, 2010
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
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

House of Representatives

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.

House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation
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. 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) November 3, 2009
New York 23 John M. McHugh (R) Resigned September 21, 2009, to become U.S. Secretary of the Army.
A special election was held November 3, 2009.
Bill Owens (D) November 3, 2009
Alabama 5 Parker Griffith (D) Changed party affiliation December 22, 2009. 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.
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, 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, 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
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.
A special election was held contemporaneously with the general election on November 2, 2010.
Marlin Stutzman (R) November 2, 2010
Illinois 10 Mark Kirk (R) Resigned November 29, 2010, after being elected U.S. Senator. Vacant until the next Congress

Committees

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.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

Employees include:

See also

Elections

Membership lists


This page was last updated at 2023-10-28 04:02 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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