The Eighty-first 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, 1949, to January 3, 1951, during the fifth and sixth years of Harry S. Truman's presidency.

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Sixteenth Census of the United States in 1940. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

Major events [ edit ]

January 20, 1949: President Harry S. Truman began his second (only full) term.

August 16, 1949: Office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff created

January 21, 1950: Accused communist spy Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury

January 31, 1950: President Truman ordered the development of the hydrogen bomb, in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in 1949

June 27, 1950: Korean War: President Truman ordered American military forces to aid in the defense of South Korea

Major legislation [ edit ]

Civil libertarians and radical political activists considered the McCarran Act to be a dangerous and unconstitutional infringement of political liberty, as exemplified in this 1961 poster.

Treaties [ edit ]

Hearings [ edit ]

May 11, 1950: Kefauver Committee hearings into U.S. organized crime began

Party summary [ edit ]

Senate [ edit ]

Party

(shading shows control) Total Vacant Democratic

(D) Republican

(R) End of the previous congress 45 51 96 0 Begin 54 42 96 0 End 53 43 Final voting share 7001552000000000000♠ 55.2% 7001448000000000000♠ 44.8% Beginning of the next congress 49 47 96 0

House of Representatives [ edit ]

House seats by party holding plurality in state 80+ to 100% Democratic 80+ to 100% Republican 60+ to 80% Democratic 60+ to 80% Republican Up to 60% Democratic Up to 60% Republican

Party

(shading shows control) Total Vacant American

Labor

(AL) Democratic

(D) Liberal

(Lib) Republican

(R) Independent

(I) End of the previous congress 2 184 0 244 0 430 5 Begin 1 264 0 169 0 434 1 End 261 1 168 431 4 Final voting share 6999200000000000000♠ 0.2% 7001606000000000000♠ 60.6% 6999200000000000000♠ 0.2% 7001390000000000000♠ 39.0% 5000000000000000000♠ 0.0% Beginning of the next congress 0 235 0 199 1 435 0

Leadership [ edit ]

Senate [ edit ]

President: Vacant until January 20, 1949 Alben W. Barkley (D), from January 20, 1949



Majority (Democratic) leadership [ edit ]

Minority (Republican) leadership [ edit ]

House of Representatives [ edit ]

Majority (Democratic) leadership [ edit ]

Minority (Republican) leadership [ edit ]

Caucuses [ edit ]

Members [ edit ]

Senate [ edit ]

Senators are popularly elected statewide every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Senators are ordered first by state, and then by seniority. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election, In this Congress, Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1950; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1952; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1954.

House of Representatives [ edit ]

Changes in membership [ edit ]

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.

Senate [ edit ]

House of Representatives [ edit ]

Committees [ edit ]

Lists of committees and their party leaders, for members (House and Senate) of the committees and their assignments, go into the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of the article and click on the link (2 links), in the directory after the pages of terms of service, you will see the committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and after the committee pages, you will see the House/Senate committee assignments in the directory, 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 [ edit ]

House of Representatives [ edit ]

Joint committees [ edit ]

Employees [ edit ]

Senate [ edit ]

House of Representatives [ edit ]