109th United States Congress

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109th United States Congress
United States Capitol
Duration: January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
President of the Senate:	Dick Cheney (R)
President pro tempore:	Ted Stevens (R)
Speaker of the House:	Dennis Hastert (R)
Members:	100 Senators 435 Representatives 5 Non-voting members
Senate Majority:	Republican Party
House Majority:	Republican Party
Sessions
1st: January 4, 2005 – December 22, 2005 2nd: January 3, 2006 – December 8, 2006
<108th 110th>

The 109th United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, during the first two years of the second administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.

House members were elected in the 2004 general election on November 4, 2004. Senators were elected in three classes in the 2000 general election on November 7, 2000, 2002 general election on November 5, 2002, or 2004 general election on November 4, 2004. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Twenty-second Census of the United States in 2000. Both chambers had a Republican majority, the same party as President Bush.

[edit] Major events

• November 7, 2006 — 2006 congressional elections

Prominent events included the filibuster "nuclear option" scare, the alleged failure of the federal government to help in Hurricane Katrina disaster relief, the Tom DeLay corruption investigation, the CIA leak scandal, the rising unpopularity of the Iraq War, the 2006 immigration reform protests and government involvement in the Terri Schiavo case.

In addition to the DeLay indictment, this Congress also had a number of scandals: Bob Ney, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, William J. Jefferson, Mark Foley scandal, and the Jack Abramoff scandals.

This Congress met for 242 days, the fewest since World War II and 12 days fewer than the 80th Congress.^[1][2][3] As the Congress neared its conclusion, some commentators labelled this the "Do Nothing Congress," ^{[4][5][6][1][7]} a pejorative originally given to the 80th United States Congress by President Harry Truman.

The President vetoed only one bill, his first veto, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005.

[edit] Major legislation

[edit] Enacted

Main article: List of United States federal legislation

• February 17, 2005 — Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-2, 118 Stat. 4
• March 21, 2005 — Theresa Marie Schiavo's law, Pub.L. 109-3, 119 Stat. 15
• April 20, 2005 — Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, Pub.L. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23
• April 27, 2005 — Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, Pub.L. 109-9, 119 Stat. 218
• July 28, 2005 — Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CAFTA Implementation Act), Pub.L. 109-53, 119 Stat. 462
• July 29, 2005 — Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594
• August 10, 2005 — Transportation Equity Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144
• October 26, 2005 — Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, Pub.L. 109-92, 119 Stat. 2095
• December 1, 2005 — Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-118, 119 Stat. 2527
• December 22, 2005 — Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-145, 119 Stat. 2664
• December 30, 2005 — Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006, Pub.L. 109-148, 119 Stat. 2680 (including McCain Detainee Amendment (S.Amdt. 1977)
• February 8, 2006 — Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-171, 120 Stat. 4, including title II, subtitle B: Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act, 110 Stat. 9
• May 17, 2006 — Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-222, 120 Stat. 345
• May 29, 2006 — Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, Pub.L. 109-228, 120 Stat. 387
• July 27, 2006 — Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, Pub.L. 109-248, 120 Stat. 587
• September 26, 2006 — Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109-282, 120 Stat. 1186
• October 13, 2006 — Safe Port Act, Pub.L. 109-347, 120 Stat. 1884, including title VIII, Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
• October 17, 2006 — Military Commissions Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109-366, 120 Stat. 2600
• October 26, 2006 — Secure Fence Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109-367, 120 Stat. 2638
• December 20, 2006 — Tax Relief and Health Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109-432, 120 Stat. 292

[edit] Proposed, but not enacted

• H.R. 554 — Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act
• H.R. 810 — Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 - Vetoed
• H.R. 1505 — Jessica Lunsford Act
• H.R. 4569 — Digital Transition Content Security Act
• S. 147 — Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005 (Akaka Bill)

[edit] Hearings

• Congressional response to the NSA warrantless surveillance program (Senate Judiciary; House Intelligence; Democrats of the House Judiciary)

See also: Congressional hearing

[edit] Party summary

[edit] Senate

The party summary for the Senate remained the same during the entire 109th Congress. On January 16, 2006, Democrat Jon Corzine resigned, but Democrat Bob Menendez was appointed and took Corzine's seat the next day.

[edit] House of Representatives

Due to resignations and special elections, Republicans lost a net of three seats; Democrats gained one seat; three seats were left vacant; and one seat which was vacant at the beginning of the Congress was filled. All seats were filled though special elections. (See Changes in membership, below.)

[edit] Leadership

[edit] Senate

• President of the Senate: Dick Cheney (R)
• President pro tempore: Ted Stevens (R)
• President pro tempore emeritus: Robert Byrd (D)

[edit] Majority (Republican) leadership

• Majority Leader: Bill Frist
• Majority Whip: Mitch McConnell
• Republican Conference Chairman: Rick Santorum
• Republican Policy Committee Chairman: Jon Kyl
• Republican Conference Secretary: Kay Bailey Hutchison
• Republican Campaign Committee Chair: Elizabeth Dole

[edit] Minority (Democratic) leadership

• Minority Leader: Harry Reid
• Minority Whip: Richard Durbin
• Democratic Conference Chairman: Harry Reid
• Democratic Policy Committee Chairman: Byron Dorgan
• Democratic Conference Secretary: Debbie Stabenow
• Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Charles Schumer

[edit] House of Representatives

• Speaker: Dennis Hastert

[edit] Majority (Republican) leadership

• Majority Leader:
  • Tom DeLay, until September 28, 2005
  • Roy Blunt, September 28, 2005 – February 2, 2006 (Interim)
  • John Boehner, February 2, 2006 – end
• Majority Whip: Roy Blunt
• Senior Chief Deputy Whip: Eric Cantor
• Majority Deputy Whip Team: Kevin Brady
• Assistant Deputy Whip Team: Doc Hastings
• Republican Conference Chair: Deborah Pryce
• Republican Conference Vice-Chair: Jack Kingston
• Republican Conference Secretary: John T. Doolittle
• Republican Policy Committee Chairman:
  • John Shadegg, until February 2, 2006
  • Adam Putnam, February 2, 2006 – end
• Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Tom Reynolds

[edit] Minority (Democratic) leadership

• Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi
• Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer
• Senior Chief Deputy Whip: John Lewis
• Minority Deputy Whip Team: Diana DeGette
• Democratic Caucus Chairman: Jim Clyburn
• Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman: John Larson
• Assistant to the House Minority Leader: John Spratt
• Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Rahm Emanuel
• Democratic Steering Committee Co-Chairs: Rosa DeLauro, George Miller

[edit] Members

[edit] Senate

See also: Category:United States Senators

See also: Category:United States Congressional Delegations by state

Senators' party membership by state

[edit] House of Representatives

Initial percentage of members of the House of Representatives from each party by state at the opening of the 109th Congress in January 2005