Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:14:03.572Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

First Session of the Seventy-seventh Congress, January 3, 1941, to January 2, 1942

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Floyd M. Riddick
Floyd M. Riddick
Affiliation:
Congressional Intelligence, Washington, D. C.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The first session of the Seventy-seventh Congress witnessed much activity in both houses, resulting, however, mainly in appropriation measures and defense legislation. Most of the bills carried through to enactment were calculated to meet the expectations of the President as set forth in his annual message of January 6, 1941. In that message, the President assured Congress that the “future and the safety of our country and of our democracy are overwhelmingly involved in events far beyond our borders…. The immediate need,” he said, “is a swift and driving increase in our armament production.” Before the session came to a close, joint resolutions declaring war on Japan, Germany, and Italy were passed. Thus it was perhaps the most epoch-making and influential legislative year, for the future affairs of our people, of any since the “founding fathers” assembled in New York City on March 4, 1789, to start legislating under the new national constitution.

Type
American Government and Politics
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , April 1942 , pp. 290 - 302
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1942

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 A law approved January 2, 1942, provided that the second session of the Seventy-seventh Congress should begin on Monday, January 5, 1942, and that the first session of the Seventy-eighth Congress shall begin on Monday, January 4, 1943 (P.L. 395, Seventy-seventh Congress).

2 S.J. Res. 116; P.L. 328.

3 S.J. Res. 119; P.L. 331.

4 S.J. Res. 120; P.L. 332.

5 The session extended over 365 days as compared to 367 days for the prior one.

6 See Official List of Members of House of Representatives, Feb. 26, 1941, Seventy-sixth Congress, p. 15. The party divisions as of that date were as follows: In Senate: 66 Democrats, 28 Republicans, and 2 others; In House: 265 Democrats, 161 Republicans, and 6 others.

7 The nine changes in standing committee chairmanships in the Senate were: McCarran to chairmanship of District of Columbia Committee; Hill, Expenditures in the Executive Departments; George, Finance; Connally, Foreign Relations; Van Nuys, Judiciary; Reynolds, Military Affairs; Schwartz, Pensions; Hatch, Privileges and Elections; and Byrd, Rules.

The ten changes in standing committee chairmanships in the House were: Cannon to chairmanship of Appropriations Committee; Moser, Census; McGehee, Claims; Gossett, Elections No. 2; Peterson, Elections No. 3; Kirwan, Enrolled Bills; O'Leary, Expenditures in the Executive Departments; Secrest, Library; Robinson, Public Lands; and Gavagan, War Claims.

8 The House passed 1,127 bills in 1940 and 1,043 in 1941. The Senate passed 1,100 bills in 1940 and 886 in 1941.

9 The House was in session 201 calendar days in 1940 and 210 in 1941. The Senate was in session 192 days in 1940 and 167 in 1941.

10 The Record was streamlined with a three-column page instead of two. The Appendix this year consumed 6,105 pages.

11 H.R. 1776.

12 On August 14, during the consideration of H.R. 5412, First Supplemental National Defense Appropriation Bill, it at one time took nearly two hours to get a quorum. Cong. Rec., 77th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 7299. On August 15, during consideration of S. 1840, Construction of Defense Highways, the Senate could not keep a quorum for the transaction of business, though it did not adjourn. Finally, it not only passed the Road Bill but called up and agreed to the conference report on H.R. 5412. During the day the Senate had six roll-calls, of which two were votes. A quorum was present for only two of the calls, but neither was a call for voting. Ibid., pp. 7329–7332.

13 Four rules merely waived points of order against four different bills.

14 See this Review, Vol. 33, p. 1038; Vol. 35, p. 289.

15 Eighteen provided for 1 hour, one for 1½ hours, nineteen for 2 hours, five for 3 hours, two for 4 hours, one for 6 hours, one for 8 hours, one for 1 day and 1 hour. two for 2 days, and two for 3 days.

16 H.R. 968, relative to cotton; H.R. 4228, wire tapping, and H.R. 3, detention camps for aliens.

16a Private and incidental funds total an additional $1,570,735.18, aggregating $55,855,842,108.20.

17 For a thorough analysis of these appropriations, see Appropriations, Budget Estimates, etc., by Sheild, Marcus C., Clerk to House Committee on Appropriations, and Smith, Everard H., Clerk to Senate Committee on Appropriations, pp. 1–1097.Google Scholar

18 Each house played a more important rôle in legislative activity than the above figures show. Of the 1,043 measures passed by the House, 799 were House bills, 191 Senate bills, 35 House joint resolutions, and 18 Senate joint resolutions. During the session, 7,016 bills and resolutions were introduced in the House. Of that number, 6,297 were House bills, 261 House joint resolutions, 61 House concurrent resolutions, and 397 House resolutions. House committees made 1,557 reports. Of the 886 measures passed by the Senate, 397 were Senate bills, 436 House bills, 26 Senate joint resolutions, and 27 House joint resolutions. During the session, 2,519 bills and resolutions were introduced in the Senate. Of that number 2,163 were Senate bills, 123 Senate joint resolutions, 22 Senate concurrent resolutions, and 211 Senate resolutions. Senate committees made 931 reports.

19 Cong. Rec., 77th Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 849, 2144.

20 77th Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 8250, 8907, 9116–9117.

21 H.E. 2959.

22 H.R. 5417.

23 H.R. 3531.

24 S.J. Res. 95.

25 Cong. Rec., 77th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 7227.

26 Ibid., p. 7036.

27 S. 1524.

28 H.R. 6215.

29 77th Cong., 1st Sess., Sen. Rep. No. 565, p. 2.

30 Eight resolutions each were adopted in the House and Senate creating special investigating committees.

31 Cong. Rec., 77th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 9392.

32 See S. 1580.

33 Public Laws 11, 213, and 354. In discussing such a provision of the Lease-Lend Bill, Representative Dirksen, author of the amendment, stated: “What the President proposes to do, however, in the policy he proposes to establish will not be made manifest until that appropriation becomes law. Make no mistake about it…. There is one way of doing it and doing it now, there is one way for Congress to tie a string to this matter, and that is to provide in this bill that by concurrent resolution of the two houses, without the necessity of the signature of the President, we can reach out in case of excesses and abuses and take back the legislative power that is today being delegated.” Cong. Rec., 77th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 767.

34 See White, Howard, “The Concurrent Resolution in Congress,” in this Review, Vol. 35, pp. 886–889 (Oct., 1941).Google Scholar

35 H.R. 1776.

36 H.R. 5667.

37 S. 1524.

38 S. 1579.

39 H.R. 4228.

40 H.R. 4139.

Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.