114th United States Congress
The114th United States Congress was the 2015-2016 session of thelegislative branch of the U.S. federal government, composed of theSenate and theHouse of Representatives. A total of 471 members were elected or re-elected onNovember 4, 2014. The 114th Congress convened on January 3, 2015, and concluded on January 3, 2017.
TheRepublican Party maintained its majority in the House and won a majority in the Senate following the2014 midterm elections. Of the 435 seats in the House, Republicans controlled 247 at the start of the session. This gave them their largest majority in the House since 1928, when they held 270 seats.
The 114th Congress included more women and minorities than any previous Congress. Between both chambers, 96 racial minority members and 104 women served in the 114th Congress.[1] According toDaily Kos Elections, 59 percent ofHouseDemocrats elected to the 114th Congress were women, minorities, or LGBT.[2]
There was also an increase in the number of Republican minorities and women elected on November 4, 2014.Mia Love (R-Utah) was the first Republican Black woman elected to the House.Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) became the youngest woman ever to serve on Capitol Hill when she won election in the21st Congressional District ofNew York.[3] Overall, the number of Republican women in Congress increased from 23 to 28.[2]
In terms of experience, around 49 percent of House members had served less than six years since they were first elected. Of the newly elected House members, 17 were Democrats and 44 were Republicans. In the Senate, 47 members had served less than one full term. More than half (29) of those freshman senators were Republicans.[2]
Incumbents in both chambers saw a high rate of retention after the 2014 elections. Close to 96 percent of the incumbents who ran for re-election won their races.[4]
Following the2016 election, Republicans saw anet loss of two seats in the Senate but retained control of the chamber with a 52-48 majority. Republicans also retained control of the House with a 241-194 majority but had a net loss of five seats.
Leadership
Senate
| Position | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| President of the Senate | Joe Biden |  Democratic |
| Senate Majority Leadership | ||
| President pro tempore | Orrin Hatch |  Republican |
| Senate Majority Leader | Mitch McConnell | Republican |
| Senate Majority Whip | John Cornyn | Republican |
| Senate Minority Leadership | ||
| Senate Minority Leader | Harry Reid | Democratic |
| Senate Minority Whip | Dick Durbin | Democratic |
House of Representatives
| Position | Representative | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the House | Paul Ryan | Republican |
| House Majority Leadership | ||
| House Majority Leader | Kevin McCarthy | Republican |
| House Majority Whip | Steve Scalise | Republican |
| House Minority Leadership | ||
| House Minority Leader | Nancy Pelosi | Democratic |
| House Minority Whip | Steny Hoyer | Democratic |
- SpeakerBoehner announced on September 25, 2015, that he would resign from his seat at the end of October 2015.[5]
Members
Partisan balance
The numbers reflect the composition of the 114th Congress.
| U.S. Senate Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2016 | After the 2016 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 44 | 46 | |
| Republican Party | 54 | 52 | |
| Independent | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
| U.S. House Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2016 | After the 2016 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 186 | 194 | |
| Republican Party | 246 | 241 | |
| Vacant | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 435 | 435 | |
Key votes
Iran nuclear deal
- See also:Iran nuclear agreement, 2015
TheP5+1 and the European Union, also known as theE3+3, reachedan agreement with Iran regarding the development of its nuclear program on July 14, 2015.[6] The deal limited Iran's nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief.[7]
PresidentBarack Obama and the majority of congressional Democrats praised the deal, while Republicans largely opposed the deal. TheSenate cast the first vote regarding the deal on September 10, 2015. SenateDemocratsfilibustered the measure to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal by a vote of 58-42.[8] Sixty votes were needed to proceed toHJ Res 61, The Hire More Heroes Act of 2015, the legislative vehicle the Senate was expected to use to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal.[9]
SenateRepublican leaders said that the September 10 vote would not be the final vote. Senate Majority WhipJohn Cornyn (R-Texas) said, "It will be all Iran next week. There are going to be more votes. There will be other opportunities for people to change their mind next week, hopefully after they hear from their constituents."[10]
TPP trade deal
PresidentBarack Obama and two of his longtime opponents and critics, Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell (R-Ky.) andSpeaker of the HouseJohn Boehner (R-Ohio) supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). They said it would create new jobs by opening up foreign markets for exporting goods, set minimum standards for working conditions in the 11 other nations, and level the playing field in the global market.
Congress passedtrade promotion authority (TPA), also known as fast-track authority. TPA gives the president the ability to negotiate trade deals and requiresCongress to cast a simple up or down vote on a deal without amendments orfilibustering. Obama said that TPA would help ease the passage of current and future trade deals like the TPP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), a trade deal with the European Union. Congress also passedtrade adjustment assistance (TAA), which provides American workers who have lost jobs due to globalization with employment-related assistance. Obama signedTPA andTAA into law on June 29, 2015.[11]
LiberalDemocrats led by Sen.Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Senate Minority LeaderHarry Reid (Nev.), labor unions, and tea party and conservativeRepublicans opposed the TPP and TPA legislation and criticized Obama's efforts to negotiate a deal. Critics compared the TPP to theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and said that Americans would lose jobs, as they did after NAFTA was signed into law.
Defunding Planned Parenthood
After theCenter for Medical Progress (CMP) released a series of secretly recordedvideos that showed employees ofPlanned Parenthood discussing research conducted on aborted fetal tissue, a group of conservativeRepublicans pledged not to vote for any funding legislation that continued to allocate federal dollars to the reproductive healthcare organization. Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said. the videos were heavily edited and fraudulent.[12][13][14]
Despite their efforts todefund Planned Parenthood,Congress avoided a government shutdown by passing legislation to keep the government funded until December 11, 2015, that included funding for Planned Parenthood.[15]
Analysis
Salary
Members of Congress were paid $174,000 per year. Senate majority and minority leaders, as well as the president pro tempore, received $193,400. The Speaker of the House received $223,500.[16]
Some historical facts about the salary ofUnited States Congress members:
- In 1789, members of the Congress received $6 per diem[16]
- In 1874, members of the Congress earned $5,000 per year[16]
- In 1990, members of the Congress earned $98,400 per year[16]
- From 2000-2006, the salary of a member of theUnited States Congress increased every year, going from $141,300-$165,200, in that time span.[16]
114th Congress: Demographics
The 114th Congress included more women and minorities than any previous Congress.
Tim Scott (R) was the first Black senator elected from South Carolina since the Reconstruction.Elise Stefanik (R) was the youngest woman to serve on Capitol Hill after being elected by the21st Congressional District ofNew York.
There were three Latino members, two Black members, one Pacific Islander, and 20 women in the U.S. Senate. In the U.S. House, there were 85 minorities, 84 women, and six openly LGBT members.[17]
André Carson (D), the representative ofIndiana's 7th Congressional District, was the first Muslim to serve on the United States House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.[18]
Election rivals serving concurrently
There were several members of the U.S. House who were rivals in previous elections. The following is a list of such cases in the 114th Congress.
- Florida delegation
Daniel Webster,Florida, District 10; first elected in 2010
Alan Grayson,Florida, District 9; unseated by Webster in 2010, but won election in the 9th District in 2012
- Illinois delegation
- Randy Hultgren,Illinois, District 14; first elected in 2010
- Bill Foster,Illinois, District 11; unseated by Hultgren in 2010, but won election to the 11th District in 2012
- Nevada delegation
- Joe Heck,Nevada, District 3; first elected in 2010
- Dina Titus,Nevada, District 1; unseated by Heck in 2010, but won election to the 1st District in 2012
- Washington delegation
- Jaime Herrera Beutler,Washington, District 3; first elected in 2010
- Denny Heck,Washington, District 10; ran in 2010 and lost to Beutler, but won election to the 10th District in 2012
Noteworthy events
- On March 16, 2016, PresidentBarack Obama (D) announcedMerrick Garland as his nominee to fill Justice Scalia's seat on theUnited States Supreme Court.[19] At the time of the nomination, Garland waschief judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He joined the court in 1997 after being nominated by former PresidentBill Clinton (D).[20]
- Supreme Court JusticeAntonin Scalia died on February 13, 2 016.[21] His death made the filling of the Supreme Court vacancy a key issue for theU.S. Senate in 2016.[22]
- John Boehner (R) announced his decision to resign asspeaker of the House effective October 30, 2014. Boehner, a member of theU.S. House of Representatives from the state ofOhio, was first elected to office inOhio's 8th Congressional District in 1990. He served asSpeaker from 2011 until his retirement. His announcement came amidst criticism from his own party.[23] He was replaced as speaker byPaul Ryan (R-Wis.).[24]
- Michael Grimm (R), representative ofNew York's 11th Congressional District, announced his decision to resign on December 29, 2014. His resignation date was established as January 5, 2015, after the congressional inauguration. The decision came after Grimm pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion. He was the only Republican representative from New York City.[25]
- Congressional Democrats criticizedSteve Scalise (R), representative ofLouisiana's 1st Congressional District and the newly electedHouse majority whip, after his office confirmed that he had attended a gathering by a white supremacist organization in 2002. Scalise's staff said that he did not know the nature of the group or the implications of his decision at the time. In response, congressional Democrats called upon Republican leadership to reconsider Scalise as the House majority whip. This request was not granted. House SpeakerJohn Boehner (R) defended Scalise, saying, "He has my full confidence as our Whip."[26][27]
Special elections
| District | Prior Incumbent | General Election Candidates | Election Date | Winner | Partisan Switch? |
| New York's 11th | Michael Grimm | Daniel DonovanVincent Gentile James Lane | May 5, 2015 | Daniel Donovan | No |
| Mississippi's 1st | Alan Nunnelee | Walter ZinnBoyce AdamsNancy CollinsTrent KellyQuentin WhitwellChip MillsGreg PirkleDaniel SparksMike TagertSam AdcockEd HollidayStarner JonesHenry Ross | May 12, 2015 | Trent Kelly | No |
| Illinois' 18th | Aaron Schock | Robert MellonDarin LaHood | September 10, 2015 | Darin LaHood | No |
| Ohio's 8th | John Boehner | Corey FoisterWarren DavidsonJames Condit, Jr. | June 7, 2016 | Warren Davidson | No |
| Pennsylvania's 2nd | Chaka Fattah | Dwight EvansJames Jones | November 8, 2016 | Dwight Evans | No |
| Hawaii's 1st | Mark Takai | Colleen HanabusaPeter CrossAngela Aulani KaaihueHoward KimJavier OcasioShirlene Ostrov Alan Yim Calvin GriffinYvonne PerryPeter Plotzeneder | November 8, 2016 | Colleen Hanabusa | No |
| Kentucky's 1st | Ed Whitfield | James ComerSam Gaskins | November 8, 2016 | James Comer | No |
Congressional committees
Partisan Breakdown
Due to losing the majority in theU.S. Senate, Democrats lost a number of seats in Senate standing committees in the 114th Congress.
In the committees on Finance, Foreign Relations, Intelligence, Judiciary, Small Business, and Veterans Affairs, the Democrats lost one seat. The standing committees in the U.S. House were left relatively unchanged due to Republicans previously holding the majority in that chamber.[28]
U.S. House
Congressional committees (House)
U.S. Senate
Congressional committees (Senate)
Joint committees
Congressional committees (Joint)
See also
- Special elections to the 114th United States Congress (2015-2016)
- United States Congress elections, 2014
- United States Senate elections, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
- 113th United States Congress
- Results of U.S. House elections in presidential election years, 1920-2020
- United States Congress
- United States Senate
- United States House of Representatives
External links
Footnotes
- ↑New York Times, "New Congress Includes More Women, Minorities," January 4, 2015
- ↑2.02.12.2Daily Kos, "Your guide to 2014's election results and the 114th Congress members and their districts," December 4, 2014
- ↑Politico, "GOP ranks to get slightly more diverse," November 6, 2014
- ↑Politifact, "Congress has 11% approval ratings but 96% incumbent reelection rate," November 11, 2014
- ↑The New York Times, "Boehner Will Resign from Congress," September 25, 2015
- ↑The Guardian, "Iran nuclear deal reached in Vienna," July 14, 2015
- ↑Wall Street Journal, "Iran, World Powers Reach Nuclear Deal," July 14, 2015
- ↑Congress.gov, "S.Amdt.2640 to H.J.Res.61," accessed September 10, 2015
- ↑Congress.gov, "HJ Res 61," accessed September 10, 2015
- ↑The Hill, "Dems filibuster Iran vote," accessed September 10, 2015
- ↑The White House, "On Trade, Here’s What the President Signed into Law," June 29, 2015
- ↑HeritageAction.com, "Defund Planned Parenthood," accessed September 9, 2015
- ↑The Guardian, "Planned Parenthood says covertly filmed videos were heavily altered," accessed September 14, 2015
- ↑YouTube.com, "Planned Parenthood: Cecile Richards' Official Video Response," accessed September 14, 2015
- ↑Congress.gov, "H.R.719 - TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2015," accessed October 2, 2015
- ↑16.016.116.216.316.4U.S. Senate, "Salaries," accessed May 29, 2012
- ↑Daily Kos, "Your guide to 2014's election results and the 114th Congress members and their districts," December 4, 2014
- ↑Politico, "Nancy Pelosi to name first Muslim lawmaker to House intelligence committee," January 13, 2015
- ↑NPR, "President Obama To Announce Merrick Garland As Supreme Court Nominee," accessed March 16, 2016
- ↑United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, "Merrick B. Garland," accessed August 22, 2013
- ↑San Antonio-Express News, "Senior U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia found dead at West Texas ranch," accessed February 13, 2016
- ↑NPR, "Scalia's Death Will Cast A Long Shadow Across This Year's Senate Races," February 17, 2016
- ↑Cleveland.com, "House speaker John Boehner to resign post, leave Congress on Oct. 30," September 25, 2015
- ↑New York Times, "Kevin McCarthy expected to seek speaker John Boehner's post in house," September 25, 2015
- ↑New York Times, "Michael Grimm, in a Reversal, Will Resign From Congress," December 30, 2014
- ↑New York Times, "Scalise’s Speech to White Supremacist Group Clouds Republicans’ Plans," December 30, 2014
- ↑CNN, "GOP leadership stands by Scalise after white supremacist speech," December 31, 2014
- ↑Politico, "Senate Democrats losing committee seats," December 12, 2014
