87th Congress (1961 - 1963)

House of Representatives

House Majority: Democrat

House Majority Seats: 264 out of 435

House Speaker: Rep. Sam Rayburn (D-TX)

Senate

Senate Majority: Democrat

Senate Majority Seats: 64 out of 100

Senate Majority Leader: Sen. Mike Mansfield (D-MT)

Executive

President: John F. Kennedy (D-MA)

Vice President: Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX)

Member Spotlight

Featured: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX) was an ambitious and skilled politician who served as John F. Kennedy’s vice president from 1961 until Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. Born in 1908 in the Texas Hill Country, he rose from teaching and congressional work to become a U.S. Representative and then Senator, ultimately becoming Senate Majority Leader before joining the national ticket. After taking the oath aboard Air Force One in Dallas following Kennedy’s death, Johnson used his legislative know-how and persuasive prowess to push through major civil rights, tax, and social welfare legislation, launching his era-defining “Great Society.”

Enactments

• Area Redevelopment Act
• Fair Labor Standards Act Amendments
• Social Security Amendments
• Housing Act of 1961
• Agriculture Appropriations Act of 1961
• Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1961
• Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of 1961
• Initial Apollo Mission Funding
• Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
• Crimes in the Sky Act
• Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act
• Peace Corps Act
• Arms Control and Disarmament Act
• Community Health Services and Facilities Act of 1961
• Manpower Development and Training Act
• Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961
• Tariff Classification Act
• Public Welfare Amendments
• Foreign Assistance Act of 1962
• Depository Library Act of 1962
• Communications Satellite Act
• Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of 1962
• Food and Drug Amendments
• Self-Employed Individuals Tax Retirement Act
• Trade Expansion Act of 1962
• Revenue Act of 1962
• Bribery, Graft, and Conflicts of Interest Act of 1962
• Vaccination Assistance Act of 1962
• Foreign Assistance Appropriations Act (Alliance for Progress Part)
• Agriculture Appropriations Act of 1962
• Twenty-Fourth Amendment