Congress

**92nd Congress: January 3, 1971-January 3, 1973**


**The Climate of the 92nd Congress ** In the 92nd Congress, the Democrats had the majority in both houses. The Democrats had 54 Senators and 255 Representatives, which gave them a 54% majority in the Senate, a 58.6% majority in the House of Representatives, and a 57.8% majority overall. The Republicans had 44 Senators and 180 Representatives, so they made up 44% of the Senate, 41.4% of the House of Representatives, and 41.9% of Congress overall. Other parties had 2 Senators and 0 Representatives, so they made up 2% of the Senate, 0% of the House of Representatives, and 0.3% of Congress overall.

The Speaker of the House during the 92nd Congress was Carl B. Albert. The House majority leader was T. Hale Boggs and the House minority leader was Gerald Ford. The House majority whip was Tip O’Neill and the House minority whip was Leslie C. Arends. The President of the Senate was Spiro T. Agnew. The President Pro Tempore was Richard B. Russell, Jr.. After Russell died, he was replaced by Allen J. Ellender on January 22, 1972. After Ellender died, he was replaced by James O. Eastland on July 28, 1972. The Senate majority leader was Mike Mansfield and the Senate minority leader was Hugh D. Scott. The Senate majority whip was Robert C. Byrd and the Senate minority whip was Robert P. Griffin.



** Major Legislation Passed by the 92nd Congress ** The 92nd Congress passed one amendment to the Constitution, as well as many other important laws:



** The Characteristics and Personality of the 92nd Congress ** The “personality” of the 92nd Congress was liberal and anti-war, since there was a Democratic majority in both houses and most members of Congress were opposed to the Vietnam War. Also, many members of Congress supported women’s rights, but evidently not enough to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

Congress did not get along very well with the president and the Supreme Court. The current president was Richard Nixon, a Republican. His conservative, pro-war ideology clashed with Congress’s liberal, anti-war ideology. Congress repeatedly demanded the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam, and some Congress members, such as Bella Abzug, petitioned for Nixon’s impeachment even before the Watergate scandal.

During his presidency, Nixon appointed four conservative justices to the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. Since so many of the justices were of a conservative philosophy, the liberal 92nd Congress did not get along with the Supreme Court, either.



** Highlights, Criticisms, and Pitfalls of the 92nd Congressional Session **  __ Highlights __ __ Criticisms and Pitfalls __  ** The Era of the United States and How the 92nd Congress Impacted It ** The time period from 1971 to 1973 was characterized primarily by the Vietnam War. The war contributed to the tensions between the legislative branch and the executive branch; most of the members of the 92nd Congress were opposed to it, and many Congress members disapproved of Nixon's actions regarding the war. However, there were also other things going on in the United States besides the war. Congress was fighting for equality — equality between blacks and whites, and equality between males and females. The 92nd Congress passed many bills and amendments that impacted the time period by promoting equality. One of Congress' major impacts was the passing of Title IX of the Education Amendments. This promoted equality between males and females by declaring the exclusion of a person from a school-related program on the basis of sex unconstitutional. Another bill passed by the 92nd Congress that promoted equality was the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which prohibited discrimination in the workplace based on race, ethnicity, or sex. However, the biggest impact that the 92nd Congress made on the early 1970s was probably the passage and ratification of the 26th Amendment. This amendment permanently changed the political process of the United States by lowering the voting age to 18, thus allowing younger citizens to vote.
 * Both houses had a Democratic majority, so the House and the Senate agreed on most issues.
 * Congress successfully passed the 26th Amendment, lowering the voting age to 18.
 * In total, Congress enacted 258 bills into law.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments, which made it unconstitutional to exclude a person from any educational program or activity on the basis of sex.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Congress passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which prohibited discrimination in the workplace based on race, ethnicity, sex, or religion.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Act, which created safety standards for products that could be dangerous for consumers.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act, which required candidates to disclose campaign contributions to the public.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Amendments, which increased EPA's power to control the release of toxins into the water.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13.2pt;">The Equal Rights Amendments, which was proposed but never ratified, was criticized by many people who pointed out that the passage of the amendment would cause women to lose certain privileges and protections such as exemption from the military draft.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13.2pt;">Twenty bills passed by Congress were vetoed by the president, although two of those vetoes were overridden.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13.2pt;">Both houses had a Democratic majority, while both President Nixon and Chief Justice Burger were Republicans.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13.2pt;">The majority of Congress disapproved of Nixon's military strategies regarding Vietnam, and many members wanted to impeach him.

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