114th Congress of the United States

The 114th Congress of the United States , composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate , is the legislature of the United States . Its legislative period began on January 3, 2015 and ended on January 3, 2017. All members of the House of Representatives and a third of the senators ( Class II ) were elected in November 2014 in the congressional elections. There was a Republican majority in both chambers . The only remaining role for the Democratic Party was in the opposition. However, with Barack Obama it provided the president. During the previous legislative period, there were some changes in both chambers due to deaths or resignations, but these did not change the majority structure.

Important events

For general events see 2015 and 2016

January 3, 2015: Beginning of the legislative period of the 114th Congress
January 20, 2015: President Obama delivers his annual State of the Union Address.
March 3, 2015: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech in front of both chambers of Congress, which are sitting together. He had been invited by the Speaker (President of the House of Representatives) John Boehner without consulting the President. The subject of Nethanyahu's speech was the United States' Iran policy.
March 25, 2015: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also speaks in front of the jointly meeting chambers of Congress.
April 29, 2015: Prime Minister Shinzō Abe is the first Japanese politician to address Congress.

September 24, 2015: Pope Francis speaks to Congress. This, too, is a novelty, as no Pope has ever spoken to the US Congress before.

September 25, 2015: Speaker John Boehner announces his resignation from this position at the end of October.

October 29, 2015: Paul Ryan (R) is elected as the new speaker. He is the youngest President of the House of Representatives since James G. Blaine (R) in 1874.

January 12, 2016: President Obama delivers another State of the Union address.

The main laws

In the previous session periods of the 114th Congress, the following federal laws were passed ( see also: Legislative procedure ):

January 12, 2015: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015
April 16, 2015: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015
May 22, 2015: Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015
June 2, 2015: USA FREEDOM Act: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015
June 29, 2015: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
November 25, 2015: SPACE Act of 2015
December 4, 2015: Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act
December 10, 2015: Every Student Succeeds Act

Composition according to parties

senate

Democrats: 44
Republicans: 54
Others: 2
Total: 100 As of the beginning of the legislative period on January 3, 2015

House of Representatives

Democrats: 188
Republicans: 247
Others (0
Total: 435 as of the beginning of the legislative period on January 3, 2015

Public officials

senate

President of the Senate : Joe Biden (D)
President pro tempore : Orrin Hatch (R)

Leadership of the majority party

Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R)

Majority swip : John Cornyn (R)

Leadership of the minority party

Minority Leader: Harry Reid (D)
Minority whip: Dick Durbin (D)

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House of Representatives :
John Boehner (R) until October 29, 2015, then Paul Ryan (R)

Leadership of the majority party

Majority Leader: Kevin McCarthy (R)
Majority swip: Steve Scalise , (R)

Leadership of the minority party

Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D)

Minority whip : Steny Hoyer (D)

Members

For members of the Senate of the 114th Congress, see:
- List of Senate Members of the 114th United States Congress

For members of the House of Representatives of the 114th Congress see:
- List of members of the House of Representatives in the 114th United States Congress

Web links

bioguide.congress.gov (by entering 114 under Year OR Congress: you get a list of the members of the 114th Congress with a link to the official biographies; English)