109th United States Congress
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109th United States Congress
United States Capitol (2002)
Session:	January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
President of the Senate:	Dick Cheney
President pro tempore of the Senate:	Ted Stevens
Speaker of the House:	Dennis Hastert
Members:	435 Representatives 100 Senators 5 Territorial Representatives
House Majority:	Republican
Senate Majority:	Republican

The 109th United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, during the first two years of the second administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.

House members were elected in the 2004 general election on 2004-11-04. Senators were elected in three classes in the 2000 general election on 2000-11-07, 2002 general election on 2002-11-05, or 2004 general election on 2004-11-04. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Twenty-second Census of the United States in 2000. Both chambers had a Republican majority, the same party as President Bush.

Dates of sessions

January 3, 2005–January 3, 2007

• First session: January 4, 2005–December 22, 2005
• Second session: January 3, 2006–December 9, 2006

Previous: 108th Congress • Next: 110th Congress

Major events

Prominent events included the filibuster "nuclear option" scare, the alleged failure of the federal government to help in Hurricane Katrina disaster relief, the Tom DeLay corruption investigation, the CIA leak scandal, the rising unpopularity of the Iraq War, the 2006 immigration reform protests and government involvement in the Terri Schiavo case.

In addition to the DeLay indictment, this Congress also had a number of scandals: Bob Ney, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, William J. Jefferson, Mark Foley scandal, and the Jack Abramoff scandals.

This Congress met for 242 days, the fewest since World War II and 12 days fewer than the 80th Congress.^[1][2][3] As the Congress neared its conclusion, some commentators labelled this the "Do Nothing Congress," ^{[4][5][6][1][7]} a pejorative originally given to the 80th United States Congress by President Harry Truman.

The President vetoed only one bill, his first veto, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005.

Major legislation

Enacted

Main article: List of United States federal legislation

• 2005-02-17 — Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-2, 118 Stat. 4
• 2005-03-21 — Theresa Marie Schiavo's law, Pub.L. 109-3, 119 Stat. 15
• 2005-04-20 — Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, Pub.L. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23
• 2005-04-27 — Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, Pub.L. 109-9, 119 Stat. 218
• 2005-07-28 — Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CAFTA Implementation Act), Pub.L. 109-53, 119 Stat. 462
• 2005-07-29 — Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594
• 2005-08-10 — Transportation Equity Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144
• 2005-10-26 — Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, Pub.L. 109-92, 119 Stat. 2095
• 2005-12-01 — Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-118, 119 Stat. 2527
• 2005-12-22 — Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-145, 119 Stat. 2664
• 2005-12-30 — Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006, Pub.L. 109-148, 119 Stat. 2680 (including McCain Detainee Amendment (S.Amdt. 1977)
• 2006-02-08 — Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-171, 120 Stat. 4, including title II, subtitle B: Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act, 110 Stat. 9
• 2006-05-17 — Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-222, 120 Stat. 345
• 2006-05-29 — Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, Pub.L. 109-228, 120 Stat. 387
• 2006-07-27 — Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, Pub.L. 109-248, 120 Stat. 587
• 2006-09-26 — Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109-282, 120 Stat. 1186
• 2006-10-13 — Safe Port Act, Pub.L. 109-347, 120 Stat. 1884, including title VIII, Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006
• 2006-10-17 — Military Commissions Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109-366, 120 Stat. 2600
• 2006-10-26 — Secure Fence Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109-367, 120 Stat. 2638
• 2006-12-20 — Tax Relief and Health Act of 2006, Pub.L. 109-432, 120 Stat. 292

Proposed, but not enacted

• H.R. 554 — Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act
• H.R. 810 — Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 - Vetoed
• H.R. 1505 — Jessica Lunsford Act
• H.R. 4569 — Digital Transition Content Security Act
• S. 147 — Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005 (Akaka Bill)

Hearings

• Congressional response to the NSA warrantless surveillance program (Senate Judiciary; House Intelligence; Democrats of the House Judiciary)

See also: Congressional hearing

Party summary

Senate

The party summary for the Senate remained the same during the entire 109th Congress. On 2006-01-16, Democrat Jon Corzine resigned, but Democrat Bob Menendez was appointed and took Corzine's seat the next day.

House of Representatives

Due to resignations and special elections, Republicans lost a net of three seats; Democrats gained one seat; three seats were left vacant; and one seat which was vacant at the beginning of the Congress was filled. All seats were filled though special elections. (See Changes in membership, below.)

Leadership

Senate

• President of the Senate: Dick Cheney (R)
• President Pro Tempore: Ted Stevens (R)
• President pro tempore emeritus: Robert Byrd (D)

Majority (Republican) leadership

• Majority Leader: Bill Frist
• Majority Whip: Mitch McConnell
• Republican Conference Chairman: Rick Santorum
• Republican Policy Committee Chairman: Jon Kyl
• Republican Conference Secretary: Kay Bailey Hutchison
• Republican Campaign Committee Chair: Elizabeth Dole

Minority (Democratic) leadership

• Minority Leader: Harry Reid
• Minority Whip: Richard Durbin
• Democratic Conference Chairman: Harry Reid
• Democratic Policy Committee Chairman: Byron Dorgan
• Democratic Conference Secretary: Debbie Stabenow
• Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Charles Schumer

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Dennis Hastert

Majority (Republican) leadership

• Majority Leader:
  • Tom DeLay, until September 28, 2005
  • Roy Blunt, September 28, 2005 – February 2, 2006 ("Interim")
  • John Boehner, February 2, 2006 – end
• Majority Whip: Roy Blunt
• Senior Chief Deputy Whip: Eric Cantor
• Majority Deputy Whip Team: Kevin Brady
• Assistant Deputy Whip Team: Doc Hastings
• Republican Conference Chair: Deborah Pryce
• Republican Conference Vice-Chair: Jack Kingston
• Republican Conference Secretary: John T. Doolittle
• Republican Policy Committee Chairman:
  • John Shadegg, until February 2, 2006
  • Adam Putnam, February 2, 2006 – end
• Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Tom Reynolds

Minority (Democratic) leadership

Senators' party membership by state.

• Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi
• Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer
• Senior Chief Deputy Whip: John Lewis
• Minority Deputy Whip Team: Diana DeGette
• Democratic Caucus Chairman: Jim Clyburn
• Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman: John Larson
• Assistant to the House Minority Leader: John Spratt
• Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Rahm Emanuel
• Democratic Steering Committee Co-Chairs: Rosa DeLauro, George Miller

Members

Senate

See also: Category:United States Senators

See also: Category:United States Congressional Delegations by state

Initial percentage of members of the House of Representatives from each party by state at the opening of the 109th Congress in January 2005.

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide at-large, are preceded by an "At-large," and the names of those elected from districts are preceded by their district numbers.

See also: Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives

See also: Category:United States Congressional Delegations by state

See also: List of United States Congressional districts for maps of congressional districts.