The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2015, to January 3, 2017, during the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States census.: "Appointing the day for the convening of the first session of the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress.": "Providing for the sine die adjournment of the first session of the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress."

The 2014 elections gave the Republicans control of the Senate and the House for the first time since the 109th Congress. With 248 seats in the House of Representatives and 54 seats in the Senate, this Congress began with the largest Republican majority since the 71st Congress of 1929–1931. , this was the most recent Congress in which the Senate was controlled by the opposing party of the president for its entire session.

Major events

January 6, 2015: Incumbent Speaker of the House John Boehner was re-elected even though several members of his own party once again chose not to vote for him. He received 216 votes, a majority of the votes cast, but two votes shy of a majority of the full membership. January 20, 2015: 2015 State of the Union Address March 3, 2015: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress regarding sanctions against Iran. Speaker John Boehner had invited Netanyahu without consulting President Obama. March 9, 2015: U.S. Senator Tom Cotton wrote and sent a letter to the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, signed by 47 of the Senate's 54 Republicans, attempting to cast doubt on the Obama administration's authority to engage in nuclear-proliferation negotiations with Iran. March 25, 2015: President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani addressed a joint session of Congress.Riechmann, Deb (March 26, 2015) - "In U.S., Ghani Vows Afghan Self-Reliance". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Archived March 30, 2015. April 29, 2015: Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe addressed a joint session of Congress, becoming the first Japanese leader to do so. September 24, 2015: Pope Francis addressed a joint session of Congress, becoming the first Pope to do so. September 25, 2015: John Boehner announced that he would resign from Congress at the end of October 2015. Subsequently, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the presumptive favorite to succeed John Boehner as Speaker of the House, unexpectedly withdrew his candidacy for the office. October 29, 2015: Paul Ryan was elected to succeed John Boehner as Speaker of the House receiving 236 votes (of 432 votes cast), becoming the youngest Speaker since James G. Blaine in 1869. January 12, 2016: 2016 State of the Union Address June 8, 2016: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint session of Congress.Modi addresses Congress as U.S.-India ties bloom By Nicole Gaouette and Elise Labott, CNN, June 9, 2016, retrieved March 22, 2020 June 10, 2016: The murder of Christina Grimmie occurs in Orlando, which prompts debates on Universal background checks. June 22–23, 2016: In the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting, Congress debated gun control reform. The U.S. House recessed for the July 4 holiday during a sit-in protest held by Democrats that halted business in the chamber for more than 24 hours. November 8, 2016: Donald Trump and Mike Pence elected as president and vice-president in presidential elections, while the Republicans retain majority at both Senate and House of Representatives.

Major legislation

Enacted

January 12, 2015: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015, February 27, 2015: Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act, Pub.L. 114-3 March 4, 2015: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015, Pub.L. 114-4 April 16, 2015: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, May 22, 2015: Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, May 29, 2015: Justice for Victims of Trafficking 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: Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, July 6, 2015: Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act, September 25, 2015: Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act of 2015, Pub.L. 114-50 September 30, 2015: National Winstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2015, Pub.L. 114-52 November 2, 2015: Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, November 5, 2015: Librarian of Congress Succession Modernization Act of 2015, November 25, 2015: SPACE Act of 2015, November 25, 2015: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, Pub.L. 114-92 December 4, 2015: Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, 5-Year, $300 Billion "FAST Act" Will Extend Transpo Policy Status Quo to 2020 By Angie Schmitt, USA.Streetsblog.org, December 2, 2015, retrieved March 22, 2020 December 10, 2015: Every Student Succeeds Act, December 18, 2015: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (including the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015), December 28, 2015: Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, January 28, 2016: Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act, Pub.L. 114-117 February 8, 2016: International Megan's Law to Prevent Sexual Exploitation and Other Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders, Pub.L. 114-119 February 8, 2016: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, February 24, 2016: Internet Tax Freedom Act contained in Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, May 9, 2016: Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, Pub.L. 114-151 June 28, 2016: Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Pub. L. 114-182 June 30, 2016: Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), Pub.L. 114-187 July 20, 2016: Global Food Security Act of 2016, July 29, 2016: Making Electronic Government Accountable By Yielding Tangible Efficiences (MEGABYTE) Act of 2016, Pub.L. 114-210 September 28, 2016: Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, September 29, 2016: Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act, Pub.L. 114-223 October 7, 2016: Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act, Historic Bill Of Rights For Survivors Of Sexual Assault Is Heading To Obama's Desk by Emma O'Connor, BuzzFeed, September 7, 2016, retrieved March 22, 2020 December 10, 2016: Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017, Pub.L. 114-254 December 13, 2016: 21st Century Cures Act, With media watchdogs on the sidelines, pharma-funded advocacy groups pushed Cures Act to the finish line by Trudy Lieberman, Health News Review, retrieved March 22, 2020 December 14, 2016: First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act, Pub.L. 114-268 December 14, 2016: Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, Pub.L. 114-274 December 16, 2016: Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, Pub. L. 114-281 December 16, 2016: United States-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act of 2016, Pub.L. 114-304 December 16, 2016: Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2016, Pub.L. 114-308 December 16, 2016: Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Pub.L. 114-319 December 23, 2016: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, Pub.L. 114-328 January 6, 2017: American Innovation and Competitiveness Act, Pub.L. 114-329

Proposed

Vetoed February 24, 2015: Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act () March 31, 2015: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to representation case procedures. () October 22, 2015: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 () December 19, 2015: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units" () December 19, 2015: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units" () January 8, 2016: The Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 () January 19, 2016: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the definition of "waters of the United States" under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act () June 8, 2016: A joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to the definition of the term "Fiduciary" () July 22, 2016: Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2016 () September 23, 2016: Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act () (Passed over Veto)

Party summary Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Changes in membership" section, below.

Senate

Affiliation Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) Total Vacant Democratic Independent(caucusing withDemocrats) Republican End of previous Congress 53 2 45 100 0 Begin (January 3, 2015) 44 2 54 100 0 Final voting share   Beginning of the next Congress 46 2 52 100 0

House of Representatives

Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) Total Vacant Democratic Independent Republican End of previous Congress 201 0 234 435 0 Begin (January 3, 2015) 188 0 247 435 0 January 5, 2015 246 434 1 February 6, 2015 245 433 2 March 31, 2015 244 432 3 May 5, 2015 245 433 2 June 2, 2015 246 434 1 September 10, 2015 247 435 0 October 31, 2015 246 434 1 June 7, 2016 247 435 0 June 23, 2016 187 434 1 July 20, 2016 186 433 2 September 6, 2016 246 432 3 November 8, 2016 188 247 435 0 December 4, 2016 187 434 1 December 31, 2016 246 433 2 Final voting share Non-voting members 4 1 1 6 0 Beginning of the next Congress 194 0 241 435 0

Leadership

Senate

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

Majority (Republican) leadership Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell Assistant Majority Leader (Majority Whip): John Cornyn Chief Deputy Whip: Mike Crapo Deputy Whips: Republican Conference Chairman: John Thune Republican Conference Vice Chairman: Roy Blunt Senatorial Committee Chairman: Roger Wicker Policy Committee Chairman: John Barrasso

Minority (Democratic) leadership Minority Leader: Harry Reid Assistant Minority Leader (Minority Whip): Dick Durbin Chief Deputy Whip: Barbara Boxer Deputy Whips: Democratic Caucus Chairman: Harry Reid Democratic Caucus Vice Chair and Policy Committee Chairman: Chuck Schumer Democratic Caucus Secretary: Patty Murray Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman: Jon Tester Policy Committee Vice Chairwoman: Debbie Stabenow Policy Committee Strategic Policy Adviser: Elizabeth Warren Policy Committee Policy Development Adviser: Mark Warner Steering and Outreach Committee Chairwoman: Amy Klobuchar Steering and Outreach Committee Vice Chairwoman: Jeanne Shaheen

House of Representatives

Speaker: John Boehner (R), until October 29, 2015 Paul Ryan (R), from October 29, 2015

Majority (Republican) leadership Majority Leader: Kevin McCarthy Majority Whip: Steve Scalise Majority Chief Deputy Whip: Patrick McHenry