107th United States Congress

107th United States Congress
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Congress	107th
Start	January 3, 2001
End	January 3, 2003
Senate majority	Democratic (Jan–Jun 2001), Republican (Jun 2001–Jan 2002), Democratic (Jan–Nov 2002), Republican (Nov 2002–Jan 2003)
Senate president	Al Gore (D) (until Jan 20, 2001), Dick Cheney (R) (from Jan 20, 2001)
Senate pres pro tempore	Strom Thurmond (R) (until Jan 20, 2001), Robert Byrd (D) (Jan 20, 2001 – Jun 6, 2001), Strom Thurmond (R) (Jun 6, 2001 – Jan 3, 2003)
House majority	Republican
House speaker	Dennis Hastert (R)

Contents

107th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 2001, to January 3, 2003, during the final weeks of the Presidency of Bill Clinton and the first two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. This Congress was profoundly shaped by the September 11 attacks and the subsequent passage of major national security legislation, as well as a historic period of fluctuating partisan control in the United States Senate.

Major legislation

The legislative agenda was dominated by responses to the September 11 attacks. The seminal USA PATRIOT Act was enacted, vastly expanding the surveillance and investigative powers of agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Congress also passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, which led to the War in Afghanistan. Other significant laws included the No Child Left Behind Act, a major education reform; the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, a large tax cut; and the creation of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the largest federal government reorganization since the establishment of the United States Department of Defense. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the McCain–Feingold Act, was passed to regulate the financing of political campaigns.

At the outset, the United States Senate was evenly divided, with 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, giving effective control to the Democrats due to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Al Gore. This shifted in May 2001 when Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party to become an Independent, caucusing with the Democrats and giving them a 51–49 majority. The United States House of Representatives maintained a Republican majority throughout, with 221 Republicans, 212 Democrats, and 2 independents at the start of the term.

The Congress opened amidst the contentious resolution of the 2000 United States presidential election, which was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in Bush v. Gore. The defining event was the September 11 attacks by al-Qaeda on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, leading to a national state of emergency and the launch of the War on Terror. In October 2001, letters containing anthrax were mailed to several Senate offices, including those of Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, causing a major bioterrorism scare. The Enron scandal and other corporate accounting frauds led to congressional investigations and the passage of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act.

The United States Senate included notable figures such as John McCain of Arizona, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Hillary Clinton of New York (who began her first term), and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. The United States House of Representatives was composed of members like Nancy Pelosi of California, who later became the House Minority Leader, and John Boehner of Ohio. The delegation from Florida was central to the electoral dispute, including members like Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. The tragic death of Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone in a plane crash in October 2002 shortly before the election caused a temporary shift in the Senate's balance of power. Category:107th United States Congress