The 82nd 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 met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1951, to January 3, 1953, during the last two years of President Harry S. Truman's second term in office.

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2013)

Quick Facts January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953, Members ...

82nd United States Congress
81st ← → 83rd
United States Capitol (1956)
January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953
Members	96 senators 435 representatives 3 non-voting delegates
Senate majority	Democratic
Senate President	Alben W. Barkley (D)
House majority	Democratic
House Speaker	Sam Rayburn (D)
Sessions
1st: January 3, 1951 – October 20, 1951 2nd: January 8, 1952 – July 7, 1952

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The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1940 United States census.

Both chambers had a Democratic majority (albeit reduced from the 81st Congress), and with President Truman, maintained an overall federal government trifecta.

• March 29, 1951: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. On April 5 they were sentenced to receive the death penalty.
• April 11, 1951: President Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of his Far Eastern commands.
• April 13, 1951: Congress passed a large defense budget 372 votes for the budget and 44 votes against the budget. The budget was intended to help the United States combat communism.^[1]
• August 31, 1951: The United States Senate passes the Mutual Security Act by a vote of 61 votes in favor and 5 votes against. The act provided $7.5 billion for foreign military assistance and food aid to America's allies, primarily the United Kingdom.^[2][3] The vote was condemned by the government of the Soviet Union and praised by the government of the United Kingdom.^[4]
• September 5, 1951: Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, California, 48 nations signed a peace treaty with Japan to formally end the Pacific War.
• October 24, 1951: President Truman declared an official end to war with Germany.
• November 10, 1951: Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service began in the United States.
• December 31, 1951: The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $13.3 billion USD in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.
• March 29, 1952: President Truman announced that he will not seek reelection.
• June 19, 1952: The Special Forces created.
• July 25, 1952: Puerto Rico became a Commonwealth of the United States, an unincorporated organized territory, with the ratification of its constitution.
• November 4, 1952: 1952 United States presidential election: Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson
• November 4, 1952: National Security Agency founded.

• October 10, 1951: Mutual Security Act, ch. 479, 65 Stat. 373
• June 27, 1952: Immigration and Nationality Act (McCarran-Walter Act), Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 82–414
• July 14, 1952: McGuire Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 82–542, 15 U.S.C. § 42(a)
• July 16, 1952: Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 82–550
• July 16, 1952: Federal Coal Mine Safety Act of 1952, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 82–552
• July 16, 1952: Wire Fraud Act of 1952, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 82–555

• February 27, 1951: Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, setting a term limit for election and overall time of service to the office of President of the United States, was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 36) to become part of the Constitution^[5]

• March 20, 1952: Treaty of San Francisco ratified

• House Democratic Caucus
• Senate Democratic Caucus

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.