The 96th 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, 1979, to January 3, 1981, during the last two years of the administration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1970 Census. This is the most recent Congress to feature a Democratic Senator from Idaho, Frank Church, who lost re-election in 1980.