After Thornburgh retired in 1878, Houk finally gained the Republican nomination for Congress, narrowly defeating "Knoxville Chronicle" editor William Rule, and was elected to the Forty-sixth Congress later that year. Sensing that East Tennesseans were weary of national issues, Houk focused on local concerns, namely veterans' issues and the demand for federal government seed. He was chairman of the House Committee on War Claims during the Forty-seventh congress, and went to great lengths to get compensation for East Tennessee Unionists who suffered property damage during the war.