112th Congress convenes; Boehner elected speaker
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p/20110105/ap_on_re_us/us_new_congress) Reuters – Incoming House Speaker
John Boehner salutes the assembled members as he takes to the podium in
front …
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_Video:Obama back to confront new Republican House_
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By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Laurie Kellman, Associated Press – 17
mins ago
WASHINGTON – Newly elected speaker _John Boehner_
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110105/ap_on_re_us/us_new_congress#) hailed the Republican Party's
return to control of the House Wednesday, vowing a more open legislative
process but acknowledging that "a great deal of scar tissue has built up on both
sides of the aisle."
GOP lawmakers, who picked up 64 House seats in the November elections,
cheered loudly when Boehner defeated Democrat Nancy Pelosi in the roll call for
speaker. The veteran Ohio lawmaker's rise to the speakership was virtually
guaranteed by his party's midterm triumphs, which ended Pelosi's four-year
reign.
The new Senate also convened Wednesday, with Vice President Joe Biden
administering the oath to lawmakers he had campaigned for and against last fall.
Senators moved quickly to a debate over filibuster rules, with Democratic
and Republican leaders accusing each other of obstructing progress and
trying to game the parliamentary system.
But most eyes were on the House, where the new GOP majority has vowed to
battle President Barack Obama on health care, spending, taxes and other
issues.
Boehner, the perpetually tanned legislator who rose, fell and rose again in
Republican leadership contests over the past two decades, told a packed
chamber that Congress must tackle tough issues such as cutting spending and
reducing the deficit.
"No longer can we kick the can down the road," he said.
But far-reaching accords will be difficult in Washington, where Democrats
still control the Senate and Obama wields veto powers.
In the House, children and grandchildren of new lawmakers fidgeted,
temporarily lending lighter moments to a chamber certain to see fierce debates
and partisan votes in the next two years. House Republicans, for instance,
plan to vote within days to overturn Obama's 2010 health care overhaul, but
they acknowledge it's a symbolic gesture because the Senate will not concur.
Nineteen House Democrats refused to vote for Pelosi as speaker, baring the
lingering wounds from last fall's bitter elections. Countless GOP campaign
ads had depicted Pelosi and her allies as out-of-touch liberals. Eleven
House Democrats kept _campaign promises_
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110105/ap_on_re_us/us_new_congress#) Wednesday by voting for fellow centrist
Heath Shuler, D-N.C.
The GOP's dramatic election gains will give them a 242-193 edge in the
House. Many freshman Republicans are hardcore conservatives with tea party
connections, and Boehner may struggle at times to keep his caucus unified,
especially on contentious matters such as raising the federal debt limit.
The day's ceremonies ended two years of Democratic dominance in Washington
and ushered in a divided government in the run-up to the 2012 congressional
and presidential elections. With campaigns but a short time away, Obama
and congressional Republicans are set to square off over the size of
government and the taxpayer dollars it spends.
Fresh from a Hawaii vacation, Obama told reporters he expects Republicans
initially to "play to their base."
"But I'm pretty confident that they're going to recognize that our job is
to govern and make sure that we are delivering jobs for the American
people," he added. "My hope is that John Boehner and (Senate GOP leader) Mitch
McConnell will realize that there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012
in 2012."
Biden reveled in his role as president of the Senate, swearing in 35
senators — several of whom he campaigned against last fall.
A congenial, back-slapping atmosphere prevailed, and numerous former
senators — including former Vice President Dan Quayle — escorted home state
colleagues to the Senate well to be sworn in. His son, _Ben Quayle_
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110105/ap_on_re_us/us_new_congress#) , was among the new
House members being sworn in on the other side of the building.
Several tea party favorites, like Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Pat Toomey,
R-Pa., and _Rand Paul_
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110105/ap_on_re_us/us_new_congress#) , R-Ky., promise to make life complicated for returning
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., himself a survivor of a costly campaign
against tea party-backed Sharron Angle.
The first order of Senate business was passing a resolution honoring
_Barbara Mikulski_
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110105/ap_on_re_us/us_new_congress#) , D-Md., on becoming the longest serving female senator. Then, the
chamber turned to a Democratic-initiated debate on changing the chamber's rules
to tame the filibuster and other ways to grind the Senate to a halt.
For now, both parties will build their election-year cases in the
congressional arena.
It began Wednesday morning when Boehner joined Pelosi and others at a
bipartisan prayer service at St. Peter's Catholic Church near the Capitol. It
continues when Pelosi, the Californian who made history by becoming the first
woman speaker four years ago, hands the gavel to Boehner, the affable
Ohioan with blue collar roots, and the new Congress is sworn into office.
Republicans have promised to run the House with an eye toward saving and cutting
spending, and in a manner more open to public scrutiny and debate.
Boehner said the voters "have reminded us that everything here is on loan
from them. That includes this gavel, which I accept cheerfully and
gratefully, knowing I am but its caretaker."
Flexing its newfound muscles, the incoming GOP majority is preparing to
break its own new rules next week when it votes, without hearings or a chance
to make changes, to cancel Obama's signature health care law.
"It's not like we haven't litigated this for over a year," Boehner said
Tuesday.
Across the Capitol, the Senate opened for business with the Democrats'
majority down from 60 votes two years ago to 53 — making it harder to enact
legislation Obama seeks. But it gives them more than enough clout to block
passage of bills like the health care repeal House Republicans want.
The shrunken Democratic ranks give Republicans leverage to bargain for a
reduction in spending on items like a $1.4 billion food safety measure Obama
signed Tuesday.
In the House, the GOP's new "cut and grow majority" envisions curbs on
government spending and regulations to spur the economy, Cantor said.
The first spending cut vote is set for Thursday, a 5 percent reduction in
the amount ticketed for lawmakers' and committees' offices and leadership
staff. Aides estimate the savings at $35 million over the next nine months.
Republicans have pledged to vote at least once a week on bills that cut
spending. And Cantor challenged Obama to include significant spending cuts in
his State of the Union address on Jan. 25.
But Republicans acknowledge they must do more than oppose Obama's every
proposal, as they did the past two years of Democratic rule. That might mean
compromise, anathema to GOP hardliners, setting up the potential for
conflicts in the party.
The effort to repeal health care overhaul appears to be exempt from some of
the new majority's stated priorities and reforms.
One of the first House votes on Wednesday will be the enactment of a series
of rules changes that Republicans crafted to increase openness in
Congress' proceedings. Despite that, the new majority intends to pass the health
care repeal next week without committee hearings or permitting Democrats a
chance to seek changes.
Republicans also have decided to ignore estimates from the Congressional
Budget Office that the bill as it originally passed would cut spending by
$143 billion over the next decade.
In the Senate, a group of Democrats led by Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico
called for changes that would make it harder for the minority to delay
legislation by filibuster. It's a key question now that Democrats are seven
senators short of the 60 required to break such logjams.
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