Congress Reopens Under New Management
By Kathy Kiely and Fredreka Schouten
WASHINGTON — In a new twist on an old tradition, the new speaker of the House kissed the minority leader as he handed her the gavel.
Congress convened Thursday for the 110th time in the nation’s history, but for the first time with a woman heading one of the chambers, and with Democrats in control of both the House and Senate for the first time in 12 years.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California took the speaker’s gavel in what she called “a historic moment for the women of America.” Republicans, some members of the Senate and a few former lawmakers joined in the thunderous applause. “Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or an independent, today is a cause for celebration,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Supporters wearing denim and cowboy hats hoisted beers in honor of new Sen. Jon Tester, a farmer and Democrat who defeated incumbent Conrad Burns in Montana. Celebrities including former president Bill Clinton and actor Richard Gere were at the Capitol to see it all.
The 33 new or re-elected senators who took their oaths included seven women, bringing the total number of women in Congress’ upper chamber to a record 16. There are a record 74 women in the House, including three non-voting delegates. Clinton watched as his wife, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, was sworn in for her second term as New York’s junior senator.
In other developments:
*Vern Buchanan, a freshman Republican from Florida, took his seat despite lawsuits filed to overturn his election by his Democratic opponent, Christine Jennings. Jennings narrowly lost a race in which 18,000 votes were lost because of voting machine errors. Pelosi said the House would allow the trial to proceed and decide whether to let Jennings take Buchanan’s place later.
*Senate Democrats convened with their majority narrowed because of the absence of Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., who remains hospitalized after suffering bleeding in his brain last month. Sean Grady, chief of the University of Pennsylvania medical department, told USA TODAY that the latest medical reports on Johnson are “good news” but added it will likely be months before doctors can determine the extent of Johnson’s recovery.
Bipartisanship was the watchword. “Be nice,” Boehner told members, but bickering surfaced quickly. House Republicans protested Democrats’ refusal to allow them to offer alternatives and amendments to an ethics package poised to win House approval today. Part of that package passed Thursday.
“The much-ballyhooed commitment to minority rights is virtually non-existent,” said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif.
House Democrats promised Republicans opportunities to amend bills but say that won’t happen until the House approves six measures that the Democrats promised during the fall campaign to enact in the first 100 legislative hours. That time period is likely to stretch until late this month.
“We view the first 100 hours as essentially a mandate from the American people,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
In addition to the ethics package, which bans travel and gifts paid for by lobbyists, the Democratic bills would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, promote expanded research using embryonic stem cells, rescind tax breaks for the oil industry and cut interest rates on student loans. Other measures would enact recommendations from the 9/11 Commission and allow the government to negotiate lower prescription-drug prices.
The Senate won’t act as fast. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., plan to introduce an ethics bill next week.
Pelosi called the Democratic ethics package, formed as a response to recent scandals involving influence-buying by lobbyists, “the toughest ethics reform in history.”
The legislation, however, didn’t discourage lobbyists from turning out for the round of parties that ushered in the new term. Among them: a $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that featured Tony Bennett and members of the Grateful Dead.
Rick Carter, a lobbyist for PG&E Corp., a California-based energy company, was navigating a three-page list of receptions. “It’s time to set agendas and strategies and see what we can get accomplished,” he said.
Contributing: Steve Sternberg (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.