Burris fails to take seat, but opposition cracks a bit
A top Democratic senator said that Gov. Blagojevich's selection was legally made.
WASHINGTON - Roland Burris failed to capture President-elect Barack Obama's old Senate seat yesterday in a wild piece of political theater, but the Democrats' opposition cracked when a key chairwoman said that seating him was simply the legal thing to do.
The developments came as the 111th Congress opened for business at the dawn of a new Democratic era, with vows to fix the crisis-ridden economy. "We need action and we need action now," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). Republicans agreed, and pledged cooperation in Congress as well as with Obama - to a point.
On a day largely devoted to ceremony, new members of Congress and those reelected in November swore to defend the Constitution. But Burris was not among them.
He walked into the Capitol yesterday declaring himself "the junior senator from the state of Illinois." But Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson, who held what was described as a highly cordial, 21-minute meeting with Burris, rejected his certification, as he knew she would, saying it lacked Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's signature and the state seal.
Late yesterday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), whose Rules Committee judges the credentials of senators, urged the chamber to settle the matter.
Feinstein rejected the reasoning that all Senate Democrats, herself included, had cited in a letter last week - that corruption charges against Burris' patron, Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, tainted his appointment.
"Does the governor have the power, under law, to make the appointment? And the answer is yes," said Feinstein.
"If you don't seat Mr. Burris, it has ramifications for gubernatorial appointments all over America," she said, praising the 71-year-old former Illinois state attorney general as "very well-respected."
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus also said that Burris - who would be the only African American senator - should be seated.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Burris pivoted from his rejection at the Capitol to the Illinois Supreme Court, asking it to order White to certify his appointment. He also said he was considering a federal lawsuit to force Senate Democrats to seat him.
He was expected to meet with Reid today.
The matter was a distraction for majority Democrats eager to project an image of progress with Obama on an economic-stimulus plan estimated to cost as much as $800 billion.
Obama, whose inauguration is 13 days away, was across town in a meeting with his economic advisers as the opening gavels fell in the House and Senate at noon.
Reid, a veteran of numerous battles with President Bush, made plain how glad he was the old administration was ending.
"We are ready to answer the call of the American people by putting the past eight years behind us and delivering the change that our country desperately needs," he said on the Senate floor. "We are grateful to begin anew with a far more robust Democratic majority."
At the same time, in comments directed at Republicans, he said that "we are in this together" when it comes to the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, health care, and energy needs.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) replied in a speech of his own that "the opportunities for cooperation are numerous." But he said Democrats should avoid a "reckless rush to meet an arbitrary deadline" to pass a stimulus bill.
McConnell will soon be the most powerful Republican in government after elections that gave Democrats the White House and gained them at least seven Senate seats and 21 in the House.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) also pledged cooperation, then said: "America's potential is unlimited. But government's potential is not. We must not confuse the two."
Speechmaking and celebrations aside, House Democrats pushed through rule changes, including one calling for greater disclosure of earmarks. They also repealed the six-year term limit for committee chairs. That was a legacy of the Republican Revolution that swept through Congress in 1994, and in erasing it, Democrats evinced confidence in the strength of their majority status.
In all, 34 senators were sworn in. Besides the Burris issue, a Minnesota Senate seat remains in limbo. Democrat Al Franken holds a 225-vote lead over former Sen. Norm Coleman but has not yet received a certificate of election. With Republicans threatening to protest, Democrats made no attempt to seat him.
Inevitably, it was a day for personal transitions.
Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. took the oath for a seventh time for the Delaware Senate seat he has held since 1973 and will soon relinquish.
Anh "Joseph" Cao (R., La.), who came to the United States at age 8 as a war refugee, was sworn in as the first Vietnamese American U.S. lawmaker.
And Robert C. Byrd (D., W. Va.), 91, spoke from a wheelchair about his 50 years in the Senate, saying, "I look forward - yes, look forward - to the next 50 years."
New Congress at a Glance
House
Party affiliation:
257 Democrats,
178 Republicans.
Age: 57 on average;
new members, 49.7.
Gender: 78 are women (61 Democrats,
17 Republicans).
Ethnicity: 41 African Americans; 28 Hispanics/Latinos; nine Asian-Pacific Americans; one American Indian.
Foreign-born: 12.
Military veterans: 96.
Senate
Party affiliation:
55 Democrats,
41 Republicans,
two independents.
Age: 63.1 on average; new members, 57.1.
Gender: 17 are women (13 Democrats,
four Republicans).
Ethnicity: No African Americans; three Hispanics/Latinos; two Asian-Pacific Americans; no American Indians. (These statistics do not include Roland Burris of Illinois, who was not seated yesterday.)
Foreign-born: One.
Military veterans: 25.
Also of interest
Prior occupations include 16 medical doctors,
two dentists, three nurses, two veterinarians,
one psychologist, one optometrist, four ministers, one casino dealer,
and one prison guard.
The youngest House member is Aaron Schock (R., Ill.), 27; the oldest is Ralph Hall (R., Texas), 85. The youngest senator is Mark Pryor (D., Ark.), 45; the oldest is Robert C. Byrd (D., W. Va.), 91.
SOURCE: Congressional
Research Service
EndText