| 107th U.S. Congress Convenes | |
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Dateline: 01/03/2001
The
107th edition of the United States Congress gets underway on Wednesday at noon in
Washington with swearing in ceremonies featuring 42 new
Members of the House and 11 new Senators,
including former First Lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-NY).
"I, __, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this
obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and
that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am
about to enter: So help me God." (5 U.S.C.
3331.)" - Oath of Office
There is no further business scheduled for the Joint Session.
Congress' next major work takes place on Friday, Jan. 5, when the House and Senate meet in Joint Session to fulfill their constitutional duty of counting and certifying the votes cast by members of the Electoral College on Dec. 18, 2000. Unless there are objections, George W. Bush will finally, and officially emerge from the session as the 43rd President-Elect of the the United States.
In the House, 221 Republicans will enjoy a slim, yet recognizable majority over 212 Democrats and two Independents, Bernard Sanders of Vermont and Virgil Goode of Virginia.
The Senate? Well, that's another story, in which the election resulted in a dead-even 50-50 split.
For the next 17 days, until noon on Jan. 20, the Democrats will hold what is known as a "nominal majority" in the Senate, because Vice President Al Gore (D) would, as President of the Senate, cast tie-breaking votes. The party of the Vice President, due to his or her tie-breaker vote, determines which party is considered the "majority" party when the Senate is evenly split.
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