Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

A peek at Congress' first day back

The visitor galleries were crowded in both the House and Senate as the opening gavels fell at noon. Children squirmed in grown-up-sized seats on the House floor as moms, dads and grandparents took the oath of office.

Vice President Dick Cheney sat in the Senate president's chair, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., called for a moment of silence for the Asian tsunami victims before the swearing-in of all newly elected senators.

Among those taking the oath was Sen. Pat Leahy, a frequent critic of the vice president. Last summer Cheney cursed the Vermont Democrat while senators were having their annual group picture taken in the Capitol. This time they politely shook hands.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., became the country's sole black senator and only the fifth in history. Family members traveled from as far as Kenya. Obama was born in Hawaii, the son of a black economist from Kenya and a white teacher from Kansas.

Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar beamed with pride before the swearing-in ceremony. The Texas congressman is the son of migrant farm workers. His parents, Martin and Odilia, were in the gallery. "They don't know English, but they are going to understand everything from the heart," he said.

Tinkering with a tradition that goes back to Thomas Jefferson, House members in the new Congress will be able to refer to senators by name on the floor. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, added the measure to a package of rule changes the House approved on opening day. Feeney's provision stipulates that, while members will now be able to refer to the Senate or a senator's action, they are still prohibited from personal attacks.

[Last modified January 5, 2005, 00:41:12]