10 Things to Know about the First Day of the New Congress (updated)
1. The start date for Congress was set by the 20th Amendment, AKA the “Lame Duck amendment” in 1933.
Before that, members sat for 13 months in office after losing an election. The start date of January 3 can be changed by statute.
2. The text of the oath of office for Congress does not appear in the Constitution.
It simply says that they “shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support this constitution.” The oath in use today dates back to 1884.
3. Those photos of smiling Members of Congress and their families taking the oath — they are staged.
Photography is not allowed on the House or Senate floor, so members take one oath at the beginning of the day and then stage a “ceremonial” oath in another room in the Capitol.
4. Members-elect raise their right hand to take the oath. There is no requirement that a Bible or any object be touched by the left hand during the oath.
5. The Speaker of the House does not have to be an elected member of the House
(Though all have historically been such.) Yes, we know *everybody* knows this.
6. The Speaker is sworn in by the Dean of the House (its longest serving Member).
The current Dean of the House is Rep. Don Young, a Republican from Alaska. He has served in the House since March 6th, 1973.
8. The Vice President is the leader of the Senate and a “President Pro Tempore” serves in his or her absence.
The President Pro Tempore is third in the line of succession (after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House) and is traditionally the longest-serving member of the majority party. Senator Charles Grassley(R-Iowa) has been nominated to be President Pro Tempore for the 116th Congress.
9. The House must pass new rules for the new Congress, which may include significant changes to House practice.
Here’s a summary of the rule changes and the actual text. The new Rules package includes:
- Requires annual ethics training for all members (not just new ones)
- Ends dynamic scoring
- Reinstates PAY-GO
- New “Consensus Calendar” provides path for overruling leadership: must consider one bill per week if backed by two-thirds
- Requires legislative text to be published online a full 72 hours before a vote
- Exempts religious headwear from the prohibition on hats on the House Floor
- Education & Workforce Committee renamed Education and *Labor*
- Oversight and Government Reform renamed Oversight and *Reform*
- Prohibits discrimination in Congressional offices on basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
- Bans sexual relationships between members and committee staff
- Requires members to resign from committees while under indictment (may immediately impact sitting members Reps. Collins [R, NY] and Hunter [R, CA])
- Bans members from sitting on corporate boards
- Reinstates “Gephardt Rule” suspending federal debt limit through Sept 30 when budget resolution passes
- Makes discharge petition process less cumbersome
- Empowers Speaker to intervene in the ACA lawsuit, Texas v. United States
- Directs House Counsel to explore options for suing over SNAP work requirements
- Establishes a House Office of Diversity and Inclusion
- Establishes a House Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman
- Establishes Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
- Establishes Select Committee on Modernization of Congress “to investigate, study, make findings, hold public hearings, and develop recommendations”
10. Expect a flurry of new bills in the first days of the Congress.
In 2009, over 400 bills were introduced on the first day of the Congressional session. In 2011, 239 were introduced; in 2013, 184 were introduced; in 2015, 242 were introduced on Day 1; and 275 were introduced on the first day of the 115th Congress in 2017 (Source: Congress.gov).
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