Congress: New (and older) Congress
Posted: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 9:19 AM by Domenico Montanaro
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Congress
USA Today does some fun stats about the new Congress. One interesting nugget: It's the oldest Congress on record. "The average age will be 57 in the House and 63 in the Senate, according to the chambers' historical offices. In each case, it's the highest on record. Despite the departure of such veteran lawmakers as Republican Sens. Ted Stevens of Alaska and John Warner of Virginia, both in their 80s, the 111th Congress that convenes today is getting grayer. One reason: Some junior members also moved on -- including Obama, 47, and the youngest senator, 44-year-old John Sununu of New Hampshire, who lost re-election. The oldest member, 91-year-old Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, returns."
The New York Times on the latest regarding Burris: “Senate officials on Monday rejected credentials offered on behalf of Roland W. Burris, who nonetheless planned to arrive at the Capitol on Tuesday to be sworn in as the new junior senator from Illinois. After reviewing the appointment letter presented by a representative of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, Nancy Erickson, the secretary of the Senate, found that the paperwork did not comply with Rule II of the Senate’s standing rules, which requires signatures of both the governor and the secretary of state.”
“The Illinois secretary of state, Jesse White, has refused to sign, saying the appointment is invalid because of the federal corruption investigation surrounding the governor and what prosecutors describe as his efforts to sell the Senate seat, vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. ‘Roland Burris is welcome to Washington; he is welcome to come to my office,’ said Illinois’s senior senator, Richard J. Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat. ‘But he couldn’t possibly be anticipating any official action until at least his papers are filed.’”
The Hill: “A senior Democratic aide said efforts by [Rep. Bobby] Rush to win support for Burris behind the scenes seem to have met with limited success, as the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) does not appear to be rallying behind Burris. One aide said Rush's use of racial rhetoric at Burris's press conference last month hurt the effort more than it helped 'There is a sense that Rush is largely alone,' the aide said. 'He kind of sealed his fate with his incendiary talk.'"
Indeed, the L.A. Times has an intriguing story about how the Burris controversy is an example how Obama's election has changed the nature of racial politics. There's no unity, for instance, among key black political leaders on how to respond to the Burris issue.
The crux of Harry Reid's Franken problem? "... [W]ith Pawlenty refusing to sign a certification of the vote until Coleman's pending legal challenges are resolved, Reid found himself in the awkward position of potentially trying to seat Franken while refusing to seat embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D) pick of former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris (D) to replace President-elect Barack Obama, in part because Burris' appointment has not been certified by state officials."
So why is VP-elect Biden being sworn in today as senator? Well, one reason is to go on one final CODEL… "The journey will also throw a spotlight on Mr. Biden, who has remained largely out of the public eye since the election, and reinforce his intention to play an important role in foreign policy in the new administration. With the selections of Senator Hillary Rodman Clinton as secretary of state and Gen. James L. Jones, a retired Marine commandant, as national security adviser, many in Washington have speculated about how much room would be left for Mr. Biden.”
“Aides said Mr. Biden would not be speaking on behalf of the United States government or the incoming administration during the trip, although it seems unlikely that his hosts would make a distinction between Senator Biden and Vice President-elect Biden. His office declined to specify exactly when or where he would travel, citing security concerns, but Southwest Asia usually refers to a stretch of countries including Afghanistan and Pakistan, both very likely to be important hot spots for Mr. Obama.”
