In the Senate, tensions over the partisan stalemate that dominated the last session spilled into the opening of the 112th Congress as a coalition of Democrats threatened to try to force changes that would reduce filibusters and other procedural snags that have slowed the pace of legislation the past two years.
The convening of the new Congress and the first day of divided government in Washington since President Obama?s inauguration two years ago was largely one of ceremony, posturing and such preliminary procedural skirmishes. But it set the stage for partisan and ideological clashes on the size and role of government and a wide array of other issues as the nation struggles to rebuild economic momentum, confront its rapidly growing debt and manage complex national security threats.
After accepting an oversize gavel from the departing Democratic speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Boehner promised to run the chamber in a more inclusive and businesslike way. But mindful of demands by new Tea Party Republicans for decisive action to cut spending and rein in what they see as an overactive government, he set the House on a course to take apart the health law, take a deep bite out of this year?s budget and investigate the administration?s handling of at least a half-dozen big issues over the past two years.
?The people voted to end business as usual, and today we begin to carry out their instructions,? Mr. Boehner told his assembled colleagues, referring to the election sweep that carried Republicans back to power in the House four years after Democrats led by Ms. Pelosi ended their domination.
Mr. Boehner said that excessive and wasteful federal spending had caught up with the nation and warned that ?hard work and tough decisions will be required of the 112th Congress.?
?No longer can we fall short,? he said. ?No longer can we kick the can down the road.?
To reverse what they say is a Congressional process tilted toward spending increases, the new Republican majority in the House ? over strong Democratic objections ? approved rules that would require spending increases to be directly offset with cuts elsewhere. But the rules would allow future tax cuts to be enacted without offsetting spending reductions, and would permit repeal of the health care legislation, which was estimated to save the government more than $140 billion over 10 years, without any requirement that those revenue losses be made up elsewhere.
?We are going to cut spending and job-killing government regulations, and grow the economy and private-sector jobs,? said Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the new majority leader and the No. 2 Republican in the House.
Democrats criticized the changes, saying Republicans were returning to the policies that had put the government on a path to deep deficits in the first place and would open the door to ?Enron-style accounting? that covered up the costs of tax cuts and their other legislative efforts.
?House Republicans are like the fellow who bellies up to the bar, asking for just one more round of tax breaks for his buddies, while declaring, ?Put it on my tab,? ? said Representative Lloyd Doggett, Democrat of Texas. ?But it?s really our tab. By focusing on only half the budget equation, and avoiding revenue stewardship, they reject sound fiscal leadership.?
Despite the good feelings and promises of cooperation traditional on the opening day of Congress, the partisan tension broke into the open as Ms. Pelosi, in her final remarks as speaker, praised the legislative record of the Democratic Congress, highlighting the health care legislation that House Republicans intend to try to repeal next week.
Mr. Boehner, who was introduced by Ms. Pelosi as a ?proud son of Ohio,? choked up as she introduced his wife and members of his family ? including 10 of his 11 siblings ? who were watching from the House gallery.
Elated Republicans celebrated on the floor and gave the new speaker repeated standing ovations. Republicans welcomed 87 new members, many infused with the conservative zeal of the Tea Party movement that helped Republicans so decisively end Democratic rule in the November elections. Nine Democratic freshmen joined the House, which now has 242 Republicans and 193 Democrats, a shift of 63 seats from the 111th Congress.
Mr. Boehner?s rise to speaker was a foregone conclusion, but he was formally elected on a vote of a 241 votes for him to 173 for Ms. Pelosi as all lawmakers were called on by name to announce their choice. In a potentially troubling sign for Ms. Pelosi?s ability to hold her party together in her new role as minority leader, 19 Democrats voted for someone else, mostly for Representative Heath Shuler, a conservative North Carolina Democrat who challenged Ms. Pelosi in the internal party leadership fight.