Washington - The new US Congress was sworn in Tuesday with stronger Democratic majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate that are expected to help president-elect Barack Obama push through his legislative agenda. But the first day of the 111th Congress was overshadowed by controversy, as the Senate refused to seat Roland Burris, the candidate selected by embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill Obama's vacated Senate seat.
The lower 435-strong House of Representatives will be led by a stronger Democratic majority with 257 members to Republicans' 178, while the 100-seat Senate will likely be composed of 59 Democrats to 41 Republicans.
The first major task facing Congress will be a massive economic stimulus package being offered by Obama, who met Monday with leaders in both houses to discuss the proposal. They will meet later this week to certify Obama's presidential win.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was sworn in for a second term as leader of the House and is expected to wield more power as her Democratic majority is backed by a Democratic president. John Boehner will continue to head the House Republicans.
"Few congresses and few presidents in history have been given the privilege of serving the country in a time of such challenge," Pelosi said.
She stressed that the inauguration of Obama on January 20 will show how far the nation has come, but said that Congress must look forward and not backward. "We as a congress together with the president must fulfil the rest of America's promise," she said, emphasizing the need for urgent action on the economy, healthcare and other issues.
Democrat Harry Reid will continue as majority leader of the Senate. Mitch McConnell will continue as leader of the Senate Republicans.
Reid emphasized Democratic gains since the last Congress, including an increase of 14 Senate seats and the election of a Democratic president.
But both parties learned an important lesson over the past two years: When we allow ourselves to retreat into the tired, well-worn trenches of partisanship; when we fail to reach for common ground; when we are unable, in the words of president-elect Obama, to disagree without being disagreeable, we diminish our ability to accomplish real change," Reid warned.
Not all members of the Senate were sworn in Tuesday amid the controversy over Burris, who was denied entry to the chamber earlier in the day.
The secretary of the Senate rejected Burris' credentials because they had not been properly certified by Illinois officials, and would not allow him to take the oath of office.
Senate leaders had vowed to block Blagojevich's appointment of Burris, 71, because of the ongoing investigation of the governor, who was arrested December 9 on corruption charges.
Also absent was Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat who was certified Monday as the winner of a contentious race with incumbent Republican Norm Coleman after a weeks-long recount. Coleman has indicated he will challenge the decision in court, and no certificate of election will be issued until the case is resolved.
Several members of the incoming Obama administration, who have not yet submitted their resignations to the Senate, were also sworn in, including vice president-elect Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, who has been nominated to serve as secretary of state.
