WASHINGTON — Dozens of Tea Party-backed Republican lawmakers — including two new members from Colorado — helped the GOP take control of the House of Representatives on Wednesday as the 112th Congress convened in an era of economic uncertainty.
Republican Congressman Scott Tipton, who beat Democratic incumbent John Salazar in November, said casting his first vote to elect John Boeh ner of Ohio as House speaker was emotional.
“You push that button and it starts to settle,” Tipton said, his staff scrambling around setting up office televisions and greeting guests. “You see in the eyes of both parties that we’re facing some hard times.”
Republicans hold a 242-193 majority in the House and have pledged to challenge President Barack Obama both with legislation and with their power to investigate. And they are not wasting any time with their newfound power.
“The people voted to end business as usual, and today we begin carrying out their instructions,” said Boehner, who is replacing Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker and who was transformed instantly into the most powerful Republican in a new era of divided government.
By the end of the week, Republicans likely will vote on a proposal to repeal health care legislation passed less than a year ago. The move is largely symbolic because the Democratic-controlled Senate likely would not support it.
Flanked by his wife, daughter and Colorado friends, Republican Congressman Cory Gardner said he looked forward to working on the health care repeal.
“I think the House is going to have more tools than just voting on a repeal,” Gardner said, noting that House Republicans may strip out funding for the new law. “There are appropriation measures that can be taken. . . . There are oversight policies we can address.”
Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs filed legislation Wednesday to strip $420 million a year from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which partially funds National Public Radio.
The bill died in the Democratic-controlled House last year, but Lamborn is hopeful it will be more popular now.
Both the House and the Senate convened at the constitutionally mandated hour of noon for a day of pageantry and bipartisan flourishes that contrasted sharply with the fierceness of the midterm elections that set the new roll of lawmakers.
Throughout both Republican and Democratic Colorado delegation offices, visitors, well-dressed family members and campaign donors crammed in around conference tables and sipped wine in celebration.
At Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet’s reception, Vice President Joe Biden stopped by for a chat and to play with Bennet’s children.
Bennet told supporters and friends that no one in Washington expected him to win, but he hopes to approach the job “the way Coloradans approach their jobs.”
“The people I work for are sick of seeing people back here screaming at each other,” Bennet said. “Whatever I can do to help contribute to an adult conversation, I’ll do it.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said his party needed to do “even more to help middle-class families, to create jobs, to hasten our energy independence, to improve our children’s education and to fix our broken immigration system.”
The day’s events unfolded as the economy, which was the dominant issue in the elections, showed signs of increased strength as it emerges from the worst recession in eight decades.
Even so, unemployment remains near 10 percent — something both parties in cheerleading speeches Wednesday vowed to tackle.
Within a few hours of the opening gavel, Senate Democrats unveiled a plan to limit the ability of Republicans to filibuster Democratic legislation.
No resolution is expected for weeks, but Democratic Sen. Mark Udall in a floor speech urged bipartisan cooperation and called on his colleagues to pass reform on filibusters.
“Today’s discussion is more than just an esoteric debate about the Senate’s rules — if we change them so that the Senate works more efficiently, it can be a critical turning point,” Udall said.
Senate Republicans gained six seats in last fall’s elections, and their leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the voters had made it clear they “want lawmakers to cut Washington, tackle the debt, rein in government and to help create the right conditions for private-sector growth.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Allison Sherry: 202-662-8907 or asherry@denverpost.com
