Democrats took control of the 110th US Congress on Thursday, promising to challenge President George W. Bush's Iraq war policies, help the needy and -- in response to recent scandals -- clean up how lawmakers do business.
On the opening day of the two-year Congress, Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, was sworn in as the first woman to lead the US House of Representatives as its speaker.
The convening of the new House and Senate marked the first time in his six years as president that Bush will not have fellow Republicans in control of either legislative body.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said: "The war in Iraq will cast a long shadow over the Senate's work this year."
Pelosi delivered her first speech as House speaker, warning that the Nov. 7 congressional elections were "a call to change" that went far beyond Democrats' taking power from Republicans.
"Nowhere were the American people more clear about the need for a new direction than in Iraq," Pelosi said, adding voters "rejected an open-ended obligation to a war without end."
Democrats are expected to use their newly acquired committee chairmanships to build public support for a phased troop withdrawal from Iraq with a series of hearings examining the buildup and prosecution of the conflict.
On another front, the House approved a package of rule changes to curb ties between lawmakers and lobbyists that led to the influence-peddling scandals that helped Democrats win control of Congress. The Senate is expected to soon consider a similar package of its own.
The House package bans gifts and trips from lobbyists, restricts privately funded junkets and prohibits members from threatening retaliation against firms that hire people who do not share their political affiliation.
Republicans complained Democrats refused to permit amendments to the package, but joined them in approving it on a vote of 430-1.
"In order to achieve a new America, we must return this House to the American people," Pelosi said. "So our first order of business is passing the toughest ethics reform in history."
Representative David Dreier, a California Republican, said, "The American people want us to deal with these problems."
The start of the new Congress was mostly taken up with ceremonial activities, including the swearing-in of newly elected House and Senate members.
Hallways were jammed with lawmakers' spouses and other relatives. One spouse, former President Bill Clinton, husband of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, strolled through the Senate press gallery just before noon. "I came to apply for a job," he joked.
Meanwhile, House Democrats disclosed a plan on Thursday that they said would strengthen homeland security after five years of complaining that Republicans were not doing enough.
Democrats say their legislation would implement unfulfilled homeland security recommendations of the commission that investigated government shortcomings before and after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The bill would require private companies to prepare for terrorist acts, and the government would have to inspect cargo on passenger planes and shipping containers leaving the largest foreign ports. Airport screeners would be given whistle-blower protection, money would be set aside to develop technology for detecting explosives at checkpoints and an appeals process would be established for wrongful airport arrests.
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