A new Congress begins in an odd-numbered year after congressional elections. The U.S. Senate says the Constitution requires Congress to meet once a year at noon on January 3, unless the Congress that is ending names another day. The Office of the House Historian says the Twentieth Amendment, adopted in 1933, set Opening Day on January 3 of every odd year.
From 1789 until 1934, a new Congress began on March 4, according to the Senate Historical Office. The Office of the House Historian says the Constitution initially set March 4 as the official start, and that most Congresses during the first 150 years organized in December to allow for travel to and from the Capitol. The Twentieth Amendment shortened the gap from when one Congress ends until the next one begins.
How the Senate opens
The Senate Historical Office says the first day of a new Congress follows a long-standing routine. It begins with an opening prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Senators-elect, and at times senators who were appointed, are then sworn in. The Senate then establishes a quorum, notifies the House of Representatives and the president, and often chooses a president pro tempore along with other officers.
The Senate, unlike the House of Representatives, is not required to adopt its rules again at the start of each new Congress. The Senate Historical Office describes the Senate as a continuing body. Article 1, section 3 of the U.S. Constitution provides staggered six-year terms, and the Senate is divided into three classes. Every two years, only one-third of the senators are elected or reelected, so two-thirds continue without interruption.
Before senators-elect begin legislative responsibilities, each must present a certificate of election and take the prescribed oath in an open session, the Senate Historical Office says. The governor of the incoming member’s state issues the certificate. It confirms that the person was duly elected, bears the state’s official seal, and is delivered to the secretary of the Senate for recording.
The vice president of the United States, who serves as president of the Senate, announces receipt of the certificates. Senators-elect are escorted down the center aisle to the presiding officer’s desk. The other senator from the same state typically serves as escort, although a senator-elect may choose another escort, or an extra one, for example a former senator or a relative who had also been a senator.
The oath and a quorum
The vice president administers the oath, or the president pro tempore does so if the vice president is absent, according to the Senate Historical Office. Senators-elect raise the right hand and agree to the words spoken by the presiding officer. Some hold a personal Bible or another text of personal significance in the left hand. The secretary of the Senate then invites each newly sworn senator to sign a dedicated page in the Senate Oath Book.
The Senate says that when each new Congress starts, in January of each odd-numbered year, one-third of the senators take the oath to begin their terms. For members of Congress, the Constitution specifies only that they “shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support this constitution.” The Senate says the First Congress in 1789 adopted a simple oath to support the Constitution, and that the current oath is a product of the 1860s. In 1884, lawmakers repealed the first section of the Civil War Test Oath and left the affirmation of constitutional allegiance.
Once the incoming senators have taken the oath, the vice president tells the Senate clerk to call the roll, the Senate Historical Office says. That call establishes a quorum, which the Constitution requires before the Senate conducts business. The majority leader then moves to adopt resolutions notifying the House and the president that a quorum is assembled and the Senate is ready to proceed.
The Senate Historical Office says a committee informs the president by telephone. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the committee waited on the president in person. After the ceremony on the Senate floor, the senators who have just taken the oath meet the vice president in the Old Senate Chamber for a reenactment, held in that room since 1983. Before opening day was first broadcast on live television in 1987, the official ceremony was normally closed to cameras.
How the House organizes
The Office of the House Historian says official business on Opening Day includes electing a Speaker by the traditional roll call vote and swearing in the Members-elect. Organizing the House also means electing officials such as the Clerk and the Sergeant at Arms. The House votes on a package of rules to govern debate in the session.
The House does not continue in the same way as the Senate. The Office of the House Historian says that only one-third of senators are up for election every two years, while the House begins again by electing a Speaker, swearing in the 435 voting Members-elect, and adopting rules. Members swear together on the House floor to uphold the Constitution. They often later pose for ceremonial photographs individually with the Speaker.
Since 1999, a gavel known as the Clerk’s Gavel has been taken from storage for a single day to begin, or “gavel in,” the Congress, according to the Office of the House Historian. After every congressional election, each state certifies its delegation of people elected to the House. The Clerk relies on those certificates to decide whether a Member is entitled to a seat and to compose the roll of Members for each Congress.
Every two years, before a Congress starts, new Members undergo a week of training, the Office of the House Historian says. The training covers legislative rules, the history and traditions of the House, hiring staff, and other responsibilities.
Business after the opening
The Senate then turns to other administrative business, the Senate Historical Office says. That business often includes choosing a president pro tempore, a secretary of the Senate, a sergeant at arms, and a chaplain. Early in the new Congress, the Senate typically adopts a resolution setting procedures for the following two years. That resolution may cover how many seats each party holds on committees, who serves on those committees, and other understandings between the majority and minority parties. The Senate Historical Office says approval is usually by unanimous consent.
When that work is finished, the Senate is ready to take up legislative and executive business. All pending legislation and nominations of the previous Congress expire, according to the Senate Historical Office. Many bills and resolutions must be reintroduced.
For each new Congress, desks in the Senate Chamber are reapportioned by the number of senators from the two political parties, who sit together on opposite sides of the Chamber. Senators may change seats based on seniority. Three desks are not assigned in that manner: the Daniel Webster Desk, the Jefferson Davis Desk, and the Henry Clay Desk. Senate resolutions govern the assignment of those desks.