Three New Members and a Full Agenda as Congress Returns Wednesday

by nathanhurst

The House and Senate both return for "lame duck" post-election legislative sessions at 2 p.m. Wednesday, bringing in three newly elected members to the lower chamber and a lengthy to-do list for all lawmakers in both.

Rebecca Shabad, a staff writer for The Hill newspaper, joined C-SPAN on Tuesday to talk about what the 113th Congress will need to accomplish in its final weeks, including an omnibus spending measure for the 2015 fiscal year.

In the House, two new Democrats and one Republican who won special elections to serve out the remaining terms of three former members - as well as full terms for the 114th Congress that runs through January 2017 - will be sworn in Wednesday. They are:

Representative-Elect Donald Norcross (D-NJ), who replaces Representative Rob Andrews (D-NJ), who resigned in February to join a Philadelphia law firm.

Representative-Elect Alma Adams (D-NC), who replaces former Representative Mel Watt (D-NC), now director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Representative-Elect David Brat (R-VA), who defeated former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in a June primary. Cantor resigned in August to join investment firm Moelis & Company.

The swearings in will fill all of the House's 435 seats for the first time since June 2013, and bring the official make-up to 234 Republicans and 201 Democrats.

First votes aren't expected until after 6:30 p.m. The chamber is expected to debate a total of 10 bills under suspension of the rules, meaning they'll need an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of lawmakers to pass. They include a five-year reauthorization of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

The Senate will kick off its legislative return with remarks from Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) shortly after gaveling in at 2 p.m., followed by a period of morning business until 5:30 p.m. Senators are expected to cast three roll votes beginning at 5:30 p.m., all votes to limit debate, the first two on nominations made by President Obama earlier this year:

Randolph Moss to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia.

Leigh Martin May to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia.

Motion to concur to a House amendment to reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grants Act.