Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was reelected to a second term as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for the new 113th Congress that was sworn-in today, Jan. 3, 2013. Speaker Boehner has been representing Ohio’s 8th district in the U.S. House since 1991 and as Speaker of the House since 2010.
Nine Republicans voted against Boehner in support of another candidate. Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia received three votes, former Florida Rep. Allen West of Florida received two votes, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan received one vote and Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho received one vote. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and David Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general, also received one vote each.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader and former speaker, took second place, receiving the support of 192 members of her caucus, behind Boehner’s 220.
As the leader of the 112th Congress which ended yesterday, Speaker Boehner is now in the record books for presiding over the least affective congress in modern history for passing only 219 bills that went to President Obama’s desk for his signature.
For comparison the 80th Congress (1947-1948) was infamously dubbed the "Do-Nothing Congress” by President Harry Truman, that congress passed 906 bills that became law.
According to Gallup, the 112th Congress set a record for unpopularity in February, when only 10 percent of Americans said they approved of the job Congress was doing.
Boehner spoke to the House chamber before taking his oath of office, calling the display of democracy “an interlude for reflection, a glimpse of old truths.”
“To our new members and their families, welcome. You are likely feeling awestruck right about now. History runs through here, and now you are among a select few to share in this privilege,” Boehner told the 113th Congress. “For those who are returning, who have walked these aisles before, maybe it’s time we feel awestruck again.”
“This covenant makes us servants of posterity. It calls us to refuse the pull of passing interests and follow the fixed star of a more perfect union,” he said. “We are sent here not to be something, but to do something – to do the right thing. It’s a big job, and it comes with big challenges.”
Speaker Boehner told House Republicans that he’s done with private, one-on-one negotiations with President Obama after he allowed a vote in the House on the Senate bill that prevented the United States from going over the “fiscal cliff” which passed with 85 Republican votes and 172 Democratic votes.
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