New Congress Convenes Amid Questions Over Senate Seats

The majority Democratic Congress will be the first to work with President-elect Barack Obama on economic recovery and a slate of other important issues. Mr. Obama will be sworn into office on Jan. 20.

Senate uncertainty

	Former Ill. Attorney General Roland Burris is trying to claim one of Illinois' senate seats, but is facing opposition from fellow Democrats.

President-elect Obama's former Senate seat in Illinois, which he gave up to become president, is at the center of a political scandal.

Illinois' Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested in December on charges he was attempting to sell Obama's vacated seat for money or political favors. In most states, the governor appoints someone to fill an empty seat.

Blagojevich also is alleged to have demanded campaign donations and favors from people and organizations doing business with the state.

Despite an investigation into his actions, Blagojevich appointed former Illinois Attorney General and prominent black politician Roland Burris to Obama's seat. But when Burris tried to enter the Senate on Tuesday, he was turned away. The Democratic leadership in the Senate has said Burris will not be allowed to take the oath of office under current conditions.

In Minnesota, Democrat Al Franken, a comedian and former member of Saturday Night Live, appears to have beaten Republican incumbent Senator Norm Coleman by a razor-thin margin. Election officials said Monday that Franken won the election by 225 votes out of 2.9 million ballots cast.

But Coleman has promised to file a lawsuit that could keep the race outcome up in the air for weeks.

Other seats are in flux: New York Senator Hillary Clinton is expected to be Obama's Secretary of State, Delaware Senator Joe Biden's seat will open when he is sworn in as vice president on Jan. 20, and Colorado Senator Ken Salazar is expected to be Obama's Secretary of the Interior.

Congressional basics

	Congress serves as the legislative branch of the federal government and performs many duties, including receiving the president's state of the union speech, seen here.

In the House of Representatives, each state has a different numbers of representatives based on how many people live there. For example, California has 55 representatives, while North Dakota has three. Members of the House face re-election every two years.

In the Senate, each state has two senators no matter what the size of its population is. Senators serve six-year terms, which are staggered. One-third of the Senate is re-elected every two years.

The current Congress is the 111th since the nation's founding and it will last until January 2011. The Democratic Party has a majority of the seats in the House and Senate, which means they have more control over which laws are voted on and pass.

Presidents can veto laws, but Congress can then take up the legislative proposals again.

Full plate

	President-elect Obama has asked Congress to deal with the economic crisis by approving a massive government stimulus bill.

President-elect Obama is calling for a stimulus plan, which would cost as much as $800 billion, to help keep the economy running as hundreds of thousands of Americans lose their jobs.

An earlier $150 billion economic stimulus package passed early last year and a $700 billion financial rescue plan for banks and businesses was passed in the fall.