Joe Manchin and Chris Coons Join Senate as Lame Duck Session Begins

Less than two weeks after the midterm elections, West Virginia's Joe Manchin and Delaware's Chris Coons took their places in the Senate Monday when Vice President Joe Biden swore them in as the chamber's newest members.

Manchin, the former governor of West Virginia, won a special election to serve the remaining two years of the late Sen. Robert Byrd's term, while Coons will serve out the final four years of Vice President Joe Biden's term representing Delaware.

The two new Democrats will not technically change the balance of power in the Senate since they are moving into seats previously controlled by their party. But Manchin, a pro-life conservative who was endorsed by the NRA, is considered a wild card for Democrats on issues from climate change legislation to extending the Bush tax cuts. His addition to the Senate could complicate the Obama administration's efforts to pass a series of Democratic base-pleasing issues in the lame duck session of Congress before Republican take over the House in January.

That session began Monday, when House and Senate members returned to Washington for a week of leadership elections and legislative business. Although the session is scheduled to last only two weeks, Democrats have a laundry list of items to get through the chambers before they lose their House majority -- and any hope of controlling the legislative agenda -- in January.

In addition to must-pass legislation to fund the government, the lame duck Congress also faces looming expiration dates for the Bush tax cuts, which are scheduled to expire at the end of December, and unemployment benefits for long-term unemployed, which last only through November. Because Congress has failed to pass any spending bills in 2010, the House and Senate must pass them all in an omnibus appropriations bill this year or extend spending at current levels until the new Congress is sworn in next year.

The White House is also pushing for a vote on the new START treaty, which Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has objected to, while Democratic interest groups are demanding a vote on the Defense Authorization bill, which sets Pentagon policy and this year would lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has filibustered the bill so far.

With time on the legislative calendar at a premium, Democratic aides say they expect procedural votes this week on three relatively arcane bills -- the Paycheck Fairness Act (intended to strengthen the Equal Pay Act), a food safety bill, and the Promoting Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Act.

After a week's break for Thanksgiving, the House and Senate will return to Washington on Nov. 29 for the second half of the lame duck session, when one more new face will join the Senate. Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk, a Republican, will be sworn in to take over President Obama's prized former Senate seat. Like Manchin and Coons, Kirk won a special election in November, and his addition to the chamber will not only strengthen Republicans' hand in the Senate but also further weaken Democrats' chances of passing any bills without strong bipartisan support for the rest of the year.