Read full articleNew Congress 2013Thu, Jan 3, 2013, 9:26 PMLink CopiedMore fiscal clashes loom as new Congress opens The House and Senate ushered in a new Congress Thursday, re-electing embattled Republican John Boehner as speaker and hailing one of their own who returned a year after being felled by a stroke. The new 113th U.S. Congress, which convened on Jan. 3, is set to take a fresh crack at a number of old, and highly contentious, issues, such as gun control, immigration, the record debt, tax reform and the farm bill.