User talk:Tddartmouth

Welcome: terms of members of Congress
Welcome to wikipedia. We appreciate your edits. With respect to when a term of office starts for a Member of Congress or Senator, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution states that their terms begin at noon on January 3. They are also required to take the oath per the Constitution prior to excercising their official duties, but that is independent of when their term starts. The Senate rarely convenes for purposes of the oath on January 3, and consistely convenes later than January 3. The only time in recent years when that actually occured was 2001. Please see Talk:112th United States Congress, The Congressional Bioguide, and the Senate's official Chronology of Senators. You will note that all terms are listed as starting on January 3.

Thank you again for your edits. We look forward to your continued contributions.DCmacnut &lt; &gt; 22:34, 7 January 2011 (UTC)