Members of the House of Representatives of the 111th Congress, accompanied by family members and guests, are sworn in in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Capitol rang loud with vows to fix the crisis-ridden economy Tuesday as Congress opened for business at the dawn of a new Democratic era. ‘‘We need action and we need action now,’’ said Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Republicans agreed, and pledged cooperation in Congress as well as with President-elect Barack Obama — to a point.

On a day largely devoted to ceremony, new members of Congress and those newly re-elected swore to defend the Constitution. The Senate galleries were crowded; children and grandchildren of lawmakers squirmed in their seats in the House chamber as the winners in last fall’s elections claimed their prizes.

One office-seeker was not among them.

In a scripted bit of political theater, Democrat Roland Burris of Illinois was informed he would not be seated because his paperwork was not in order. He pledged a lawsuit, the latest twist in a political drama that began when he was named to Obama’s Senate seat by Gov.