the speaker: the house will be n order. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? edwin encarnacion mr. speaker, i ask unanimous con -- mr. engel: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that mr. joseph morelle take office today. there is no contest and no question has been raised with regard to his election. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from oklahoma, the honorable kevin hern, be permitted to take the

oath of office today. his certificate of election has not arrived but there is no contest and no question has been raised with regard to his election. the speaker: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from pennsylvania, the honorable mary gay scanlon, be permitted to take the oath of office today. her certificate of election has not arrived, but there is no contest and no question has been raised with regard to her election. the speaker: without objection. will the representatives-elect please present themselves in he well. members will rise. and the representatives-elect will please raise their right

hands. do you solemnly swear that will you support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? congratulations. you are members of the 115th ongress. without objection, the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, is recognized for one minute. he house will be in order.

mr. engel: thank you, mr. speaker. as co-dean of the new york delegation, along with my colleague, congresswoman lowey, the new york delegation is pleased to welcome our newest colleague, joe morelle, representing new york's 2525 -- 25th district in upstate new york. joe has been elected to the seat of our beloved and departed colleague, louise slaughter. joe hails from -- i know i butchered. that and like myself served in the new york state assembly. he was lectsed -- elected to that body in 1990 and became majority leader in 2013. he graduated from -- with a bachelor's degree in political science and began his political career at age 28 as a monroe county legislator. congressman morelle and his wife, mary beth, are well known, well loved and we're so happy to have joe morelle as one of our colleagues.

congratulations, joe. the speaker: does the gentleman yield to the gentleman from new york? does the gentleman yield to the gentleman from new york? mr. engel: yes. i yield to the gentleman from new york. the speaker: the gentleman from ew york is recognized. mr. morelle: thank you, mr. speaker. colleagues. and, mr. speaker, thank you for -- to your staff for the courtesies they have extended to me. i want to thank, first of all, my wife, mary beth, my entire family and many dear friends who have traveled to be with us today. and those at home watching for their unwavering love and support. i'd also like to thank my long-time friend, congressman eliot engel, for that kind introduction. and the warm welcome of all my colleagues -- the speaker: the gentleman is suspend. the gentleman is right. the house is not in order. members, please take your conversations off the floor. the gallery will please be quiet. mr. morelle: i want to thank my long-time --

the speaker: hold on. the gentleman is recognized. the gentleman may proceed. mr. morelle: thank you, sir. i also want to thank my long-time friend, congressman eliot engel, for that kind introduction and the warm welcome of all of my colleagues in the new york delegation have extended to me. i'm humbled to take the oath of office. it is truly the honor of a lifetime to serve new york's 25th district as a member of the house of representatives. indeed, i have very big shoes to fill. congresswoman slaughter was truly a remarkable individual who shattered ceilings and blazed trails. but more than that, she was a dear friend to me for over 30 years, and i will be forever grateful for her guidance, devotion and friendship. it is a special privilege to be able to carry out on her vital and important work. i look forward to the days ahead and i work together to support our neighbors in need, to advance society for future generations and build a stronger, more vibrant america. hank you, mr. speaker.

the speaker: the house will return to order. there are two more. he house will return to order. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my colleagues, it is a tremendous pleasure today to introduce our newest colleague from tulsa, oklahoma. the great first district of oklahoma. having been a special election baby myself, a long time ago, the pressure, the significance of our colleagues when they stand before you in the unique way that they're sworn in is tremendous. so the advice that i've given congressman hern, i'll try and practice myself. lueke lueke brevity -- mr. lucas: brevity. born on an air force base, worked all of his life, earned a degree in engineering and an m.b.a. degree. the thing i love the most perhaps is a hog farmer at one point in his career, and a very

successful restauranteur. kevin is an individual who is a reflection of the great first district of tulsa. he's a reflection, i think, in what we need and want in a member in this united states house of representatives. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield the remainder of my time to my newest colleague, our newest colleague from oklahoma, congressman hern. the speaker: the gentleman from klahoma is recognized. mr. hern: mr. speaker, mr. speaker, members of this esteemed body, it is my honor to represent the citizens of oklahoma's first congressional district. i want to first thank my wife, tammy, of 25 years, who i would not be here today without her. my oldest son, kelby, is here with his wife, dana. and my youngest son, caden, is here. i also want to thank my

colleagues from oklahoma who have gone above and beyond in welcoming me to this body. congressman lucas, congressman cole, congressman russell, congressman mullin. i can't thank you enough. the most recent advice they gave me was to keep this very brief. so brief i will be. i have lived the american dream. growing up without running water, to now serving my great country and fellow oklahomans in congress. now we as a body need to work together to make sure that that dream can be achieved by so many generations to come. so let's get to work. thank you. the speaker: the house will be n order. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute.

>> thank you. i would invite all of my pennsylvania colleagues to come up and join me, if you like. mr. speaker, as the dean of pennsylvania's congressional delegation, it is my great pleasure to welcome our newest colleague. for the last 35 years, mary gay scanlon has been a public interest lawyer, working for voting rights, equitable education funding, immigration and criminal justice reform. mr. doyle: and is an advocate for low-income families, children, women, veterans and seniors. she and i worked together on securing asylum in this country for the internationally recognized sudanese human rights activists. the speaker: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman is right. the house is not in order. the gentleman may continue. mr. doyle: she and i worked together on securing asylum in this country for the internationally recognized sudanese human rights act visit, who was imprisoned and tortured by the sudanese

government for speaking out against it. and i'm pleased to note that he is here in the house gal -- house gallery today. mary gay's career reflects her deep commitment to aiding and giving back to her community. she has worked tirelessly to help those in need in pennsylvania and she now plans to continue that work at the national level here in congress. i'm happy to welcome such a dedicated individual to this body. i know we all look forward to working with her and our colleagues in the pennsylvania delegation, to serve the commonwealth and this great nation. i would like to yield to the senior republican member of the delegation, representative thompson for some remarks also -- thompson, for some remarks also.

mr. thompson: thank you, congressman. i just want -- obviously on behalf of our entire delegation, republicans and democrats both, we welcome our new colleague to this chamber and look forward to serving with her. we're pleased to have her here. thank you. mr. doyle: colleagues, mary gay scanlon. the speaker: the house will be in order. he house will be in order. the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. scanlon: mr. speaker, members of the 115th congress, i am honored to have this

opportunity to serve our country. i chose tonight to be sworn in on our constitution, a document that begins with our uniquely american creed, we the people. a charge and a challenge to faithfully represent the people of my district and the entire country, a charge i promise to honor every day with all of my might. i am particularly honored to serve as the advance guard, not just for madeline dean, chrissy hulihan and susan wild, who will soon join me and our brethren in the pennsylvania elegation. ms. scanlon: but also as an army of new members who will join us for the 116th congress, a congress that may look different than the one we see today. we the people entrust to the

equal branches of this government to ensure that opportunitys are available and right the wrongs. to make sure that the people get a fair shake whether in their jobs, in our classrooms or in the ports or voting booths and treat others with civility as we work in service to this great country. to ensure opportunity and safeguard the world we pass onto the next generation. i promise to continue fighting for the underserved, for children and families and seniorsp to bend the arcs of justice. for those on the high school team in philadelphia who are the next generation of civic leaders, for veterans like bob ho want to ensure that their

benefits. families like chester whose lives have been changed by gun violence and for my friend, our human rights activate from darfur who was forced to flee led to her kidnapping and torture. i'm eager to continue this work right here with all of you. finally, i'm grateful to the friend and family and my husband, mark, for believing in me and i hope i make you proud. thank you. the speaker: the chair announces to the house that in light of the administration of the oath of office, the gentleman from oklahoma and the gentlewoman from pennsylvania, the whole

members, republican kevin hearn of oklahoma, and democrats joseph grail of new york, mary kay scandal and of pennsylvania. tomorrow, house republicans elected leadership positions for the next congress and my -- minority party. follow the house live here on c-span, when members gaveled back in wednesday at noon eastern from legislative business. >> in the view of the warren commission, they described the circumstances of the assassination of president kennedy. is there more to this story than the warren report discovered? >> this weekend on real america

on american history tv, the 1967 official new series, a cbs news inquiry, warm report, anchored investigatingkite unanswered questions into president john f. kennedy's assassination, saturday at 10:00 p.m. eastern. lee harvey oswald and whether he acted alone to assassinate president kennedy. >> it seemed evident we should try to establish the difficulty of the rapidfire performance, hence our next question. how fast could the rifle be fired? >> watch real america, saturday at 10:00 p.m. eastern, on american history tv on c-span3. >> earlier today, florida democratic senator bill nelson spoke about the ongoing recount in his campaign, and why he thinks it's necessary. he was joined by senate minority leader chuck schumer. this runs 10 minutes