that congress. frankly, it was the last congress that gave us the first tax modernization overhaul and tax reduction in 31 years. it was the last congress that began the opioid initiative that we've worked in a very bipartisan way on. it was the last congress that had more deregulation than any congress in american history. it was the last congress, working with my friends on the other side, that did work on human trafficking. last congress that did historic work, again, in a very bipartisan way with my friends, on the veterans' issues. finally, it was the last congress that began rebuilding the american military after eight years of neglect. so we'll see if this congress has a record that matches that in the next two years. but having said that, as my friend laid out, the proposed select committee would be charged with investigating, studying and making recommendations for modernizing congress, including improvements to rules, to procedures, including the schedule and calendar, improving staff, rec

new congress, ne

it's an odd practice by congress. some would say illegal that it's actually taking a federal benefit that they don't have to pay any taxes on which is essentially free housing but nobody has called the question. a couple dozen members we think at least will be sleeping in offices and some of the new ones will be taking up that habit pretty soon. >>> what about perks or benefits or healthcare? >> healthcare, they do get, since the enactment of the affordable care act, one of the requirements and outlaw which was directly written to address voters believe that members of congress got exempted from obamacare, members of congress actually have to buy their health insurance on the affordable care act exchange. so they are required to essentially participate in obama for serving in congress. they do get other benefits, yes. there are some perks. there are special parking places for them at the local airports to allow them to cut it close when they are trying to make a flight. of course, when they are here, they can, it's ea

that congress. frankly, it was the last congress that gave us the first tax modernization overhaul and tax reduction in 31 years. it was the last congress that began the opioid initiative that we've worked in a very bipartisan way on. it was the last congress that had more deregulation than any congress in american history. it was the last congress, working with my friends on the other side, that did work on human trafficking. last congress that did historic work, again, in a very bipartisan way with my friends, on the veterans' issues. finally, it was the last congress that began rebuilding the american military after eight years of neglect. so we'll see if this congress has a record that matches that in the next two years. but having said that, as my friend laid out, the proposed select committee would be charged with investigating, studying and making recommendations for modernizing congress, including improvements to rules, to procedures, including the schedule and calendar, improving staff, rec

congress and only congress has the power to declare war, even though the president may call for a declaration of war. and when the united states is involved in international agreements, the senate is all-important. for example, the signature of our secretary of state to the united nations charter had to be approved by a two thirds majority of the senate. a clause in the constitution states that treaties are made by the president that only with the advice and consent of the senate. we went down pennsylvania avenue for a look at the white house, that's where the president lives. the white house represents the executive branch of the government. could we got through, i understand why uncle jim said the president has the biggest and toughest job in the world. yes, the white house is both the home and office of the president. the president is chosen either people through the electoral college. some of the president's duties are set by the constitution. others are established by laws, treaties, president, and public opinion. nt and public opinion. the president's main job is that the law should be

the vetoed bill and message are sent back to congress, and this in the matter unless congress can pass the bill over the veto by a two thirds vote of both houses. then it becomes a law without the president's signature. the president can also appear in person between -- before a joint session of congress to explain a veto or propose new legislation. congress is then free to accept or reject the president's suggestions. and then it starts all over again. the great lawmaking assembly line goes on, passing bills, creating laws as diversified as the nation itself. labor, national defense, government departments, regulation of transportation, foreign trade, taxes -- bills, bills, bills. and all informed by the written constitution of the united states, which establishes the rules. rules made by the people themselves. and acting representative of the people, for the people, rules which govern the great enterprise of democracy that is america. ♪ >> next on "reel america," from 1946, a 15 minute classroom film describing how the three branches of government work. in "meet your federal govern

new congress, new leaders. watch it all on c-span. >> next, a discussion on presidential emergency powers. president trump's ability to use those powers to build a wall along the u.s.-mexico border. the brennan center for justice hosted legal and policy experts to consider the history, application, and scope of presidential powers. this panel is one hour and 35 minutes. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. thank you so much for being here. as jim told you, i'm liza goitein and i co-direct the liberty program at the brennan center for justice. we have been researching emergency powers the past two years and i am thrilled to have the chance to share some of what we have learned with you at a time when this issue is very much in the news and on people's minds. the format for our first discussion today will be a bit different from the usual panel discussion. i will lead off by giving an overview of the legal framework for emergency powers and how that legal framework came about. then i will sit down and speak -- e

the vetoed bill and message are sent back to congress, and this ends the matter unless congress can pass the bill over the veto by a two thirds vote of both houses. then it becomes a law without the president's signature. the president can also appear in person before a joint session of congress to explain a veto or propose new legislation. congress is then free to accept or reject the president's suggestions. and then it starts all over again. the great lawmaking assembly line goes on, passing bills, creating laws as diversified as the nation itself. labor, national defense, government departments, regulation of transportation, foreign trade, taxes -- bills, bills, bills. and all informed by the written constitution of the united states, which establishes the rules. and acting representative of the people, for the people, rules which govern the great enterprise of democracy that is america. ♪ >> next on "reel america," from 1946, a 15 minute classroom film describing how the three branches of government work. in "meet your federal government," a highschooler visits his uncle jim, who

calvin coolidge appeared once before congress. hoover, coolidge, they are not delivering state of the union in person. they are reverting to the earlier jeffersonian tradition of delivering it in writing. since the presidency of frank roosevelt, it has become customary for the president to deliver the address before a joint session of congress. though the constitution is clear the president shall give to congress information on the state of the union, the context of the speech during the modern era has changed dramatically. one of the most important developments is under lyndon johnson. johnson brings the speech into prime time. this allows the address to be given directly to the american people. this dramatically increases the number of people paying attention to the state of the union address. the first televised state of the union occurred in 1947 after 20 years of radio coverage. calvin coolidge was -- we remember fdr as the president who harnessed radio but it was really coolidge to harness the new technology. his presidency

this time it was a felony false statements charge about lying to congress, lying to congress about something mueller's prosecutors called "the moscow project." the moscow project was the trump organization plan to build a trump tower in russia. it was reportedly going to be financed by sanctioned russian banks, building the tower would have required the approval and the facilitation of the kremlin. prosecutors say it was a project that could potentially produce hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for president trump and his business. this moscow project was something the trump organization was pursuing actively and working on during the campaign, even while the president was publicly maintaining that he had no business, no deals, zero investments in russia. but what cohen pled guilty to that day in court in november, his second day in court, was lying to congress about this moscow project. he told congress the effort was over and done with by january 2016, by the time of the iowa caucuses. that apparently wasn't true. work on the project apparently went on for months thereafter. he al

but look we've got to keep congress together. we got to keep our majority together and we got to keep the country together and people understand we're dealing with a very unusual situation -- >> yes. >> -- where the corruption and criminality in the white house is pervasive. impeachment is no fetish but no tap oo either. we understand it's very much part of the kaunconstitution. it has played an important role. and self defense of the congress and the people about a president who insists on acting like a king. so when presidents decide they're going to set themselves at war against the constitution and rule of law, then impeachment may be the end of the road indeed. >> you mentioned the nixon article oz of impeachment, article one, obstruction of justice. improve -- counsel to lawfully authorize investigative officers and employees in the united states and false or misleading testimony in dually congressional proceedings. i want to get you on the record here. if it twhwere the case any president would order a subordinate to lie t

reporter: new congress, new leaders. watch it all on c-span. >> new jersey sent for new members to congress, mikey sherrill will represent new jersey's 11th district mushy discussed her experience of experience in the military and as a federal prosecutor during one of the debates. >> i began my service to this country when i was 18 years old and joining the naval academy. i served at the u.s. attorneys office. after a lifetime i decided the best way i could continue my country and to new jersey was to run for congress. because i am not just concerned about what is happening now, i am concerned about the future of new jersey because i have four kids, i think we need to work in a bipartisan manner to get legislation passed in congress, a tax plan that does not attack new jersey. quality and affordable health care for everyone in this country, working hard to bring costs down in our health care system, infrastructure spending so it can grow our economy now and well into the future. put this country first, i have worked with

. >> according to the brookings institution, the 116th congress is the most educated congress in history 72% of the house having earned a graduate degree. she's recently spoke with some of the new members. democrat chris pappas is a restaurant owner and first openly gay member of congress from new hampshire. >> i read democrats have been trying to recruit you to run for a long time. why did you say no before? why yes this time? >> i care about the state where i served at the statehouse for a number of years. i needed to make sure i was meeting my responsibilities to the voters who elected me. this seems like an important time to be counted and put together the campaign we needed to restore faith in the institutions of our government and get some things done. while and may have heard before from people that wanting me to run at a different point in time, this was the time to do it. i did it at a time when people were running campaigns just like iran in new hampshire about ensuring we reformed the way our democracy works so that it is in the hands of ordinary folks. i ran a restaurant busi

it was also an effort for congress that the president has to renew every year and that congress can overturn the emergency. in practice, it has not worked in congress has not ever reviewed the emergency or overturned an emergency. there was one time since that act was passed by congress really pushed back on a provision. george w. bush wanted to lift federal wage laws in rebuilding after hurricane katrina. there was a uproar in congress and bush rescinded that action. congress has never voted to overturn an emergency. atexample of good intentions reform that have not failed -- that have not worked in practice. host: we welcome our radio audience in the greater washington, d.c. area and on the free c-span radio app. our conversation with matthew dallek on the issue of what is a national emergency? bill in cleveland, on our democrat line. caller: good morning. when did that national emergency act -- what was it created for but i guess that was answered. does anybody know what the national emergencies that are declared right now by trump? there are three of them. dothere any thing we can about

by the congress. but if it's 2019 now and there's a cyber war going on, they have enough of a kind of wiggle room to just say, you know what, china, north korea, russia, whoever it is, attacked us. we have cyber security attacks going on all throughout the midwest or all throughout california. so we've got to shut down these parts of the internet for now. just to keep the citizens safe. and the last part of this is 606a. forced prioritization in war time. now, that's basically net neutrality reversed. i'm not going to go into net neutrality. that's a discussion in tech policy that gets everyone very tense. but basically, what would happen is, the president would be able to prioritize certain providers or certain channels over others. now, in net neutrality, there is a big battle between if isps are common carriers or not. if people who support acknowledging them as common carriers would win, that would actually give president trump more authority, and more clear pathway to do that. to prioritize certa

congress and only congress has the power to declare war, even though the president may call for a declaration of war. and when the united states is involved in international agreements, the senate is all-important. for example, the signature of our secretary of state to the united nations charter had to be approved by a two thirds majority of the senate. a clause in the constitution states that treaties are made by the president that only with the advice and consent of the senate. bill: we went down pennsylvania avenue for a look at the white house, that's where the president lives. the white house represents the executive branch of the government. before we got through, i could understand why uncle jim said the president has the biggest and toughest job in the world. uncle jim: yes, the white house is both the home and office of the president. the president is chosen either -- by the people through the electoral college. some of the president's duties are set by the constitution. others are established by laws, treaties, president, and public opinion. -- precedent and public opinion. the pre

congress is not in session. they will be back tomorrow. house will be in just for a pro forma session and the senate will consider a house approved built that will fund the government through figure eight, which includes funding for part of a wall along the u.s.-mexico border that is opposed by senate democrats. live coverage of the house on c-span and the senate on c-span2 . journal," live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. wednesday morning, a look at the government shutdown and the congress with a member of bloomberg and rollcall. then we will talk about the 2020 residential field with a member of the university of virginia center for politics, as we discussed wednesday's premiere of c-span's original program, the senate: conflict and compromise. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern wednesday morning. join the discussion. next, a look at loneliness and social isolation and how it can be prevented. health-care from industry professionals and researchers. welcome to the stage the president

i think congress functioned better. i look to him as a potential model of how this committee should be run. joe moakley became chair of the rules committee. reporter asked him, now that you're chairman, you can settle scores of people you don't like, and he said no. power to some people is the ability to say no. power to me is the ability to say yes. i am on the rules committee because joe moakley put me on the rules committee. we served as colleagues in congress for a few years. when he was diagnosed with leukemia that could not be treated, he had three months to live and he called me and said you're going on the committee. he put me on this committee and he said learn the rules. learn the names of all the members. get to know everybody. someday, you may be chairman. he said do not do anything stupid. like run for senate. stay where you are. i have been thinking about him a lot. over these last few days. his portrait hangs over the rules committee. me ng hears, he looks at approvingly, and on some days disapprovingly,

to every member of congress, passed a bill that ends this crisis. to every citizen, call congress and tell them to finally, after all of these decades, secure our border. this is a choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice. this is about whether we fulfill our sacred duty to the american citizens we serve. when i took the oath of office, i swore to protect our country and that is what i will always do, so help me god. thank you and good night. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] pelosi: good evening. i appreciate the opportunity to speak to the american people tonight about how we can end this shut down and meet the needs of the american people. sadly, much of what we have heard from president trump during this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and malice. the

by the congress. but if it's 2019 now and there is a cyber war going on, they have enough of a kind of wiggle room to just say, you know what? china, north korea, russia, whoever it is, attacked us. we have cybersecurity attacks going on throughout the midwest or all throughout california, so we got to shut down these parts of the internet for now just it keep the citizens safe. and the last part of this is 606-a. force priortation in wartime. that's reversed. i am not going to go into net neutrality. that's a discussion in tech policy that gets everyone intense, but basically what would happen is the president would be able to prioritize certain providers or certain channels over others. now, in net neutrality there is a big battle between if isps are common carriers or not. if people who support common carriers win, that would actually give president trump more authority and more clear pathway to do that. to prioritize certain traffic over the other. and the question is, when does this power apply?

the people are ahead of the congress, the congress must join them. and that is why we have created a select committee on climate crisis. the entire congress must work to put an end to the inaction and denial of science that threaten the planet in the future. [ applause ] this is a decision, it's a public health decision about clean air, clean water for our children's health. it's a decision for america's global preeminence and the green technologies, it is a decision, a security decision to keep us all safe and a moral decision to be good stewards of god's creation. we have no illusions that our work will be easy and that all of us in this chamber will always agree, but let each of us pledge that when we disagree, we respect each other and we respect the truth. [ applause ] we will debate in advance good ideas no matter where they come from, and in that spirit, democrats will be offering the senate republican appropriations legislation to reopen government later today. [ cheers and applause ] we will do so to meet the needs of the american people, to

the people are ahead of the congress. the congress must join them. and that is why we have created a select committee on climate crisis, the entire congress must work to put an end to the inaction and denial of science that threaten the planet and the future. this is a -- this is a decision -- a public health decision about clean air, clean water for our children's health. it's a decision for america's global preeminence in the green technologies. it's a decision, a security to be n to keep us all good stewards of god's creation. we have no illusions that our work will be easy and that all of us in this chamber will always agree. but let us give a pledge that when we disagree we respect each other and we respect the truth. we will debate and advance good ideas no matter where they come from, and in that spirit, democrats will be offering the senate republican appropriations legislation to reopen government later today. we will do so -- we will do so to meet the needs of the american people, to protect our borders and to respect our workers. and i ple

the people are ahead of the congress. the congress must join them. that's why we have created a committee on climate crisis. the entire congress must work to put an end to the inaction and denial of science that threaten the planet and the future. [ applause ] this is a decision -- a public health decision about clean air, clean water for our children's health. it's a decision for america's global preimmense and the green technologies. it's a decision, a security decision to keep us all safe and a moral decision to be good stewards of god's creation. we have fo collusions our work will be easy but let us pledge when we disagree we respect each other and we respect the truth. we will debate and advance good ideas no matter where they come from. in that spirit democrats will be offering the senate republican appropriations legislation to re-open government later today. [ cheers and applause ] we will do so to meet the needs of the american people. to protect our borders and to respect our workers. i pledge that this congress will be transparent, bipart

at the end of the last congress and before committees in this congress have had a chance to organize and look into this very serious issue. this timing leads me to believe that the administration was trying to jam this decision through so congress would not be able to act. we ask thee the administration to explain this decision, their answers were, frankly, inadequate. we asked the administration to pump the brakes on easing these sanctions so we could review the decision further. they simply wouldn't. so with that 30-day window closing, we're now forced to bring this measure to the floor to try to block the decision. it's too bad, really, i'd rather the administration respected congress enough to allow us the time to address our concerns and again the rules for this were put into effect by the republican majority in the last congress and they're good rules. i'd rather they hadn't dropped this announcement when they did, that's the white house so that our committees could hold hearings and do our work the way we want to. but with the threat that russia poses to the united states, to

congress. in she ran for president 1972. barbara winslow, founder of the shirley chisholm project, talks about her early life, political rear and legacy i-- political career and legacy in this 15 minute interview at the american historical association's annual meeting. >> professor winslow, author of this book on shirley chisholm, who was she? >> she was among many things, the first african-american woman elected to congress from brooklyn in 1968. and after the inauguration of the 116th, congress, many of the women who had just been elected were photographed under her portrait which hangs in the capitol. >> what motivated her? why was she elected? >> she was interested in politics beginning in college at brooklyn college. she was active in the naacp. she found it a black woman sorority. she supported a woman who was running for president at brooklyn college and she was active in harriet tubman society. she began her political activism as a college student. she got a job working in a day care center, but politics was her pass

but look we've got to keep congress together. we got to keep our majority together and we got to keep the country together and people understand we're dealing with a very unusual situation -- >> yes. >> -- where the corruption and criminality in the white house is pervasive. impeachment is no fetish but no tap oo either. we understand it's very much part of the constitution. it has played an important role. and self defense of the congress and the people about a president who insists on acting like a king. so when presidents decide they're going to set themselves at war against the constitution and rule of law, then impeachment may be the end of the road indeed. >> you mentioned the nixon article oz of impeachment, article one, obstruction of justice. improve -- counsel to lawfully authorize investigative officers and employees in the united states and false or misleading testimony in dually congressional proceedings. i want to get you on the record here. if it were the case any president would order a subordinate to lie to congr

the people are ahead of the congress. the congress must join them. and that is why we have created a select committee on climate crisis, the entire congress must work to put an end to the inaction and denial of science that threaten the planet and the future. this is a -- this is a decision -- a public health decision about clean air, clean water for our children's health. it's a decision for america's global preeminence in the green technologies. it's a decision, a security to be n to keep us all good stewards of god's creation. we have no illusions that our work will be easy and that all of us in this chamber will always agree. but let us give a pledge that when we disagree we respect each other and we respect the truth. we will debate and advance good ideas no matter where they come from, and in that spirit, democrats will be offering the senate republican appropriations legislation to reopen government later today. we will do so -- we will do so to meet the needs of the american people, to protect our borders and to respect our workers. and i ple

that is a baseline for congress. at the same time, the north korean issue has been a politically controversial one between and deep within parties at various times in terms of what i would say a lack of a bipartisan agreement was most evident back in the 1990s over the agreed framework which was reached during the clinton administration just before the midterms when the democrats suffered a great loss, and the republicans in congress subsequently was very skeptical and tried to express their unhappiness. i think that many people think that was one of the reasons that the agreed framework was not able to get the kind of traction. bipartisan yes, but it has certainly been an issue of great debate within the congress. i will defer to the congressman on where we are now, but i will take from the fact that on the democratic side, not only do we have a new democratic majority in the house, we have almost as many new candidates for president on the democratic side, and they will be looking to express their foreign-policy vi

if congress and congress acts. >> describe your district starting in january. mr. steube: you have the western and on of the state, sarto . e coastline and you southern t is a very rural citrus and cattle. trees trees and cattle. >> did you grow up there? >> i grew up there in the area for generations. my father was the sheriff. >> what was i don't remember childhood like. >> my mother was a school teacher. went to the university of florida after graduation. id undergraduate to the jufert -- university of florida. >> have you spoken to him about what this is like and any advice he gave you. ? are didn't want to get involved. and trying to be helpful. and the things to watch out for. and try to hire up staff. and some of the staft we are bringing on board and try to transition and i would say the most challenging piece of trangsings is getting your staff on board. >> have you spoken to your olleagues? and did russ spano spoke bills together. but you have a close knit bond between the three guys. i'm looking forward to working with them. have you found a balance and

officials now in the letter sent to congress. delegates right this is no way to treat partners such moves played into the hands of rival global powers and can only lead to greater fragmentation rather than much needed cooperation. and i'm joined tonight by the vice chairwoman of the european parliament's delegation to the united states. mr arkell was one of the european parliament members who wrote that letter to newly elected u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi chaka joins me tonight from new delhi in the it's good to have you on the show we appreciate you staying up to talk with us in tonight have you received an answer or response from nancy pelosi or any member of the u.s. congress not yet but we sent a letter today with time differences so that would be super quick but i hope that members of the new congress will take time to reflect on the impact of the trumpet ministrations confrontations with europe the changing role of the united states in the world and that they will feel empowered to do something about it how did you find

you're hearing it from members of congress. the ones who aren't calling for impeachment saying they need to see the evidence. they know if they go forward with impeachment it has to be rock solid. they can't shoot and aim on something this important which is why you are hearing people like jerry nadler say yes, this is problematic. i don't have the tweet in front of me. we are going to do our job. you will hear more of it not necessarily from rank and file but the leadership of the party. >> i wonder if i could ask you this. again, this is an if. if bob mueller has evidence of this and corroborated evidence beyond michael cohen, some democrats say show us your cards now. let's not wait for the final report. by itself, this is significant enough. would you agree with that? >> i actually do agree. the mueller investigation has gone on for a long time. the american people are waiting for this thing to end. we want to know what the russians do to try to influence the election and anything else that turned up. if this is part of wha

second, this focuses on the lies to congress. i think the way to make it much harder for congress to ignore this. i mean this is not sort of something they can brush away. this is something that arrives immediately on their doorsteps. the third thing is again, this shows how much knowledge bob mueller has that we don't know. this obstruction case which we sort of think of very simply as you know -- well, did he fire jim comey and tried to block the russia investigation in may of 2017. this may stretch all the way up until the last couple of weeks. this is a pattern of activity that's ongoing and bob mueller is interested in all of it. >> yeah. trump also encouraged -- let me find the quote. he encouraged cohen to plan a trip to moscow during the campaign where the candidate can meet face-to-face with putin. >> ryan, president trump was trying to meet with vladimir putin during a presidential campaign to get something of tremendous value for his personal business, is that compromised? >> very well. i mean this report, the more i p

democrats in congress have refused to acknowledge the crisis. and they have refused to provide our brave border agents with the tools they desperately need to protect our families and our nation. the federal government remains shut down for one reason, and one reason only, because democrats will not fund border security. my administration is doing everything in our power to help those impacted by the situation. but the only solution is for democrats to pass a spending bill that defends our borders and reopens the government. this situation could be solved in a 45 minute meeting. i have invited congressional leadership to the white house tomorrow to get this done. hopefully we can rise above partisan politics in order to support national security. some have suggested a barrier is immoral. then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences, and gates around their homes? they don't build walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside. the only thing that is immoral is the politicians to do nothing

david: we should not let you go without talking about the new congress, the new 116th congress and nancy pelosi is being voted on as we speak. what changes do we expect to that process of decision-making in washington because of the new congress, particularly the increased republican majority in the senate and the shift to the majority of democrats in the think we should enjoy the ceremonies and the comp circumstance because beyond that, washington is despairingly deadlocked and there is no sign whatsoever of a stalemate because we are going to begin a whole round of investigations, subpoenas, and eventually the gravitational pull of the 2020 election cycle will overtake everything. markets try tohe process were price in what is going on with the new congress? sarah: in the past if you look at the five past shutdowns, the market has actually gained throughout. this could be different because this seems like it will go on longer than the past few have. at the same time, when you think of the outcome of the midterm elections and the democrats did take the house, many say in the gridlocked

i'm not trying to minimize the seriousness of lying to congress. you should never do it and if you do, you showdown probably go to jail for it. in this case, it's not like congress even knew they'd been lied to. did congress really have any reason to believe that trump tower moscow planning went through june 2016 inside of just through january 2016? and that was the kind of material lie they should be worried about from cohen's testimony? i mean, it would be one thing if congress knew it had been lied to and they're very upset about it and they therefore referred michael cohen for prosecution, and that's why mueller brought this charge of lying to congress. that's not at all what happened here. "the washington post" nailed this down the day after cohen appeared in court on the lying to congress charge. quote, the intelligence committee did not refer cohen's case for prosecution, rather, a staffer said the special counsel robert mueller asked the committee for the transcript of cohen's interview with them. mueller was given a copy of cohen's testimo

. >> according to the brookings institution, the 116th congress is the most educated congress in history with 72% of the house having earned a graduate degree. c-span recently spoke with some of the new members. democrat chris pappas was elected to new hampshire's first congressional district. he is a restaurant owner and the first openly gay member of congress from new hampshire. >> i read that democrats have been trying to recruit you to run for a long time. why did you say no before? why did you say yes this time? >> i care deeply about the state i grew up in and where i served at the statehouse for a number of years. id i needed to make sure that was meeting my responsibilities supportedters that me. it seemed like an important time to step up and he counted and put together the kind of restore we needed to faith in the institutions of our government and to get some things done. and while i may have heard before from folks that want me to run at a different point in time, this was the right time for me to do it. i did it at a time where people were running campaigns all across the co

congress and only congress has the power to declare war, even though the president may call for a declaration of war. and when the united states is involved in international agreements, the senate is all-important. for example, the signature of our secretary of state to the united nations charter had to be approved by a two thirds majority of the senate. a clause in the constitution states that treaties are made by the president that only with the advice and consent of the senate. bill: we went down pennsylvania avenue for a look at the white house, that's where the president lives. the white house represents the executive branch of the government. before we got through, i could understand why uncle jim said the president has the biggest and toughest job in the world. uncle jim: yes, the white house is both the home and office of the president. the president is chosen by the people through the electoral college. some of the president's duties are set by the constitution. others are established by laws, treaties, precedent, and public opinion. the president's main job is that the law should be

while i was here in congress. and meet with the war lords that i had met with during the time we were fighting the soviet union. one of them, commander ma pseudo, who i met on a number of occasionsing was murdered three days before 9/11. i knew had been tipped off by other contacts i had in afghanistan that there was an attack being planned on the united states. and they said, you will know that it's going to happen when something major happens in afghanistan that will change the political balance. it's a signal that the attack will go forward. i went all over the city when i alized, when commander ma pseudowas murdered three days before 9/11, that was the signal to move forward on this attack on the united states. tried to warn our administration. i tried to warn everyone in the city. no one would listen. and then i had a wonderful thing happen in my life. i actually after 9/11 people did start to listen. ing of they did. they remembered, dana rohrabacher was trying to warn us about this. and all of this is happe

we are on 12 days of congress. i understand it's a new congress. pelosi is in hawaii, everyone doing their thing over the holidays. the dow jones is in the tank. our people blind here, greta? let's not forget independents are 40% of the voters in america. the democrats have only taken the house. i am glad you brought up the fact mitch mcconnell has been missing in action. god bless us all. happy new year, thank you. host: you felt like there speeches were out of touch? mean, i just think we are in a world of hurt and people cannot see what is coming. recession to point out. host: did you feel like they were celebrating too much? mark has gone. as mark noted on the government shutdown, there are an estimated 800,000 government workers that either are furloughed or working without pay. if you want to continue to follow the story throughout the day, you can do so on c-span and freen 2, c-span.org or the c-span radio app. some other social media reaction or post from new members. the hill noted debbie halen in new mexico, where traditional pueblo dress

just 21 women in the new congress are republicans. and notably, this will be the most diverse congress ever. we have talked a lot about this in the aftermath of the midterm elections. today, 56 african-americans, 42 hispanic and latino members, and 10 lgbtq members. we have heard a lot from these members, the new members, as they're arriving here in washington. i want to highlight one touching moment posted on social media last night. she's one of the first muslim american women here in congress, and she posted this to twitter, this photo with her father last night. she said 23 years ago, from my refugee camp in kenya, my father and i arrived at an airport in washington, d.c. today, we return to the same airport on the eve of my swearing in as the first somali american in congress. certainly, many of these historic firsts will be celebrated today. just a few minutes ago, i was on the house side of the capitol where i met up with deb holland, an incoming member from new mexico, one of the first two native americans to take office. here

it is an odd practice in congress. some would say it is illegal but a benefit,lly taking a federal benefit that they do not have to pay any taxes on, which is essentially free housing. no one has called that question, so a couple dozen members at least, we think, will be sleeping in their offices and probably some of the new ones will be taking up that habit pretty soon. host: what about perks or benefits, like health care? enactment ofthe the affordable care act, obamacare, one of the requirements in that law, which was directly written to address that they getlief excepted from obamacare, members of congress have to buy their health insurance on the .ffordable care act exchanges they are required to participate in obamacare as part of serving in congress. they do get other benefits, there are some perks, there are special parking places at the local airports to allow them to cut it close when they are trying to make a flight. when they are here, it is pretty easy to get a free cup of coffee or a free sandwich. there

against 51 and the old congress. there are morewomen, 102 , almost one closer now for the house including many more democratic women. 89 as against 64 and the old congress. and there are more minorities were presented. 55 black members, 54 democrats against 47 in the last congress. and 40 latinos compared with 39. the question is, will that changing gender and ethnic composition be matched with big political or ideological changes? democrats emphasize issues such as healthcare and immigration in their successful midterm election campaign last year. and presumably a record of achievement there. but there was also a lot of talk about the president. impeachment talk. especially. while congressional leaders seem a little nervous, about the party being seen as too aggressive perhaps in the pursuit of mr. trump, the base is chomping at the bit. they talked about hammering the present during the campaign. meantime, what does the new class of republicans want to do with their minority now? is the new house gop caucus formed

fewers new congress has veterans than the previous congress. what has that decline meant for the institution? >> i would prefer to talk about numbers of young veterans who are joining the congress and while the total number of veterans at this moment is declining relative to the numbers of veterans we have seen serve in congress and world war ii and the post-civil war era -- it is true that the absolute numbers are not equal to those numbers. i believe this congress will be invigorated by the voices of women veterans like mikey cheryl -- the new member from pennsylvania. >> are any new members serving on your committee? of them is seeking to serve on the committee. i already have veteran members. max rose from long island wants to serve on the committee. account member this name from pennsylvania. -- i cannot member this name from pennsylvania. he won a special election. is they areell you bringing a young, fresh perspective from afghanistan era veterans. that is going to be so important to setting our agenda for this congress. >> mark takano.

an address american people from congress. the house of representatives becomes a cool television set for presidents to directly address american people. a different interpretation from the state of the union that we find in the constitution and what early presidents expected. formalizes this by moving the speech into prime time. if you are talking directly to the people, why not do it when most of them can watch? >> on this hill which was my home, i am spared by old friendships. total agreement between the executive and the congress is impossible. total respect is important. mr. ubertaccio: we know a lot about president johnson. those are significant words. payment except for his office and policy proposal. of the union is delivered in january 1969, the final. a short time before richard nixon would take the oath of office. ofs was delivered at the end the term, a custom they no longer subscribe to. president carter delivered it in writing. ronald reagan chose a farewell address. none since carter formally had a state of the

i think congress functioned better. i look to him as a potential model of how this committee should be run. joe moakley became chair of the rules committee. a reporter asked him, now that you're chairman, you can settle scores of people you don't like, and he said no. power to some people is the ability to say no. power to me is the ability to say yes. i am on the rules committee because joe moakley put me on the rules committee. we served as colleagues in congress for a few years. when he was diagnosed with leukemia that could not be treated, he had three months to live and he called me and said you're going on the committee. he put me on this committee and he said learn the rules. learn the names of all the members. get to know everybody. someday, you may be chairman. he said do not do anything stupid. like run for senate. stay where you are. i have been thinking about him a lot. over these last few days. his portrait hangs over the rules committee. during hears, he looks at me approvingly, and on some days disapprovi

the vetoed bill and message are , and thisto congress in the matter unless congress can pass the bill over the veto by a two thirds vote of both houses. then it becomes a law without the president's signature. the president can also appear in person between -- before a joint session of congress to explain a veto or propose new legislation. congress is then free to accept or reject the president's suggestions. and then it starts all over again. the great lawmaking assembly line goes on, passing bills, creating laws as diversified as the nation itself. labor, national defense, government departments, regulation of transportation, foreign trade, taxes -- bills, bills, bills. all informed by the written constitution of the united states, which establishes the rules. representative of the people, for the people, rules which govern the great enterprise of democracy that is america. ♪ fromxt on "reel america," 1946, a 15 minute classroom film describing how the three branches of government work. in "major federal government," a highschooler visits his uncle jim, who was a congressman. he f

people need to remember is that ultimately it's congress was congress. that's right trump is also made it clear don't question every dollar that the military spends because we've got all these. unexpected things that come up and well but we're talking trillions of the last. four years of experience with. those inspector general reports they can be scrubbed i'm sorry i don't understand what you need to know i thank you so much pleasure so much larger always a pleasure and thank you for. smooth and precise those are the words used to describe the landing of china's national space administrations for a lunar rover on the dark side of the moon now the dark side of the moon isn't actually dark though it's actually just gets as it gets same amount of sun as the rest of the moon it just happens that because of the moon's rotation one side never faces or thing is that dark side is blocked from radio transmissions to earth so chung has a friend a dedicated satellite to relay its scientific findings to the ground in china launched on december eighth the lander is