these television companies that provide c-span to viewers as a public service. ♪ >> california congresswoman nancy pelosi was reelected as speaker of the house during the opening session of the 117th congress. democrats now control 222 house seats and republicans have 211. there are two vacancies in new york's 22nd district and louisiana's fifth district. speaker pelosi spoke on the floor after being elected. the clerk of the house: the ouse will be in order. the total number of votes cast is 427 of which the honorable nancy pelosi, of the state of -- ornia has received 216

the honorable kevin mccarthy of the state of california has received 209. the honorable tammy duckworth of the state of illinois has received one vote. the honorable that keem jeffries of the state of new york has received one vote. therefore, the honorable nancy pelosi of the state of california having received a majority of the votes cast is dual elected speaker of the house of representatives for the 117th congress.

the clerk of the house: the clerk follows the following committee to escort the speaker-elect to the chair. the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, the

gentlewoman from massachusetts, ms. clark, the gentlewoman from wyoming, ms. cheney, the gentleman from new york, mr. jeffies, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. emmer, the gentleman from california, mr. aguilar, the gentleman from alabama, mr. palmer, the gentleman from new york, mr. sean patrick maloney, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. mike johnson, the gentlewoman from ohio, mrs. beatty, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. hudson, the gentlewoman from california, ms. jacobs, the gentlewoman from oklahoma ms. bice and members of the california delegation. the members of the committee, the majority and minority leadership will retire from the chamber to escort the speaker-elect to the chair.

without objection, the house will stand in recess subject to of the r -- to the call chair. >> house speaker nancy pelosi will be the speaker of the house. let's talk about who voted against the aquatic leader. -- the democratic leader. jim cooper, jason crow, ron kind, kathleen rice, kurt schrader two years ago voted against nancy pelosi. today they voted for her when their names were called. golden, aad jared democrat of maine, who voted for

senator tammy duckworth. mikie sherrill, abigail spanberger and -- alyssa slotkin all voting present. conor lamb of pennsylvania voted for hakeem jeffries, who something could take over as democratic leader for house democrats after leader pelosi stepped down. that is what has happened so far. the speakerext is will address lawmakers in the chamber. after they are done with this break. what they are doing right now is cleaning the chamber. part of their covid-19 protocols. it also has included today voting in groups of 72. that's why the voting process is taking hours. it doesn't normally take this long, but they had to call members, because of the pandemic, groups of 72 to the floor.

that's what they did today and they will do that as well when they moved to the swearing in. democratic leader nancy pelosi addresses the lawmakers. she has been sworn into office by the dean of the house, which is the longest member of the house, representative don young, a republican, first elected to congress in 1973. once she is sworn in, she will in mr. young,ear and then swear in the first group of representatives elect, the freshman members of congress. these freshman members were the only ones that received an extra ticket for a family member or friend to join them in the house chamber to watch them being sworn in. ofmally the incoming members congress get to bring family and friends with them during this

moment, but not during a pandemic, that is not what will happen today. why does the speaker address the lawmakers after getting this vote today? we talked with a former parliament tailing -- parliamentarian and 2019 about what to expect in the speaker elects remarks. >> in recent congresses, the speakers addresses to the house have been almost entirely programatic, and not necessarily focused on institutional process. when i started, speakers would take a lot of time promising fairness from the chair. it's not that fairness from the chair is any less a concern of modern speakers, it's just that, one, they are not in the chair very often themselves, and two, people they do appoint as

presiding officers, always from the majority party, are expected and instructed by the speaker to be fair, and to follow the advice of the party. >> what about the change in themes in the speaker's address, when did that happen? >> it was not totally abrupt. i do recall nancy pelosi's first stint as speaker, which was very programmatic. obviously it was after 12 years of republican speakerships. if you compare that with newt gingrich's speech in january 1995, i am guessing that he made passing reference to his determination to be fair as presiding officer. that is almost a given, but it always bears repeating.

>> how long to those speeches usually take? >> anywhere from five to 10 minutes. it's not an overly lengthy, as a rule, it's not overly lengthy. >> the speaker elect's remarks coming up here on the opening day of the 117th congress. there are 59 freshman. one is marjorie taylor greene, a republican of georgia. she sent out this week earlier. -- this tweet earlier. "i here to fight for might go to am the future and the next generations american dream. it is time to save america and stop socialism." and also, a congressman from illinois, a democrat, marie newman, tweeting out, "this congress has more women and more women of color than any time in american history. shout out to all of the other amazing women i have the honor of calling my colleagues, today. -- today." the opening day of the one 70th

congress in both the house and the senate began with a prayer. in the house, the prayer was led by representative emanuel cleaver, the democrat of missouri. that is because the new chaplain, retired rear admiral kibbins, is expected to be sworn in tomorrow. she was not in place today to deliver the prayer. she will be the first women chaplain to serve in congress. she will beat the house members in daily opening prayer, according to npr. the chaplain also provides counseling to house members, and arranges memory services for house members and staff. she was elected by a bipartisan committee of house members, whose recommendation was accepted by both democratic leader speaker pelosi and kevin mccarthy. many of you may know reverend pat conroy, who served in that role, a roman catholic priest, he served as chaplain since 2011

and he retired. let's go to the beginning of today's proceedings. we begin with the house prayer by methodist minister and congressman emanuel cleaver, followed by the senate chaplain reverend barry black. eternal god, we bow before your throne of grace as we leave behind the politically and socially challenging year of 2020. we gather now in this consequential chamber, to inaugurate another chapter in our roller coaster representative government. the members of this august body acknowledge your sacred supremacy, and therefore, confess that without your favor and forbearance, we enter this new year relying dangerously on

our own fallible nature. god, and a moment when many believe that the bright light of democracy is beginning to dim, empower us with an extra dose of commitment to its principles. may we, of the 117 congress, refuel the lamp of liberty, so that generations unborn will witness its undying flame. and may we model community healing, control our tribal tendencies, and quicken our spirit, that we may feel that thy peaceful presence even in heightened disagreement. mate we so feel your presence that our service here may not be soiled by any utterances or acts unworthy of this office. insert in our spirit a light so bright, that we could see ourselves, and our politics as we are soiled by selfishness.

,perverted by prejudice and inveigled by ideology. may the god who created the world as everything in it, bless us and keep us. may the lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious onto us. may the lord lift up the light of his countenance upon us and give us peace. peace in our families, he's in this land. peace even in this chamber. now and evermore. we ask in the name of the knowneistic god and gods by many names by many different s chamber. we ask this in the name of the monday >> let us pray. eternal god who wraps the

cean in a cloak. you make the rough places smooth and the crooked places traight. s we begin this 1/17 -- 117th congress, provide our and senators with your wisdom and direction. lord, use them, to transform dark yesterday's into bright tomorrow's. begin this 117th congress, senators r incoming direction, isdom and lord, use them. yesterday m bright into bright tomorrows. legislators your intervening love. goodness m with such and mercy that they will be

your ed to tell of unborn lness, so that generations will know and love you. lord, you are our shield and you victory. we pray >> the opening prayer from earlier today in the house and the senate on this new day here in washington. the 117th congress gaveling in. we are in a break right now, as they clean the chamber in the house. when they return you will hear from the speaker elect nancy pelosi. she will address members of congress, she will then be sworn in, and then she will swear in all of the representative elects, starting with the freshman. let's show you a little bit more from this freshman class. representative nicole maria coccus who was a republican from new york. sending out this tweet. xcited to have my parents

and peanut with me today. time to get to work. this sheriff troy, republican of texas, sent out a picture of his family saying they came to washington and some friends, adding texas values to d.c. for his swearing in. we have been talking to many representative elects on c-span to try and get to know them a little bit better. one of them is cori bush. the black lives matter movement had a big impact in voter turnout. cori bush is one of those. we spoke to her about her background, and her decision to run for congress. here's what she had to say. >> i never had a desire to run for public office. i would say, i would never run. when i was around 18, i would say i've never running for office. i'll never be a politician.

but then i saw so much corruption and greed. when michael brown was murdered, i was working as a nurse. i was the nursing manager of a mental health clinic. i was also pastoring at the time. i felt, ok, i could take my skills to the street. i went to the streets as a medic, i went to the streets as a clergy. livelihoods on the line. lives on the line. but i did not see enough of, representatives standing up for those areas. many of them weren't. it was photo ops for some. i realized, when someone asked me to run for office, i said no at first. but then i realize this is the only way to get change we are seeking. the people out here on the

ground, risking themselves, but keep coming back after all of these things. how do we get that into federal office? we have to run. i thought about my son, i thought about my daughter. i did about my son to be the next #. he was 14 at the time. i didn't want my daughter to be the next. i cannot bear that. i decided to run. >> you would go on to challenge a representative. did you have reservations taking on a longtime politician? >> absolutely. i had reservations for several reasons, growing up, i canvass for him back when i was a child. he and my dad know each other. my dad is in his father's book as being someone who help them. we have a family history of helping his family. but -- it was also, i am a black woman running against a black man. just think about that, i was

already being called a traitor to the democrats. all of those things were going through my head. when i thought about it, the incumbent, but i thought about how he could have stood in between the police and the people, how he could have stopped the teargas, the ubber bullets. how he could have stopped all of that, when i think about that, and the idea that just two months before michael brown was murdered, when he could have voted against a police militarization. but instead he voted to support it. i personally was realized by that, and so many others. i knew i had to do it. >> when you say personally brutalized, what is that experience? can you tell us? >> yes. that night that we were waiting to find out if there was going to be an indictment, before killing mike brown.

we know people from around the world would be coming to ferguson. i decided to be a medic that night. and not necessarily protest. there was a lot of teargas, a lot was happening. a woman collapsed. i went to help her, as a nurse, i went to help her, and her family says she was having a heart attack. i am trying to get her to safety, trying to help her. the paramedics were behind the police lineup. when i got her to the police lineup, the police did not like that i was helping her. i was stomped by the police that night. >> when it comes to the message you were delivering during your campaign, what was that message and why do you think it resonated with voters? >> because it was the same message. i have been saying the same thing since 2015 when i announced for the first run,

talking about medicare for all, talking about criminal justice reform. i had been -- the community knows. closing the racial wage cap, the gender wage gap. $15 an hour federal minimum wage. people saw, even though they did not understand it, they did not understand why i was always out protesting for black lives. they did not understand. people do not understand why i kept saying that your job status should not be connected to your health care. as a nurse i am watching my patients die because they didn't have access or actual care. people do not understand it. but in 2020, when coronavirus hit our community, people saw. this is what she has been talking about. we are losing our jobs, we are losing our homes. we never thought we would be in this position. she was trying to save us hen.

with the protests, covid-19 was rough on me. i was sick, hospitalized twice. after i started feeling better, i was out on the streets protesting for george floyd and breonna taylor. people saw me from not being able to breathe to being out on the street. they were saying, now i get it, this is why she was protesting. now we are making the connection. she is running for office as a congressional candidate, and she is still adhere leading, organizing protests. >> freshman democrat cori ush. she will be the first black woman to represent missouri in congress. she sent out a tweet today, a picture of her and her freshman colleague jamaal bowman, a democrat of new york. and the squad. the squad if the 116th congress with the caption, squad up. the daily caller notes on twitter that every single progressive in that picture

voted for speaker elect nancy pelosi. the republican of michigan sent out this tweet. ready to get to work on behalf of the people of west michigan. i am humbled and honored for the opportunity to serve once more. another freshman face is andrew clyde. as we mentioned, there will be 15 freshman in the house of representatives who are veterans. he serves 28 years in the navy, including three deployments to kuwait and iraq. we spoke to him about his combat experience, and his family as long history of military service. >> my family has a very long history of military service. as a matter of fact, it goes back to colonel samuel clyde, who served under general george washington in the continental army. history of service. >> my family has a very long history of military service. i am very proud of that tradition in our family. my father was a world war ii veteran and a korean war

veteran. my brother was a navy officer before me. i was a navy officer, too. tradition in our family. my father was a world war ii korean war a veteran. my brother was a navy officer me.ore and i was a navy officer, too, years. so we have a very long and very of military on service. nd i believe in protecting and defending our country, and military service was part of that. tell youid your father about military service? >> it's an honor to serve. t's an honor to serve our country. whether it's overseas or here at home, it's an honor to serve. and i believe that, which is one of the reasons why i want to be services committee in congress. i think my background as a navy officer, as a combat veteran, i

erved three tours of combat in iraq and quiet. and being a logistics officer, a supply officer, and specialty rfare supply officer has given me a extensive background in knowledge of how our military operates both in peace time and time.r so i think being on the armed services committee would be a for our country and our state, too, for the state of georgia. what insight do you think you in gained to serve congress, given your experience combat? >> oh, we need to make sure our military has the right equipment. i'll tell you, there was a significant difference between equipment we deployed with in 2003 and my first combat tour then again in 2005.

e need to make sure our military is fully funded, but uses its our military funds wisely and appropriately, oversight. but our military needs to have we canest equipment that give our military, and we've got the greatest people and they have the greatest equipment, and that will make us world and one in the that will help to keep the peace stays e sure our nation secure and peaceful. >> you grew your firearms business to a nationwide company $12 million company. for id you decide to run office? you know, giving to our country is just part of my family. my business. i love clyde armory. i think we're a constitutional business. in fact, motto of the business

we enable individual articipation in the preservation of liberty. especially that, with that knowledge of the second amendment of the currentlyon, which is under attack, that with that nowledge, i think i can take that to congress and help defend that before our country. thatnk it's very important we keep the second amendment intact, that we take back some where we have lost amendment, and i am happy to do that. i'm eager to do that i'm excited add that to experience that i have, protecting and clyde, he will represent georgia's ninth district. he replaces doug collins. mr. clyde joins 59 freshman members of this house that are waiting to get sworn into office any moment now. here is the balance of power for the 117 congress. there will be 222 democrats. 211 republicans. there are two vacancies.

new york's 22nd congressional district has not been called yet. they are only separated by 29 votes at this point. there is also the seat left open by the death of representative elect luke letlow who recently died from covid-19 complications. that was the louisiana's fifth congressional district. coming up on the floor, the speaker elect will be leading a moment of silence to mark the passing of representative elect letlow. then over in the senate, also opening day for that chamber today. let's go over there and talk about the balance of power. there are going to be 51 republicans serving in the senate for the 117th congress. 46 democrats who'll be joined by two independents when they caucus and then it's there is

one open seat, because of david perdue who is up for reelection. he is facing a runoff on january 5. kelly loeffler, also facing a runoff, but her election is a special election because she was appointed to the seat of sender johnny isakson resigned in 2019 before the end of his term. due to health reasons. that is where things stand. obviously, these two georgia races are going to determine who controls the chamber in the senate. because if democrats were to pick up those two, it would give incoming vice president kamala harris the tie-breaking vote as president of the senate. here over on c-span, we are covering the house proceedings. they are taking all day because of covid-19 precautions. they have been voting in groups of 72. seven groups of 72.

it began with a quorum call to determine who was present, because they needed a majority before they moved onto the speaker election. once they did that, you saw lawmakers come in their groups and vote for speaker by name. democratic leader nancy pelosi securing 216 votes to become the next speaker. we will hear from her. she will address lawmakers, she will be sworn in herself, then she will be swearing in these new lawmakers for the 117th congress. also in groups. she will start with the freshmen and then move her way in groups of 72. that could take a while as well. then they have more business to do, and the schedule, as it was laid out by the democratic leaders office. they are back. let's go to the floor. 72.

that could take a while as well. to they have more business do, and the schedule as it was democratic the leaders' office -- they are back. let's go to the floor.

mr. mccarthy: friends and fellow americans. it's my honor to welcome you to the first day of the 117th congress. we're here with the >> there were no filing cabinets. no servers in the cloud or offices. their desk was their office. members rarely went anywhere

without physically bringing their constituents concerns with them. these small tasks are a timeless reminder to every american, that the house is made to represent you, the people. it is the responsibility i welcome and embrace everyday. today it is easier than ever to neglect or ignore this responsibility. from social media, to special interest groups, to the culture police. there are endless temptations to distract from why we are here, and who is truly important. sadly, the last congress suffered from this the neglect. in this chamber two years ago, the speaker spoke of a new dawn for the middle class. but for the next two years, the majority was consumed with everything else. during some of the most challenging time for our country, i felt congress was on the sidelines.

when the need for more pandemic relief was obvious, did we deliver in a timely lifeline america needed? or did we say nothing was better than something until politics dictated our action. when unrest spilled into cities across the country, did we deliver safety that americans wanted? or do we let calls to defund the police intimidate us from protecting life, liberty, and roperty. when americans relied on essential workers to keep our country moving, did we serve the people's house and await -- in a way americans deserved? or did we shrink, and reward members who stayed home, skipped work and still got paid?

the unfortunate answers to these questions underscore by the last congress with the least productive congress in 60 years. it has been said that a house divided cannot stand. well if there is any lessons america has learned in the last two years it is this. a house distracted cannot govern. i wish i could say that the majority in congress is committed to changing for the common good, and focusing on what really matters. but i am concerned about the early actions are pointing in the wrong direction. tomorrow, this majority of the new 117th congress plans to adopt new rules that would silence our constituents voices in congress. those rules thrown away from more than 100 years of representation in our nations capital, by effectively killing a key opportunity to amend legislation. worse, they would penalize any

member who shares views that allies in the media deem fake. they also make it an ethics violation, which is usually reserved for such unbecoming conduct like bribery or corruption. under these rules, all members are equal, but some are more equal than others. for our constituents, that means freedom of speech is silenced. good ideas are stifled and dissent is punished. why would an american political party use this as your first action in congress? perhaps you feel an urgency to protect the political careers. given the message that the american people sent to washington, the grip is slim, and the majority is slimmer. two months ago to this very

day, the american people said enough. enough with politicians who dictate what you can say, where you can eat, or whether you can go to church. politicians who ignore the stay-at-home lockdowns they impose on the rest of us. enough with arrogance and hypocrisy. americans are fed up with it, and we republicans are too. as the party of lincoln, republicans understand what it means to carry our constituents concerns with us at all times. we are a growing working-class coalition of proud americans, more energetic, united and confident than ever efore. we believe in the exceptionalness of this nation and we are not afraid to say. we have listened to our constituents. e have heard how things need

to change, and we made a commitment to america. to restore a way of life. rebuild the economy, and renew the american dream. that is what we campaigned on, that is will be offered in every district, and if the voices of the people matter, that is how we plan to govern. the response of the american people to our commitment was resounding. even though we were outspent, and district by district, no republican incumbent was defeated, none. [applause] all across this country, voters endorsed common sense, not conflict. it was a referendum against a radical agenda to defund the police and punish hard work. it was a wake-up call. the question i ask of this congress, were you listening? as we enter the new congress, i ask every member step out of your office. go to the tunnel, look at that small desk, and ask yourself, what is in your desk? here is what is in mine. as a son of a fireman, i know

how our first responders put everything on the line to keep us safe. i will never, never, never vote to defund them. [applause] can we make that same commitment to america? as a former small business owner, i understand how topics can be even in the best of times. as we battle the coronavirus, our small businesses are battling lockdowns. they are destroying livelihoods, and making it impossible to beat the odds, so i will not hike their taxes. can we make that same commitment to americans? [applause] as a fourth-generation central valley member from california,

i represent farmers, and oil fields workers who rise at the dawn to go to work. who pray to god and raise the next generation of good, decent citizens. i will respect their individuality and their freedom, and i will not forget them. can we keep that commitment to america? [applause] no more misplaced priorities. the american people deserve better. america is worth fighting for. americans' rights are worth fighting for. their dreams are worth fighting for, their voices are worth fighting for. most importantly, their voices are worth being heard on this floor. during the darkest days of the ivil war, when this nation was literally burning with division, abraham lincoln advised to maintain the government, and institution of our fathers. to enjoy them ourselves, and

to transmit them to our children, and our children's children forever. he was right then, he is right now, and for the sake of the many generations to come, we need to succeed now. with that, i want to congratulate the speaker. i do not have the gavel. [laughter] as i hand you this gavel, i just ask that you keep in mind of all of the voices in america to have a voice on this floor. [applause] that have a voice on his floor.

the speaker: thank you, my friends. mens of congress, -- members of congress, families, friends, welcome all. as speaker of the house, it is my great honor to preside over this sacred ritual of renewal, as we gather under the dome of this temple of democracy to egin the 117th congress. thank you, thank you, leader mccarthy. congratulations on your election as leader. i look forward to working with the needs ftd -- needs of the american people uring this great moment of challenge. as the leader knows, usually on

of our , the day swearing in, there is a that isan church service attend for america. until that is possible, again, personally, pray that let there be peace on earth it begin with us. that is our recurring theme. we all know,rs, as are very needed now. in today, we n accept a responsibility as demanding as any previous generation of has ever faced. we begin this new congress of extraordinary difficulty. each of our communities has been drastically, drastically

affected by the pandemic and its crisis. tragic deaths. e sadly carry them in our hearts. over 20 million infections. jobs.ns without a toll beyond comprehension. new members -- and we to swear them soon them in, welcome and congratulations on your election to the united states house of representatives. intended, our emocracy will be reinvigorated by the vibrancy and dynamism of he communities that you represent. nd to our returning members, congratulations to you and your

your re-election. as we open the new congress, we rieve the passing of congressman-elect luke letlow. we send our deepest sympathy to wife, julia, and to their children, and we are praying for this sad time. we carry the symbol of louisiana way in his san honor. suffered ss also another sad loss this week with he passing of jamie and sarah raskin's son, tommy. broken.ts are and we hope that it's a comfort hat so many, many mourn their loss. each of us comes to this chamber, of course, strengthened our constituents but with the love of our families. ourk you to the families of members for sharing your loved ones with the congress and with country. it is a sacrifice.

we know. ersonally, i want to thank my husband, paul, our five corrine, nancy, christine, jacqueline, alexandria. and nine grandchildren. my d'alesandro family from baltimore, maryland. mother andspirit, my father, my brother, tommy, my parents taught us through their that public service is a noble calling and that we all responsibility to help others. roud of our italian heritage, fiercely patriotic americans, staunchlyatholic, and democratic. we saw that as connected. spirit, i thank my francisco, in san san francisco, california, who have entrusted me to represent of st. the spirit francis, the patron saint of our

whose anthem, the song of panthom of is our our city. of thy ke me a channel peace of i thank my democratic olleagues in the congress for the confidence in me by electing me speaker and will endeavor to it with unit, dignity, and grace. and thank the distinguished chair of the caucus, mr. jeffries, chairman jeffries, for his very generous nomination. thank you, mr. jeffries. it gives me great pride to serve speaker of the most diverse house of representatives in the country.f our 122 a record shattering women. women.

we can applaud that. 122 women. 100 years after women won the to vote. moment to take a give thanks to our courageous service members in uniform, our their families and caregivers whose service makes s the land of the free and the home of the brave. our promise to them is that work ss will continue to n a bipartisan way to build a future worthy of their

sacrifice. to the new orward congress, let us take a moment to remember three champions of during the lost 116th congress. in statered by a lying ceremony in the united states capitol. we said ll last year oodbye to mr. chairman, elijah cummings. our north star who said, when angels, aing with the question will be asked -- what id you do to be sure we kept our democracy intact? dancing with the angels now. this past spring we said goodbye colleague, john lewis. congress, nce of the who would say, when you see something that is not right, not you must speak up. to make goodind us trouble.

good trouble. we memorialized oneice ruth bader ginsburg, of the brilliant legal minds in history and a champion of said in the nce capitol, perhaps you were there once statuary hall, who said about women, once the door is no stopping us. each of their memories is a and e of strength inspiration to us as we approach the challenges ahead. tells us that to everything there is a time, a every purpose for under the heavens, a time to sew, a time to heal. our s certainly a time for nation to heal. our ost urgent priority --

most urgent priority will be defeating the oronavirus and defeat it we will. and defeat it we will. two weeks ago we passed an emergency relief package to put money inus and the pockets of workers and now the law.ch is but we must do more to recognize heroes. let us thank our heroes, our health care workers, our first and fire , our police whom we have denied support by enying help to state and local government. our transportation, sanitation, food and social workers, and our teachers, our teachers, our

teachers. they make our lives possible at local level and will facilitate the distribution in a fair and equity manner -- equitable manner. we owe them more. any of our essential workers are from communities of color wealth. they have been devastatingly and isproportionately affected by the coronavirus. they have been there for us. we must be there for them. with president-elect biden and harris, whont-elect fromelected two months ago the house will continue

our work to save lives and ivelihoods, to build back better in a way that advances in america. indeed, the pandemic has pulled and has shown n even worse disparities in our economy and society. pursue justice, economic justice, justice in health, environmental and climate justice, the list goes on. this chamber we take a pledge, one nation, under od, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. for all.nd justice every day the congress must live pledge.at to advance justice i'm selectshing a bipartisan committee on economic disparity and fairness and growth. disparities of

income wealth that undermine faith in america's promise for a future for our children. working with the committees of the select , committee, we'll recommend power fair at economic growth to make our for everyone. us be fort we do, let the people, recognizing the america diversity of so that no one is left out and behind.s left we do so divided by division of sacrifice of the our military, and their aspirations the the we all have for children. blessing.e need god's may god bless all of us. god bless all of you. in bless our men and women uniform and their families,

service members and their veterans, and may god bless america. thank you, all, very much. it's my honor. thank you. now speaker, i am you a ready -- i'm now ready to take the oath of office. by ually do so surrounded children but, of course, covid has presented that. our purpose. for the children. i ask the dean of the house of epresentatives, the honorable don young of alaska, to oath of office. mr. dean.

madam speaker, before i issue the oath, i'd like to take privilege of the floor as dean. i've been in this house longer than anybody else. i've served with you longer than anybody else that served with you. i love this institution. honest, i do not like what i see. and talk we hold hands to one another. and madam speaker, i say this with all sincerity. the speaker of the house. not of a party. some of you. the job of our nation is for the to e of representatives govern this nation.

be the ever meant to executive branch. the s never meant to be judicial branch. it's this house that raises the and dedicates how it shall spent and we are representing the people as we are elected. nd i say this with all sincerity, madam speaker, that when you do have a problem or if here's something so contentious, let's sit down and ave a drink. and solve those problems for the good of this nation, for this institution, and, as you said, for the future children of this great nation. we can do it as a body. i ask you that, as the dean to the new speaker. i ask to you try to attempt to do that with our leader.

we can do it together. with that, i'll yield back the balance of my time. now i'm going swear you in. if the gentlewoman from california would please raise her right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and that nce to the same, 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 of which you are about to enter, so help you god? the speaker: i do. renita young madam speaker, congratulations -- mr. young: madam speaker, congratulations. the speaker: thank you, thank you, dean. i'm honored to be sworn in by you, my friend of many years.

thank you for your guidance and, again, i don't drink, but i'm happy to have ice cream ith anybody, any time. yeah, ice cream. thank you. and now we will -- the chair will first swear in the gentleman from alaska, mr. young. the gentleman from alaska will ise. mr. young, dean, do you solemnly swear or affirm 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 i 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? renita young i -- mr. young: i do. the speaker: congratulations.

you are now a coming up this morning, we'll look at the week ahead for congress and how it's looking for the biden administration with the washington post. we'll also have molly reynolds from the brookings institution to talk about congress and the incoming administration. what c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern this morning. be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages, and tweets. >> president trump travels to georgia today for a rally in support of republican senator's david perdue and kelly leffler. both are facing runoff elections

on tuesday. the races will determine which party controls the senate. watch the rally live from the city of dalton in northern georgia, starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or this and the free c-span radio app. >> on tuesday, the balance of power in the senate will be decided by the winners of the two georgia runoffs. republican senator's david perdue and kelly leffler are defending their seats. the democratic challengers are jon ossoff and raphael warnock. follow the results and hear from the candidates in these final resident -- campaigns of 2020, live coverage on c-span, c-span.org, and the free c-span radio app. >> california congresswoman nancy pelosi was reelected as speaker of the house during the opening session of the 117th

congress. democrats now control 222 her seats. hell -- house seat. republicans have 111. here's a portion of sunday's house session. >> all rise. pursuant to the 20th admin meant to the constitution -- amendment to the constitution of the united states for the meeting of the congress of the united states, the house will come to order. the prayer will be offered by reverend emanuel cleaver, st. james united methodist church, kansas city, missouri.