>> watch booktv every sunday on c-span2, and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at booktv.org. >> c-span, democracy and phil berger where funded these television companies and more including charter communication communications. >> charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers, and we're just getting started. building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charter communications supports c-span is a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front-row seat to democracy. >> mark gordon asserted as a governor of wyoming since 2019. in mid-january he spoke about infrastructure and regulations during his annual state of the state address in the state

capital of cheyenne. this runs about 50 minutes. [applause] >> good morning. good to see you. what a day. what a day. thank you. thank you. thank you, pastor, for that wonderful, wonderful opening prayer. mr. president, speaker neiman, members of the 68th legislature, congratulations on this opportunity to serve the

people of this great state. what an honor it is to take that oath. this is a great day, as we heard, we should rejoice in it. i appreciated the seriousness and spirituality of yesterday's opening remarks from each of the chambers. and the first lady and i thank you for the invitation to join you here today. you know, whenever i come into this chamber, i am drawn to the murals on these walls. they serve as reminders of the singular history forged by those who placed hope in wyoming and trust in those who served in this building. nationally, wyoming is recognized as the leader and the problem solver. one recent story highlight the amazing work of the wyoming hunger initiative, that's the

effort of so many volunteers spearheaded by first lady jenny gordon. the hunger initiative has catalyzed good folks across the state to go a little more in the garden, purchase and process for each an ffa livestock at local there's a road use, donate livestock and what impressed that particular reporter was that it provided an opportunity for hunters to donate the little bit of their harvest to help out a fellow man. our first lady is wyoming through and through. she is not only taking care of neighbors and kids, that she hunts, ranches, runs a business and left her family. and i thank you, jenny, for all you do for us here in wyoming. [applause]

yet another national story noted the success of wyoming's freedom caucus candidates. at this point up the leadership in energy, natural resource management, finance and digital assets. all of these stories highlighted wyoming's pioneer persevering and can-do spirit. and there's good news in how we govern. wyoming has the third lowest tax burden in the country according to virtual capitalist.com. it's nice to know we are being recognized nationally for having the same spirit we see on these walls and in this room. that spirit is inspired by those

who serve in public position of those that step up in their jobs and volunteers. some of them are here today. let me begin by acknowledging secretary of state gray, racines, treasurer meyer and superintendent. the commitment each of you has shown to our state and its people is truly extraordinary. and together at times with spirited conversation we've worked to serve the people, and we have done as a constitution vision the executive branch would. i'm sorry that justice boone garden is not here today but justice gray, justice and justice jarosh who share for the first time for his opening of the legislature, i want to thank you for your resident service on behalf of the citizens of this state. i do want to take a moment to say what an honor is been to serve with you, chief justice.

clearly you will leave a singular mark on history of wyoming when you retire this spring. i thank you for your service. [applause] >> the chief justice and i often have competition about who can be shortest in the remarks she always wins. i still owe you dinner. that was not the only way to get that. but it also privileged to recognize chairman wayland large of eastern shoshone tribe and chairman keenan groesbeck. would you please? there they are. [applause]

these are friends, fellow citizens of this great state and leaders of their sovereign nations. and together the tribes and wyoming have accomplished an enormous amount over the past few years through honest and open dialogue. i thank you for your partnership and i look forward to continued good work as we continue to build this great state. i'm also pleased to say that wyoming stepped up and played a role in helping to enforce our country's southern border. once again this past year wyoming sent law enforcement personnel to texas to secure that border. trooper logan kelly and a contingent of our highway patrol traveled to eagle pass, texas, to give overworked texas rangers

a break and to learn a little bit more about what goes on there. texas returned the favor sending folks up in june as part of the clink that sheriff harlin organized to brief wyoming law enforcement on what we need to do in our heartland. just last thursday governor abbott thanked me for the commitment of wyoming people that they have shown in securing our borders and he wanted me to convey that thank you to you. please, members, let's let trooper kelly and all those who stood watch to protect our borders to know how much we appreciate them. [applause] wyoming people also thank those who stepped forward as the sword

and the shield of this great state. members of our national guard are warriors and guardians. today more than 500 of our soldiers, airmen and women are deployed in the middle east and south america protecting our freedoms. others will soon be traveling for the inauguration to help secure it in washington, d.c. and at this very moment wyoming air guard members are flying critical missions in california fighting the devastating wildfires there, just as firefighters from california has helped us in the past. our thoughts and prayers are with the people of southern california. and i hope that you hold all of our guard troops and their families in your prayers, in your thoughts. they are truly exceptional, and they are essential to our country's security and our safety. we thank their families and hold

them in our hearts. and if you know a family of deployed member of the national guard, be generous and appreciative. it's not an easy time. remember, they are away from home for a long time. major general porter is here today, and i ask you to join me letting him and the guard know how firmly wyoming stands behind them. major general, would you please stand? thank you. [applause] beyond those serving actively

wyoming appreciates everyone who has served, and we won't forget our missing in action or are prisoners of war. we pray every day that they may come home. service is hard and it can leave scars. injury doesn't always come from an enemy combatant. wounds can include long-lasting physical, emotional, or psychological impact. far too many of our best struggle to the point of breaking. sadly, too many veterans and others in wyoming are still grappling with suicidal thoughts. i'm proud to say we continue to rise to the challenge all across wyoming where incorporating a variety of approaches from assisting churches and the valuable work and commuting mental health centers, providing training and motivation to peers. the wyoming way is to offer help

when we see a neighbor struggling. wyoming is the place and should be a place of hope. one where people come together to make a difference. one veteran who is stepping forward to serve his fellow comrades in arms is george debono ii. he is one of the peer coaches for veterans talking to veterans, a support program now in more than a dozen wyoming communities. george and his fellow coaches provide a trained and understanding ear, one that understands and shares the experience of combat and the military. his leadership and support of our local veterans is a reminder that together, if we care, we can make a positive difference in the life of another. george, thank you and your peers who remain dedicated to the selfless but important work in our veterans community. please rise so that we may recognize you. [applause]

we owe you and so many more veterans more than a simple stand and be recognized. president john f. kennedy once said, as we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not uttering words, but living by them. today i have the distinct honor and constitutional obligation to address the 68th legislature at the commencement of the general session. and i am proud to report that wyoming remains strong and vibrant. there are concerns to be sure but our future is very bright. our fellow citizens made

decisions last summer and fall, nationally and here in wyoming. many of you here today are new to this legislature. but all of you are passionate in your desire to serve. all of us in this room stand on the shoulders of those who have served before us. they built this great state, and i congratulate you on your election and wish you godspeed. we do have a lot to do, and i have no doubt that the people in this room can get it done. we are here to uphold the wyoming constitution, to protect our way of life. we have serious responsibilities to those that require us to work together to serve those who entrusted us with our positions, and we are all part of something much bigger than ourselves.

from generation to generation wyoming has grown and continues to thrive because of our conservative values and common sense decision-making. we have always been able to adapt to breakthroughs, the challenges and build a few hundred future by assuring our government is accountable, efficient, and responsible. we are accountable to the people not just for what we authorized to be spent, but for the decisions we make and how we make them. our constituents expect an efficient government that gets value for the dollar. one that allows them to keep as much of their hard-earned money as is reasonably possible. they don't want cheap, shortsighted budgets that look good of paper but may hurt them in their daily lives or cause their kids to have to leave. wyoming people want sensible government that chooses right over wrong and the right thing over the easy thing. in wyoming we have been doing all of that, and we must continue to do so.

our lean and effective government has smooth the way to some incredibly tumultuous times. the was a lot of rhetoric during the election about how big and expensive our government has become. well, here's one fundamental fact. today there are 300 fewer wyoming state employees than when i took office, and this despite the workload that was dumped on us by the biden administration with its programs and inflationary policies. my friends, you have a solid, balanced, and well constructed supplemental budget to consider. it recommends only essential, ongoing for unexpected expenses mostly driven by inflation. i agree there are one-time expenses as well, but remembering last summer, who doesn't want the capacity to fight fire in the coming year? or to provide the tools necessary to help restore burned lands. you know the numbers are

staggering, more than 2000 fires, over 850,000 acres of burned land, most of that private or state. wyoming remains strong and vibrant because of our core values. we appreciate our neighbors, and we know we can count on each other when we need to. we understand that a divided government does not mean a divided people. during our four years of aggressive effort from the biden administration to impede the progress of our core energy industries, wyoming has held her own. we fought overreaching policies, radical programs and wrongheaded initiative. our coal, oil, gas, coal, bentonite and other mining industries have weathered the worst and we are now poised to rebound. wyoming produces 12 times more energy than we use, and out-of-state consumers want more.

our all-of-the-above energy policy is essential to our economy and it is good for owners of private property. let's not screw up a good thing. last week in florida i visited with president-elect about getting our country back on track. he supports what wyoming is doing. it will take time to unring the biden bell for sure, but one thing is for sure, we are moving from administration that demonizeds and obstructive fossil fuels to one that recognizes it as essential to our way of life, economy and national defense. president told me, anything you need, mark. now that's something we have not heard for four years. and i told the president, mr. president, wyoming stands ready to drill, mine, to shovel and to get this country back on track.

[applause] there's more to wyoming than just energy. we haven't slowed our progress, diversifing our economy. it's best way to dress her in the cycle of boom and bust. from this manufacturing to do it is like nuclear energy and financial technology. wyoming is making impressive strides. we do as we have governed. we are conservative. we work to get out of the way of the private sector. we respect and protect private property rights, rely on common sense to meet the needs of the people of this state. these may be your most important reasons to be here.

in the last four years, ag hill and her office have challenged the biden administration refusal to hold oil and gas leases. the freezing natural gas exports, the stalling of the converse county oil and gas project, and the absurd wotus rule in addition right now all major epa rules designed to shut down coal-fired plants are being litigated. now is the time to finish those efforts and then stand ready to defend new wyoming more friendly policies. to do so i've asked for your favorable consideration of the addition of two attorneys to our qualified staff, to extend and expand the coal litigation fund set up in prior legislature, specifically making it in natural resources litigation fund and providing it with 3.5 million at its disposal. meanwhile, i will continue there

our concerted effort to identify appropriate federal lands and minerals for sale in exchange so wyoming may own them. last month office of state lands completed a letter of intent with wyoming author of the bureau of land management, formalizing a process for identification of potential federal lands and minerals required by wyoming. i want to thank superintendent degenfelder, auditor racines and director jason carter for undertaking much of that initial work. and on this note i want to remind every sportsman here that auditor racines, superintendent degenfelder, treasurer meyer and i are all avid sportsman. we all understand how precious axis is to our public lands, and rest assured state lands can also provide access for hunting and outdoor opportunities. [applause]

wyoming is the last of the old west, and people from all of the world come to wyoming to see. they are delighted when they learn yellowstone is mostly in wyoming, and they love being in the cowboy state. their dollars flow into our state taking tourism our second most important revenue generating sector, and our largest employer by far. it's also an industry helping to keep our young people here. tourism is on the rise in wyoming and these dollars help to fray the cost we might otherwise have to be as wyoming citizens.

the industry has been invaluable as an offset during lean times. the department of commerce bureau of economic analysis found that outdoor recreation contributed 2.2 billion wyoming's economy in 2023, placing our state fifth nationally in this sector. it's an invisible economy which provides jobs statewide and diversifies revenue streams. the steps we take to keep have and will continue to pay us back. we can't afford to neglect or to vandalize this fundamental and the stork leg of our economic security. our way of life, our economy, and our safety depends on infrastructure. roads sometimes fail unexpectedly. such was the case in the early hours of june 8. wyoming department of transportation have been monitoring a crack on highway 22 for a few days when it turned into a massive landslide on teton pass the cascading

collapse left this vital highway impassible, cutting off jackson's workforce from the community. it was a national news story. prompt action to address the situation was essential. and here in wyoming that's what happened. as soon as heard about it i called the director of wydot to get his ideas for options and he said our guys are already on it and they're pretty sure we can get it fixed in a couple of weeks. and they did. much to the astonishment and possibly disappointment of the national disaster press. wyoming gets things done. [applause] bob hammond and the folks at

wydot joined contractors and idaho d.o.t. neighbors to attack the damage section from the east and from the west. amazingly, they constructed a temporary detour in just a couple of days and it took maybe a few more to get a more lasting one done in a couple of weeks. darren and bob are examples of the outstanding leaders we have in our state agencies. and as wydot supervisor rob hammond to view today. he and his whole team showed america what west ingenuity is the best when you want to get something accomplished and if everyone just gets out of our way. bob, could you stand? [applause] infrastructure can serve our state for decades even a century, but it doesn't last forever.

it's no surprise then that it's planning, repair and construction can take years. ignoring warning signs is costly and can be deadly, as we've seen play out in other states and even here in wyoming. my first year in office was punctuated by the unexpected and catastrophic failure of aging irrigation infrastructure. tunnel number two of the goshen gering fort laramie canal collapsed cutting off much-needed water to hundreds of thousands of acres of productive farmland and threatening the livelihoods of wyoming families. that's the lesson we need not repeat given the warning signs with the laprele dam. this 116 year old structure is critical to the livelihoods of numerous families, just as the goshen canal was. inspections of the now section the dam is vulnerable. potentially catastrophic to all those downstream.

we know the dam needs more than a temporary fix. but the cost and the potential interruption in doing so are massively consequential. it needs to be replaced but for how much and for how long? these are burning questions. i'm an irrigator myself an served on two dam companies face difficult situations but not as significant as the one facing the laprele irrigation district. wyoming understands it takes courage and decisiveness to lead pick this one is my distinct privilege to introduce gary shatter, president of the laprele irrigation district.

gary, would you please stand. [applause] one of the delightful things about wyoming and i remember mike enzi saying wyoming is the only state in the country you can dial a phone number and know who you're talking to. [laughing] and i will say going up to congress county and sing gary, it's wonderful to have a fellow wrestling parent in great positions of leadership. the role of president of the laprele dam company is not one guaranteed to make you friends but it is one that requires action under his leadership the board has worked hard to find a workable solution for all. those who rely on the dam need to know that wyoming will be there for them and will stand behind them. we don't let our neighbors down. i call upon the legislature to send me a proposal not only to

expedite the building of a new dam but to also defend existing use and storage rights, protect the safety of those living below the dam, and providing appropriate assistance to those irrigators while the new dam is being built. the stakes are high so let me be blunt. this is a time to be bold but not dangerous. traditionally, most infrastructure programs have been funded through appropriations to the state board and investment board and if come for mineral royalties. the board has been careful, conservative and work with communities to apportion funds across the state to address significant infrastructure needs, and also occasionally emergencies in accordance with the law. these past few years wyoming like every other state received substantial and unprecedented federal funding for infrastructure. wyoming used these funds to our advantage. the impact can be seen and expanded broadband at the memorial hospital of converse

county, the have been shared in for senior services, and upgraded air handling system at powell hospital, in wheatland where failing in its water system has been repaired, and were hospital is being constructed and in upton were infrastructure has been expanded for workforce housing among many other worthy projects. not surprising these federal programs came with strings and time constraints. we worked hard, my colleagues and i, and accomplished a lot to boost the cowboy economy by not nickel and diming in our way backwards. in the end so important projects though fully planned could not be completed before the federal deadlines ran out. we do all these projects can be finished as economically tomorrow but they can today. in fact, these plans and designs have a limited shelf life. if we delay their implementation they will go stale.

a classic waste of money and opportunity. we must also recognize that we are back to normal now with wyoming county on our accustomed revenues for infrastructure. only legislative appropriations can cure infrastructure investments going forward and with that in mind i requested an additional 20 million to the mineral royalty grant program. this is a critical resource that so many communities have counted on in times of need. i suspect nearly every member of this chamber comes from a district which is benefited at some time from an mrg grant. our constituents appreciate it when the taxes don't need to be massively raised to repair a waterline break, well failure, shoreline collapse, or address a community asset. without that funding, towns and counties will have to rely on what their population can afford, or what a legislature

attempted by earmarking could provide. in short, when it comes infrastructure we should never compromise on safety. kicking the can down the road will only hurt our kids and our neighbors. i want to tell you about a particularly bright spot in our state, and it's happening in education. we are well ahead of the game. we recognize the need to thoroughly examine our educational system from the ground up four years ago and set about to do it. our goal was to help our educational institutions be more responsible for school choice. by empowering all schools to innovate, compete, and adapt and thrive in an increasingly competitive educational landscape. the reimagining and innovating the delivery of education initiative took its lead from

parents, citizens, industries, educators and others to redesign the way education is done here. why dovetail with the good work of the statement of education and the superintendent to streamline our academic standards by focusing on what students need to learn. not esoteric national agendas. we put regular wyoming folks and parents on the board of education, one's motive into simple thought and focus on educating our kids consistent with wyoming values, and to equip them for the workplace and life. a shining example of that effort is wyoming teacher of the year morgan hahn, a social studies teacher at lander high school. with a bachelor's degree from university of wyoming and a masters in american history and government, this james madison fellow specializes in teaching our constitution.

she empowers students to make meaningful contributions to their communities and her innovative approach provides every student the technological skills grounded in wyoming's culture. thank you, morgan. could you rise? [applause] >> let me introduce you to another remarkable individual leading the way, elise newton. she's a senior at cheyenne central high school, a congressional award gold medalist and stem star recipient.

she shared with me her perspective as a senior on her education today. she explained that she felt shut a well-rounded education in high school but there was something she thought could be better. she said, and i quote, i think we should have a class that teaches you financial literacy, how to get a job, and how to get a loan but not get taken, how to cook and so on. you know the stuff you need after high school. what a concept. i got to tell you, music to my ears. elise took initiative to develop a senior survival curriculum that incorporates critical knowledge and skills identified in the recent iteration of the states board profile of a graduate. her syllabus is all about relevance, rigor and community connection. she took the bit in her teeth and develop a course to equip students with the tools they need for life after high school. she won wyoming's deca state

competition and placed ninth at the nationals for it. that's what i call demonstrating the power of student driven learning to create meaningful change. elise, which you stand so we can recognize you? [applause] the fact is, across wyoming educators, parents and students are reimagining what's possible. recently in green river i signed a proclamation honoring nelly taylor ross, the nation's first female governor. i think it was governor ross the proclamation was written by brigitte nielsen, high school government class.

.. >> students, we all recognize there's something special in our air, something special about this state, something special about our will to make things work. expanding school choice, fostering talent and building new opportunities require thoughtful resource management and this is why we must approach our education budget with care, applying conservative values and common sense to maintain a balance between quality and sustainability. the choice for us is clear, we stand strong, preserving and

enhancing what we've built or we risk undermining the future of ours, and raise to challenges wherever they may be with strength, innovation and resolve, but i'm also pleased to talk a little bit about the wyoming innovation partnership. over the past three years, better coordinate post secondary education across the state from our community colleges to our universities. it's worked to identify the strength that each institution and encourage them to meet industry needs over a motivated and prepared work force and establish a framework to evaluate the return on educational dollarsment we found the first two years, estimated value added roi for a five-year horizon of 690%. moreover, with contribution to

wyoming's political state products over this period, was more than seven times its budget. key to judging the success of any educational endeavor is the ability to understand what the return on educational dollars is. post secondary education, i am happy to tell you, is more coordinated today than it's ever been and as promised, my budget calls for the continued transition away-- away from state funding to one supported by the businesses that manage it from the communities and others. together we can continue to build the worldclass education system that prepares our students for success and is the envy of other states. the challenge is to keep our graduates here, something we'll all have to work on, building newer and better and more businesses. schools are just part of what's going right for families in

wyoming. parents have more clarity into what their kids are learning and students have more engagement-- or are more engaged and anxious to talk about what's going on in schools with their parents. but there are a couple of issues that are still difficult for young parents and one of those is the loss of obstetric services forcing them to travel to neighboring states. i visited evans after the hospital announced they were ending ob care, this has happened elsewhere in wyoming, too. what mothers and others in evanston told me, the trip to receive services in utah was expensive, so much so some could not afford it or the stay for their family. and then there are some that are complicated or some earlier than anyone can predict. and that leaves the trip to the e.r., an expensive and lengthy

ambulance or air ambulance ride to who knows where. is there anyone here today who finds this situation acceptable? is there anyone here today who prefers wyoming's mothers to be not to have access to quality ob care. i certainly hope not. in wyoming, moms should have access to the medical services they need and not be obliged to travel out of state. [applause] >> accordingly, i recommend an increase in ongoing medicaid funding to providers of ob services behavioral health and in-home health providers. this will help to secure a more favorable workplace, more competitive workplace for these caregivers here in our great state. and i know we can get this done.

in november i presented a truly supplemental budget. one that anticipated the end of sweeping federal programs and it recommends a few essential items like those mentioned above, those intended to address emergencies and unintended needs. it's easy to talk about across the board cuts and you can't cut a u by a third or expects to perform on half the forge. when the state's revenues dropped by a third back in 2020, we had to make very difficult choices and we heard from conservatives, liberals alike, about what they didn't like in our cuts. we did what we did by eliminating programs, not just hoping more on for less. times change and our state is getting back on track. i asked that as we work on the supplemental and then on the 27-28 budget we bear in mind the consequences of our decisions by just always

affecting neighbors and communities. we are by nature a thrifty people, but we only need to look at the experiences of other states to see what imprudent actions and unintended consequences have brought about. having said all of that, i applaud the legislature for being wise and using portions of the federal funds that came our way in the past few years to offset some ongoing expenditures, such as those for corrections, for example. it is very good that we save then so that we have the ability to meet those expenses todayment last year we provided relief and a 4% increase year over year, the tax exception doubled to $6,000 and property owner over 65 who lived in wyoming for 25 years is entitled to a 50% reduction in property tax.

importantly, we provided tax refunds for up to 140% of median growth income for a county. these reductions were prompted by steep increases in real estate valuations brought about by people buying into wyoming. we all understand the mechanism and we understand that property tax is not collected by the states. it's counties that depend on the revenue. you'll remember that last year's budget made a promise to provide property tax refunds to any qualified applicant to met income criteria. as it stands today we are oversubscribed. we don't have the funds to cover that promise. in order to stay true to our words, i've asked for an additional 10.5 million to fund the property tax refund promise we made in the budget. but i also want to encourage you to make use of the new capacity to differentiate residential property tax from

the other category in our constitution. voters approved it at the general election and i have no doubts people in this room can work wonders with that authority. please remember though, that what this budget does with property tax no doubt has implications for schools and local services far into the future beyond those fashioned at the end of the 67th legislature. local fire departments are one of the areas that depend on those local tax revenues. as i mentioned earlier, this fire season brought devastation to parts of wyoming, unlike most years in the past, where fires have burned on the land, this year about 70% of the damage occurred on private or state land. the direct firefighting costs exceeded 55 million dollars. this fully depleted the funds you appropriated to

firefighting. my contingenty account and homeland security's fund and authority to borrow from the legislation stabilization account, if memory isn't fresh enough just look to los angeles to see how rapidly fire expands in dry times and the catastrophe that insufficient infrastructure can lead to. in the midst of last summer's overwhelming fire season, kelly norris rose to meet the challenge in her second year as state forester. recognize that kelly does not have a specialized firefighting staff, she and her staff have full-time jobs managing our state's forest lands and protecting our forestry. in addition to her day job, kelly coordinated local firefighters and supplied assets as available and kept track of funds and that's the job that's not quite finished. if kelly hadn't made herself available this past summer we

would have had a much worse summer. as i mentioned relies on local and county firefighters on equipment. we coordinate with teams and forest service personnel depending on fire and location. joining kelly is chad cooper, sublet county fire warden and president of the wyoming fire board and helped to for other local firefighters and team. and efforts of kelly and chad helped avoid more significant loss of property and most important of all, there was no loss of life. kelly and chad, i'd like to ask you to stand so that we may recognize you for your heroic efforts. kelly and chad are over there.

[applause] >> in addition to the resources to fight future fires, we need resources for recovery. watershed landscapes, range and happen at that time were all lost last year and will require our attention to return them to productivity. as well as to make them more resistant to those, and the grass when dry is as flammable as gasoline. rerecommend these to restore the ravage plans as soon as possible and requested 130 million to provide a backstop, if and only if the current federal, state, insurance programs fail to address the needs of those working to restore their landscape facilities and livelihoods. make no mistake, this will be hard work, and it will take time. i further recommend the program

be administered through the wyoming wildlife and natural trust office, the board there and staff have years of experience in coordinating with state and federal agencies, land owners and other interest groups to develop effective, conservative land and water restoration projects. and i look forward to working with you to establish the successful and efficient program. key to this process will be coordination with the university of wyoming, particularly the college of agriculture. this will be an opportunity to put research into actual projects and representing the university of wyoming in the college of agriculture, please welcome new dean, kelly crane and president ed sidle, they're at the back of the room. and our university and community colleges are ready to take the challenge.

[applause] >> dean crane, i think we want to see more of you than hiding behind a pillar. finally, there's been much said about-- and promised on this year's election. the eyes of our citizens and the nation are upon us. the responsibility of actually governing rests solely upon our shoulders. there will always be differences between the legislative and executive branch and that's natural. that's our system of checks and balances. our founding fathers spoke eloquently of the temptation of one branch to usurp the other. and their design, our constitution relies on competition between those branches to keep each of them in their places. we are heirs to their wisdom, but here in wyoming i know we

can work together, to you, the people of wyoming, i pledge to continue to protect your rights, to core industries, our way of life, as well as the way of the rights of our families and their security, both financial and physical. and now and for our children, and grandchildren, in the words of ta larson, eminent historian of wyoming, almost no part of the country has the opportunity now facing wyoming to demonstrate what america could have been. thank you. god bless wyoming and the united states of america. ride for the brass. [applause]

live today on c-span, 10 a.m. eastern president trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard will be on capitol hill to talk questions about her nomination, before the select committee on intelligence on c-span2 at 10 a.m. eastern, robert kennedy, jr. will be on capitol hill testifying for a second confirmation hearing, the president's pick for the health and human services department. and they'll return to session and more cabinet nominees, doug burgum to be interior secretary and kash patel will speak before the senate judiciary

committee and all stream live on the free c-span video app and online at c-span.org. >> democracy, it isn't just an idea. it a process, a process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few in guarding its principles, debates are held, decisions are made and the nation's courts are judged. democracy in real-time. this is your government at work. this is c-span, giving you your democracy unfiltered. >> federal reserve chair jerome powell announced the fed is keeping the federal interest rate steady at 4 1/4% despite president trump's call for more cuts. his announcement after the january federal open market committee meeting and pointed to the strong job market and persistent inflation as reasons