needed. but what was interesting was it was very different from the way they prepared governor romney, just in terms of the briefing materials. and it was a lot of time spent with paul. it was eight full mock debates where we would work for the stand-in for paul. it was eight mock debates. ted olsson, we would prep him and have specific questions and scenarios and play them out. but paul was very hands on. he edited all the materials. it was a con stand work in progress. by the end we had a 40 pound briefcase. and as we were flying to the various campaign stops, he would practice different parts of the debate, review materials. he was younger than i was when he first ran for office. truly inspirational. and paul's encouragement when i

told him i was contemplating what do you think if i ran or congress, paul just said he completely encouraged me. and i really credit that as a turning point. >> on the night of the debate, where were you? >> i was at center college with paul there in the back room. >> in kentucky? >> in kentucky. and i was in the room when secret service and paul and his wife went into the room afterwards. i thought he did a great job. >> let me ask you about congress yourself. the bells go off sometimes. there are votes. meeting with constituents. what's your routine? >> great question. i think it's changed sings i got here. the first two months in congress is overwhelming. my foremost is making sure we

have an eye on a daily basis. that goes down to staff assistants and interns. we are responsible for all the constituents. i get morning clips from all the local news district. daily blogs and weeklies. i make sure they all read the clips. late they they start with congressional women's sft ball practice. it is a great way to get to know women from both sides of the aisle. i really enjoyed that. and then i focus on my committee hearings. i'm on horse arms services committee. at the beginning of every week i have a meeting with my legislative team to go over the week ahead what legislation is pending, potential letters or bills i want to sign,

co-sponsor, or bills i'm going to introduce. the days are very busy. i have a lot of constituents part of groups, associations or schools that are visiting washington. i like to personal my welcome them. even if i have a committee hearing, i'll pop out and make sure they are able to see their representative and raise any issue they may have. but it's a very busy schedule. >> it's not easy to run for congress. it's also not cheap. how much do you raise in 2014 and have you started the process for 2016? >> i raised $1.7 million. and this district is a very large district. i had a very competitive primary and general election. and in both cases i was running against a self-funder. so i really prided our fund-raising structure at the grassroots level. i'm off to a group start. i raised a great number in the

first quarter. i shows the investment from the people in the community. they believe in what you're doing. they want to make sure this seat is protected. we got a lot of support. >> in new york city this year, had hillary clinton said there's way too much money in politics. is there too much money in politics? if so, how do you correct it? >> i believe making a donation is a constitutional rate on freedom of speech. i think with he need more transparency is your federal elections systems today. some states have 100% trance pare transparency. it's disclosed to the voters. i think that is an important step to take in the right direction. in terms of hillary clinton, she's actively campaigning for

her super pac to support her campaign. you have to walk the walk and talk the talk, and she's just not doing that right now. >> what's your relationship like with speaker boehner and the committee chairs and leadership in the house? >> i have a lot of support from leadership and the speaker. i spoke to him early about ensuring i get appointments to the house armed services committee, education and work horse. i made the case why it was so important for me to have a seat at the table to protect and strengthen forth drum, the most deployed unit in the u.s. army. i also have a lot of support from chair thornberry. it's a great position to have as

a freshman. and i work with chairman john clyne. i think the committee is very supportive. they understand i'm not a typical member of congress in the sense that the average age of a member of congress is 58. and i'm 30. i'm younger than some of their kids. but they are very respectful. they treat me as a peer. and the district i represent is is very independent. so i feel very comfortable voting on behalf of my district, which is why i was sent here. >> let's go back to being 30. you're surrounding by pictures and memorabilia of your campaign so far in august. do you pinch yourself? >> i pinch myself every day. i pinch myself the first state of the union is a historic event to be sitting on the house floor when prime minister netanyahu

delivered the session. there was a moment, i can't believe i'm here. in february, i participated on a code el to a afghanistan, iraq, kuwait, jordan. i was able to visit with soldiers deployed to afghanistan. but one of the visits we had was with president ghani, the newly elected president of afghanistan. i pinched myself at that moment as well. so, yes. it's a very awe inspiring experience. but you understand the reason you're put in office is to represent your friends and neighbors from back at home. but when i stop pinching myself, i think it's time to go. >> what is the best advice your mom and dad have given you. >> they have both given me great advice. my dad was don't tell me how

smart you are. tell me how hard you work. the real wisdom in that advice, especially when i was school aged, the harder you work, the smarter you become because you spend time studying. that's something you used to say to me even in elementary, middle, and high school. and i think that has served me well. and my mom's advice is always maintain a moral compass. and i think that's good advice for anyone, but particularly when you're an elected official. it is important to live by the values you espouse. people are very disappointed in what they say from their elected officials. millennials don't have a high rating. it is important to live by a moral compass. >> you're here, running for reelection. >> have you given any thought to what's next in any other glass

ceilings you want to break? >> i love representing this district. i'm working on legislation. there's a lot i can do in congress on behalf of my district. i'm not someone who plans 5, 10 years in advance if i do this, then this will open up. that's not what i am. if you asked me three years ago if i would be sitting in my office in cannon on behalf of new york's 21 residents, i would have thought you're crazy. it's important to do as well as you can at the job you have now. that's what i'm focused on. >> when you're not here, what do you do to relax? >> i like to cook. i love spending time outside. i spent time on white gore mountain. i'm an avid reader. i love doing the c-span book talk. that was a highlight for me. i really enjoy theater.

actually, when i was a kid i thought -- i was very involved in plays. and i loved going to the broadway shows every now and then when my mom would take me to new york city. i like theater. i love the arts. >> congresswoman, thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you. >> tonight on c-span3, american history tv looks back 50 years to president lyndon johnson's signing of the medicare bill. over the next two and a half hours, we'll revisit the politics and strategy behind the legislation. including a series of white house telephone calls that lbj had with aids and member of