it is a privilege to serve and two year term goes by very quickly. i think that you should really stop being a member when you're stepping on the house floor, walking in the capital and it loses that feeling of appreciation for the history of the institution, and for me i've -- i really do enjoy that part of it, being able to walk into the united states capital where we are today. >> you mentioned that the agenda, full agenda each day, 31 things on the list or three committee hearings to attend. does that ever feel like i just can't devote my all to this one issue, this one committee meeting that i wish i could? >> there are so many issues and there will never be enough time in the day to get as neck deep in all of them. i'll have a constituent come in on one issue that is the

>> we have a scheduler, one person who handles everything, both in the district and in d.c. she's based here in d.c. and we have a chief of staff, serves as legislator director. we have a good team, you make adjustments officer the course of months and years.

and responsibilities, people come and go with life events, and that's the best way to stay organized is having a good team. >> how do you interact with republican leadership on a daily basis? >> well, i -- you probably -- i would say i interact with my colleagues most on the floor. when we're there for votes. that's what happens most often. there may be events in the evening or you're able to cross paths with a particular member. at times you might be sitting in a dinner for two hours, next to a colleague. someone maybe that you're -- first time you're having a conversation with them. so i would say over the course of a routine, though, here, you most frequently interact with leadership and fellow rank and file members when you're on the floor. when you're not on the floor, everyone else is busy with the meetings. >> is there a best way to

communicate with you in person, on the floor, a text or e-mail, there is a vote coming up, we would like to see your support on x legislation? >> a lot of that is in person on the floor. that's when you see the whip team, they'll walk around with their whip cards and have a list of names and they'll go to individual members on a particular bill, there will be a heads up given to staff in advance. maybe it is monday and we're told on thursday there will be a whip check on a particular bill. so, you know, that team -- that person will come find you and sometimes you're able to tell them, yes, absolutely i'm voting for something or no, i'm absolutely not. other times you have a really important genuine question, you're undecided and you need a question answered. most of that happens on the floor, though. >> in terms of arm twisting, not a whole lot of that going on the house floor? >> no, that hasn't happened so much. you know, there are bills that you might be -- i might be opposed to something, i'll vote no for, that maybe they would

like me to vote yes, and you just are to havehave to have a dialogue. they like a honest no more than a dishonest yes. when they come to me and ask how i would like to vote on a particular bill and i'm not with them, the best way for a legislator to do is tell the whip team, the leadership, i'm not with you. there are some people who say i'm with you, and then the vote comes down and then they vote the opposite way and it is just -- that's just not good for the process. >> are there opportunities for you on the floor, have you seen opportunities for you to be approached by democrats to support their legislation? >> sure, that has happened on the floor. i have interacted a bunch with colleagues on both sides of the aisle. sometimes it might be in the hallway. it might be on the plane, on the shuttle ride back to new york and you happen to be sitting one your colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle and start

talking about something they're working on, one of their priorities and they might put in an ask and sometimes you're with them and sometimes you're not. it is important to find common ground. that's the best way to serve our respective districts. >> in terms of your priorities for your district early on what are they? >> so locally we have issues related to sandy recovery. our district i did tthe 1st congressional district is surrounded by water. there is only a 13 mile stretch that is connected to land. a lot of sandy recovery. aircraft noises is an issue. we have plum island, the national research facility there. so education is a big issue with the implementation of federally mandated, state mandated and local school district created testing. so those are some of the very local issues that we're working on. and it gets even more specific when some business contacts you or some individual contacts you,

and they have been waiting a few years for their appeal for their disability rating from the va to get approved. you know, that really becomes very high on the priority list as far as that staffer and that constituent. but, yeah, no, some of the more national issues that are important to the district i would say is certainly fighting for veteran, trying to create more good paying private sector jobs, strengthening our -- making our foreign policy more consistent, improving our health care. we'll see what the -- how the supreme court and congress reacts from changes here as 2015 moves along. some of the national issues that are of importance to our district and there are many others as well. >> you're a fairly young member of congress what is the average age of people in the first district? >> well, the average age is a little bit older than i am. i'm 35 years old. a lot of people don't realize

that congress, there is 31 members under the age of 40. there are 20 in house republican conference, 11 in the house democratic conference. a lot of people, they say, they talk about term limits. i'm in favor of term limits personally. there has been such a huge changeover, two-thirds of the house republican conference wasn't even here five years ago. the average age of the house republican conference is about six years younger than the colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle. but, you know, that's not a personal issue, just a lot of changeover that happened over the course of the last few years all across america in districts from corner to corner. so, you know, as far as my district, about a decade older, you know, on average, but, you know, we have people who are 18 years old, and they want to know how they can afford to go to college and then you have seniors who are 90 years old trying to figure out how to either pay for their prescription drugs or put oil in their tanks. there is certainly quite the

range as far as the interest that is out there on the district. >> you're also the only jewish republican member of the house. is that significant in your opinion and how? >> well, there are issues that i care very deeply about that you speak up for. you talk about who are mesh's frie america's friends and who ow our enemies are, what our foreign policy should be as it relates to defeating isis. isis happens to be about 18 miles from the syrian border with israel. how we should approach our policy and in syria and iraq and afghanistan and, of course, the nuclear talks, the rising tide of anti-semitism, all around the world, including right here in the united states, where the bds movement now is starting to become more prevalent on college campuses and around the world where cemeteries, some cemeteries are being converted to all muslim cemeteries without giving any indication as to what

they're going to do with jewish remains. so if being the only jewish republican in congress gives me an opportunity to fight for what i believe very strongly about and have maybe an extra person listening that day to help spread the word, then i embrace that. >> how did your experience in the military, particularly, your service in iraq, how does that influence or does it? your views on foreign policy? >> i spent five years in army rotc, four years active duty in the reserves for seven and a half years, and i've been able to encounter all sorts of issues affecting active duty service members, their family, mental health needs, providing occupational and vocational needs, especially when you're coming off of active duty, ensuring that you're getting the health care that you need and deserve from the va, making sure the military has the resources that they need to win. not just with equipment, but

also with the rules, the rules of engagement, making sure that their hands aren't tied, that the leaders of the commanders of the troops on the ground are given the flexibility they need to accomplish their mission. and even going back to before i was even in rotc, i was studying history as it relates to war, reading philosophy, and just how human nature works and what the best approach is to deal with conflicts and you have to make assumptions, but very good not to make bad ones when making a critical decision as far as america's national security. so i would say over the course of my time in the military there have been a lot of lessons that have helped informed my desire to be able to be part of the decision-making process here. >> on terms of reading, if you're not reading briefing books or reading history, what do you like to read? >> well, anything.

really, i'm fascinated when i can read a -- i can read aristotle talking about, you know, how important it is to know the difference from right from wrong, so when it is your time to lead, you do what your gut tells you is right and it will be the right thing and just that that development of leadership, you know, reading about, you know, henry the v and give saint chrispan's day speech to a force that went from 10,000 to 6,000 and up against tens of thousands of french and motivating those men at that moment despite being not just outmanned, but, you know, just who inspire and the significance of the relationships. and just militarily, but also diplomatically between the british and the french and that example. and there is really no -- i don't limit the story that i

would read to any one particular piece of time. i just -- i enjoy reading all of it because it usually you can find something in every one of these stories. >> you go -- let's go back to the election. you beat a fairly long-term incumbent in tim bishop in the election in 2014. how did you do it? >> well, we had a primary first. we had over $4 million spent against us in the primary. we ended up winning by over 24 points. that was a june primary. we had a few months to -- >> june 2014. >> june 2014. >> okay. >> and we had a few months to prepare for november. for me, it's a whole lot of door to door, phone calls, rolling up your sleeves, going to fairs and festivals and meeting as many people as possible. about a quarter of my congressional district i represented in the state senate. there was a good base of support among people who i knew going into the race. but it was just a lot of hard work, having a good team, using

social media, and e-mails, and just trying to have a good message, talking to people about issues they care about. so that you can make that connection where they realize that you share common values, because you are ruppi inrunning the representative. >> how helpful was the house committee, the campaign committee in getting you elected there? >> it helped. they spent a couple million dollars on the race. in multiple ways. and, you know, i think that they brought not just with the tv ad, but also on the media front, making an introduction with someone, there are many different ways that they were able to assist, which was great. but ultimately it is important for a candidate to do as much of a campaign on their own from the

grassroots up, so the help you get from washington during one of these races, no matter when side of the aisle you're on, it is helpful. it is nice to have that air support show up, but you can't just rely on it because you'll lose touch with the district. >> you mentioned a couple of times what your district is like and some people ask in your office for things. give us an example or short brief story on somebody who may have come to your office for help that may typify the kind of constituent you serve. >> i was thinking of the veteran story with the appeal that we were able to help satisfy. someone trying to get an appointment with a federal agency to do something with their social security or medicare that you're able to move up. somebody with an immigration concern, they have a family member who is overseas, going to the local embassy, trying to get home, and for whatever reason they're having trouble to get back home. there is -- it is just every day. we had several hundred people come to our office.

i had 17,000 in my four years in the state senate, 17,000 cases that came in and were resolved, state legislature in new york is a little different than the average state legislature around the rest of the country. so we had probably about 15 staffers at the state legislature. so we're able to deal with a lot of these cases. this is very similar. except it is the federal issues and you just -- you try to help move something up a priority list when they're having a lot of difficulty cut through red tape. >> do those things, those cases seem more satisfying than say a vote that goes in your favor? >> there are some success stories that you just -- you read everything they were going through and the significance of being able to help someone and for them, that issue is more important than any vote that we have down here. so that's very rewarding. i remember my time on active duty in the military spent a few

months in the legal assistance office and you can help somebody through a divorce, or they're trying to get out of a bad contract, they bought a car they shouldn't have, you know, with some of those challenges, you might be overseas, and a service member back home is having their -- the girlfriend went out and with their power of attorney that they probably shouldn't have signed their girlfriend went out and bought a nice fancy sports car, they see their bank account emptying out. it is nice to help the individuals on these because they're desperate sometimes. >> and lastly still serving in the reserves? >> still serving in the reserves. i had drill -- a couple very recently, i met a world war ii veteran, the last living medal of honor recipient from the battle of bulge. it was so cool. and it was just a nice reminder, take off the suit, put on the army suit, surrounded by just great people who believe in a cause greater than themselves, and it helps keep you grounded.

>> congressman lee zeldin, 1st district of new york, thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> another congressional freshman profile interview, this one with democrat mark takai of hawaii's 1st district. before being elected last november, he served in the hawaii state house. congressman takai is currently in the hawaii army national guard. during our conversation, he talks about what it is like to be a member of congress and the unique qualities of the hawaii delegation. this is 20 minutes. >> congressman mark takai of hawaii. representing the 1st district in that state. how many congressional districts are in hawaii? >> two. we have four members of our congressional delegation. two senators and two congress people. >> what has it been like? when what do you think of washington? >> i love it, yeah. i always visited d.c. i would probably go to see our congressional delegation about every quarter.

never in my wildest dreams i did ever imagine i would be sitting here as a member of congress, but -- >> you would visit them because you were a member of the legislature? >> member of the legislature. i did some hill visits based on my being a member of the national guard. there were a few opportunities to come to washington, d.c. and it was always a treat. >> it is obviously a long way. now that you're a member of the house, how often do you get back to the district? >> you know, my family, one of the first things we decided on once i decided to run for congress was where our family was going to stay. and we have two very young kids, matthew is 13 and kyle is 12. and the deal was that daddy works in d.c., and my family is at home. so i try to go home as much as possible. not only for my family, you know, to see them, which is important, but also being a new member of congress, i think it is important to make sure you go back home and you work in the district or in hawaii for me. >> i think one of the items you

brought from your office today is a picture of your family. we'll share that to our viewers. so your family is back in hawaii, mainly. >> right. that's very appropriate because that was the day that i made my decision to run for congress. august 8th, 2013. >> what prompted that decision? >> well, it was a lot of people coming forward. there was some members of congress that talked to me, but truthfully the reason why i'm here is unfortunately because senator inouye passed away. when senator inouye passed away, there was a lot of movement in our delegation and because of that, colleen honabussa decided to run for senate and there was a spot open. so in 2013, august, in fact, august 8th, we made that decision. >> how much convincing did it take your family? >> well, the biggest decision was where they were going to live. i think once we got over that and they knew they were going to

stay home with their friends and my wife, sammy and her family and my family, everything was all good at that point. >> we're coming off not long ago a congressional recess. district work period. when you go back home, it is not just to go to the sandy beaches back home, but also to work. so are you able to separate out your personal life and also attend to those thins back in your district? >> believe it or not, i was in the legislature 20 years prior, there is almost no separation. when -- especially in hawaii. when we are out with our family, we have dinner, let's say at the closest shopping mall to our house, which is near pearl harbor, pearl ridge, and i'm always working. so i'm trying my best to spend family time with my family, but my kids grew up through dad being in the legislature. and now they're growing up with me being in congress. i go to the soccer games or the

swimming meets with our kids and always on. >> you spoke about your coming here as a member of the -- of the military. when did you begin serving? >> july 19th, 1999. >> did you serve in iraq? >> i served in kuwait as part of operation iraqi freedom in 2009. i'm a proud member of the hawaii army national guard. right now serving as a lieutenant colonel. >> so are you -- do you still have demands on your time for national guard? >> absolutely. and my year, the reason why i know when i started is because that's our anniversary date and every year you have to have so many days of service to have a good year. so mine is coming up and i'm working hard to make sure that it is a good year. >> and you're on the armed services committee. >> armed services committee. >> what would you like to see accomplished? >> i'm very proud of what we recently accomplished. we spent the first four months working on the defense bill. otherwise known as the national defense authorization act.

and it is a hard -- it is a tough measure, you know, because it is all inclusive. but at the same time you work hard on it the first four months you get it done, then we can move on to other things. we were proud to have introduced 29 amendments of which 28 passed. so we felt like we were pretty successful. >> you come in as a freshman member, but do you think your time in the military got the ear of other members of the armed services committee because of your service? >> i would think so. i mean, you know, i sit right next to rubin gallegos, another veteran and seth multan is alongside us as well. in terms of the freshman class on the democratic side, there is a number of veterans on the republican side as well. you know, i think our main point being in task is to make sure that our perspective members of the military and their

perspectives are heard. >> from an organizational standpoint, how does congress compare to the military? >> that's a good question. no one has ever asked me that. i think in some ways it compares pretty well because everything in the military is about the leadership and chain, chain of command. in congress, it is sort of like that, most of the time. so in that way we have a chairman running our committees, we have the speaker and the majority leader running both houses of congress. you know, we have a general running the national guard in hawaii and everybody follows his direction. >> do you -- >> i think in some ways it is like that, but in others, you know, there is much more flexibility and freedom being in the legislative branch and in congress. because i wouldn't necessarily tell the general no. but in some cases you can tell

leadership here whether i'm -- i'm a proud democrat. i can tell leadership and leader pelosi no in some cases and it is okay. >> could you see yourself in a leadership position? on a committee or in other areas? >> absolutely. in fact, fortunately this year i serve as the ranking member of the contracting and workforce subcommittee and small business committee. so we were very fortunate and definitely privileged to have the opportunity to be the lead democrat in a subcommittee right now. in the future, you know, i think it is important for hawaii. our family, when we made the decision, i told them as well as my close friends and supporters that the commitment to run for congress in this particular seat especially for a small delegation like we have in hawaii is a long-term commitment. and if given the privilege of serving for many years, i think it is important for us to build seniority here in the house. >> we see a lot of the -- a lot

of the committee hearings covered on c-span, the c-span networks. do you ever get frustrated by the limited amount of time you get to ask a witness a question? typically five minutes on some of the hearings. is that just not enough to get your questions answered? >> well, being in the hawaii state legislature where there was no limit, i can appreciate the five minutes. in fact, if you look at armed services committee with nearly 70 members, if everybody had unlimited amount of time, we would be there for days. so i think that over time congress has developed this time limit policy of five minutes and in some cases in terms of the floor, one minute, and it worked pretty well. i think if you can't say something within the one minute on the floor, if you can't say something in five minutes in committee, then you got to rework your message. >> going back to your campaign and that august 2013 decision to run, how well funded were you at the time? how much of what was a concern

and how do you typically continue your fund-raising? >> well, we started from nothing. we were very first time running a congressional race, a federal race, so we started from scratch. i learned very early on that in order to win a congressional race, you have to put together great team. and i credit tammy duckworth, we really helping me through that. tammy and i are college classmates. and i credit myself with helping her get to run for congress in 2008 and we helped her again in 2012. w i was here for her confirmation hearing when she was assistant secretary of the va and very close to her. she told me, mark, don't worry, i'll let you have my whole team. and you run with our team and you know, we'll work hard to raise money. and i didn't have to worry about the creation of a team because tammy helped me there. every single member of her team, media, poll, print, even

fund-raising was her team. so we did that. and we just focused on fund-raising and, like i said, we started from nothing. we were trying to raise about a million dollars for the primary. we came in a little bit short. so that delayed our tv buys. but we had one solid month of tv and that got us over the top. now, incredible we started 20 points down and we won by 18. we swung that 38 points, which is a lot of work. >> does it feel like, though, that you have to continually fund-raise? are you able to focus on the legislative work or the constituent work as much as you would like to? >> you know, it is just right now unfortunately the nature of the job. but we are spending considerable amount of time fund-raising. and net working and developing relationships both here in d.c. and also in hawaii.

you know, but it is expensive to run a congressional campaign. our entire campaign last year cost $1.8 million. we ran in a short amount of time a general election campaign that cost over a million bucks. most of that goes to tv. if you look at the tv market in hawaii, it is a lot cheaper than anywhere else. so we're buying a point of $100 where as some of the big markets are spending closer to $1,000 a point. and yet we need that tv. so we're going to keep on raising money because it is important for us to get our message out. >> what one aspect of hawaii do you think your fellow members typically not get about this day? >> that's a good question. i had the opportunity to travel to asia with pelosi, ten of us, i was the only freshman, i had the honor of representing not only the freshman class, but

also hask, armed services. i think through just that visit and the visit to the pacific command to get the pacific command brief surprisingly many senior members of our delegation were unaware of the importance of hawaii being the strategic hub and headquarters for our military across asia pacific and indian ocean. so i think that in and of itself is important to talk about because i constantly talking to colleagues, inviting them to hawaii, and letting them know how important strategically important hawaii is for the united states. >> in reading about your back ground, i see that you were one of the first in hawaii to buy a nissan leaf ultimate fuel vehicle. what prompted that decision? >> well, you know, that goes back to truthfully goes back to

me being deployed in the middle east in 2009. you know, hawaii is a very beautiful place. but we have our challenges. we are what i call the most isolated, populated landmass in the entire world. and because of that, the need to be more sustainable is critical. the cost of living is high in hawaii. i believe mainly because of the fact that we're not as sustainable as we need to be. so i served in the middle east. i looked around and kind of wondered why we were fighting a war half a world away from hawaii and i realized that it was partially because of oil, black gold. so when i got home, told my wife, you know, we got to put these panels on my roof. she said, what? i said we're going to make electricity from the sun. she thought i was crazy. two months after that, she was, like, telling all her friends, our electric bill is zero. it is unbelievable. but mark, we put these things on

our roof and now we're not paying electricity. well, around that time nissan had the early doctors could log on to the internet and order their car, order the car and i was one of the first -- >> what year was that? >> that was five years ago from now, so 2010. >> yeah. >> and i'm on my third leaf. every two years i get a new one. i just picked up my third one in april. >> does it feel like other members of your state, other hawaiians picked up that trend in terms of alternative energy? >> if everybody could they would harness the sun. not everybody is as fortunate as my family because we live in a single family home and we own the home, so we have some challenges, some renters and people that live in condos or town homes don't have the opportunities that i have. even in the legislature we're pushing for these measures that

would do more for the community as a whole. and move us towards sustainability as quickly as possible. >> most mainlanders come to hawaii on vacation or with the military. you were brn aorn and raised in hawaii. what took you from hawaii to the mainland first? what was the first trip back to the mainland? >> you know, that was probably when i was 5 years old to go to disney land in california. a lot of people traveled to california from hawaii. and many people still go to disney land. that was probably my first trip. but, you know, i started swimming when my family was living -- we were living in guam. >> competitively. >> competitively. >> so swimming brought me to the mainland probably twice a year. >> was your dad in the military? >> my dad worked for the federal government. he -- we got stationed and we were treated just like military for about three years from fifth grade to seventh grade, i lived in guam. >> earlier on you mentioned senator inouye and brought a

picture along with senator inouye. let's -- >> this picture is in my office now, actually came by way of the inouye legacy fund. and my parents bought it at a democratic auction. >> tell us about the people in the picture. >> far left is senator inouye. and the middle is patsy mink, a congresswoman from hawaii and on the far right is spark mastunaga. i tell this story about almost every day about, you know what it is like to be here representing hawaii and, you know, i have many stories about senator inouye and, in fact, many stories about patsy mink. but i talk about being on the shoulders of people like them, you know. and, you know it because we all work here, but the halls of congress, especially capitol hill, it is a very different place at night, when you know, when all of the tourists, all of

the tour groups are gone and we're walking to or from votes in the capital and, you know. i heard stories about senator inouye talking about these long nights in the capital and, in fact, he had his office as a senate president pro tem right in the capital, and it is a surreal experience to be walking through the halls and just hearing your footsteps and realizing that these people who came before me also represented the state of hawaii. in fact, senator inouye was the very first member -- elected member of congress and he came right after hawaii became a state. >> are there traditions in the hawaiian delegation that most people wouldn't know about? a piece of memorabilia or something that is passed down from member to member regardless of their party? >> nothing has been passed down. i mean, we have gone into the cage, the cage upstairs and that has, you know, some memorabilia from other members. and i pulled out some of the

portraits and the art work from previous members, but i think in terms of hawaii, we're very proud of the fact that people love us for our macadamia nuts and chocolate. so i think when you talk about hawaii and being on the hill, there is almost an expectation that you either come with lei wearing a lei or coming with chocolate covered macadamia nuts. >> that's what your fellow colleagues probably did. >> yeah. i bring them out once in a while. >> you talked rli eed earlier at you like to do on the armed services committee. more broadly, how long do you want to serve and what are your broader goals in congress? >> i'm 47 now. i got elected at 47. i got elected in the legislature when i was 27, served for 20 years, and as i mentioned earlier, the commitment that our family has made is that we're

going to put in, if given the opportunity and privilege, to put in another 30 years -- 20 years. so that would make me 67. that's not too old. so, yeah, if given the opportunity to stay here, i think it is critical for hawaii, especially in this particular seat, to develop seniority and as you know, this place for the most part works on seniority. >> before we started, you mentioned serving on the college newspaper and being a political science major. what about your kids? what are they interested in and what would you like to see them do? >> i say you can always run for politics later, but get a life, get a job, raise a family and a few years down the road come back and possibly run for office. i hope they don't have aspirations to follow me right out of college. because it was really tough for my wife and me early on. >> but then they wouldn't get

the chance to meet george takai, we almost called you mark takai. tell us the story about the campaign. >> mark takano, a member from california, a sophomore, he and i met through tammy duckworth. and, you know, was duckworth, honda, and takano supporting takai. well, mark takano knows george takei. and george endorsed me in the primary. so the headline read thakei and takano endorse takai. all three of us get confused, but we have the pleasure now of calling ourselves friends. and in fact i'm going to see george takei in a few months,

we're going to go up to new york and, you know, he's debuting in a new broadway show, focused on the japanese american experience. and looking forward to that, that show. >> we hope we continue to get it right, congressman takai of hawaii. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. aloha. >> our final freshman profile of the day, congressman john ratcliffe of texas. he defeated incumbent ralph hall in the republican primary and went on to run uncontested in the general election. at the time congressman hall was the oldest serving member of congress. >> congressman john ratcliffe from the 4th congressional district of texas. you challenged a sitting incumbent republican, the longest serving member of congress and also world war ii veteran. why did you decide to run for congress and why in a republican primary? >> well, steve, i had been involved in public service before. served as a small town mayor.

i served as u.s. attorney under president bush. i found that i enjoyed public service. it really was a calling that came to me. and i tried to help like a lot of folks i was frustrated with president obama's first term. i tried to help get mitt romney elected as president. i served on the transition team for what would have been a romney administration, and obviously that didn't happen. i was extraordinarily frustrated. really made the decision, you know, i need to check out of politics altogether and find a way to fight harder and that led to the decision to run for congress. congressman hall was someone that is, as you mentioned, an iconic figure, a friend of mine, that i knew very well and i think he had done a terrific job and served with extraordinary distinction for the people of the 4th congressional district. but i also felt if presented with a credible alternative that majority of the folks in the district were looking for an opportunity. most folks like me thought things in washington were getting worse, not better. congressman hall served a long

time in his 90s. and i really felt like people would give me a chance if i presented myself as a credible alternative with the credentials i had and the experience that i had and the plan and solutions that i presented. and ultimately that proved to be the case. >> you had a transition between his office and your office. did he give you any advice? >> he gave me a lot of advice. congressman hall and i were friends before the election and we're friends now. a few weeks ago, on his 92nd birthday, he wished me well, told me he was proud of the job that i was doing. really gave me a lot of advice. i came up here this summer and met with him. i remember on a number of occasions to get advice about all the things that i deposdidn about being a member of congress, like staffing an office and fund-raising and getting to certain committees. wasn't one particular thing, weihe was really a wealth of information over a period of time, gracious to me during the transition and ultimately proved

to be a big help to me. >> what makes a successful member of congress? >> well, number one, more than anything else, you have to have passion for what you do. as i said, i found later in life that i enjoyed public service and i really believed that if you enjoy what you're doing, you never work a day in your life. i think that's number one. number two, relating to that is you got to work incredibly hard. we are expected to command an extraordinary amount of information on a breadth and depth of issues that come at us very quickly up here. and that takes commitment. you got to be surrounded by good staff. so i tried to benefit from sit-downs with 57 different members of the republican conference who gave me advice about those types of things. so really felt prepared when i got here and i have surrounded myself with very good people. i thisnk if you -- one of the things i learned from other positions as manager of people, as a united states attorney and as a mayor of a small town is if you surround yourself with

people that are smarter and better than you are, you can accomplish anything. >> do you have time to think up here and really delve into some of the topics that you're passionate about? >> you do. but you have to think quickly. you have to think on your feet. you don't have the amount of time that you would ordinarily expect or like to have. and does command a constant commitment to educate yourself, to take in an extraordinary amount of information. but, again, if you're passionate about the issues and i've had the good fortune of getting on committees that covered the things that are important to me, and things that i've had experience before in dealing with, and that's really helped me as well. so very much feel like i'm doing what i'm supposed to be doing, and i'm doing what i told the people of the 4th congressional district that i would be doing. >> where is heath, texas? >> it is in east of the dallas, 25 miles, and really the start of the 4th congressional district.

from there the district goes north and east, it goes all the way to the oklahoma border, the arkansas border and the louisiana border. i got 18 counties. it is a terrific district. it is a very diverse and spread out, a lot of great folks throughout the district. and i really enjoyed getting to know so many of the 700,000 people that i'm privileged to represent. >> i asked about that town because you served as mayor of -- >> i did. >> what was it like? was it a full time job, part time? >> mayor is a volunteer position, nonpaid nonpartisan job and a terrific experience because it is where the rubber meets the road. it is true public service. as i said, wasn't paid a nickel for the time i spent and often drug myself home from meetings after midnight. talking about all the issues that are important. but being a mayor of a small town has its rewards. i had the opportunity to vote on matters on a tuesday and drive through my town on a saturday and see them starting on the park we just started or the new neighborhood. it is a chance to be close to the people and i learned a lot

about responding to constituent needs and concerns and something that is benefited me as i moved up to a bigger stage up whoer in congress. >> born and raised in texas? >> born in illinois, got to texas as fast as i could. came down here when i was 20 years old. for law school and fell in love with texas and been here for most of my life. >> went to notre dame. why? >> i grew up catholic. and the chicago area. and was just a, you know, a fan of the school, knew a lot of great people that went to school there. and just -- it was a tremendous institution and some place i always dreamed of going and met a lot of great lifetime friends there and continue to have them. >> behind you is a photograph of you and your wife. i suspect on your wedding day. how did you meet her? >> at law school. my wife is also a lawyer, we met at southern methodist university in dallas at the law school there.

we had been married for 20 years. two daughters, 16 and 13, and we're all happy to reside in heath, texas. >> what is that like having two daughters, one now learning how to drive? and the other a teenager too? >> terrific. my daughters are the lights of my life. they're really the reason that i'm here. with the primary motivation for being a member of congress, to make sure they have the same opportunity that the american dream that i've had and something that concerned me. one of the reasons i didn't check out of politics because i -- it might not have caught up to me in my lifetime but i knew it would catch up to them. they're the primary reason i'm here. but they're doing tremendously well, adjusting to the transition of having a dad that spends about half of his time in washington, d.c., leaves on sunday nights or monday mornings and doesn't get home until thursdays or fridays. so that's been an adjustment for our entire family. we talked about the shared sacrifice that being a member of congress takes, but we're all adjusting well. >> how do you do that, though? when you're back in your

district, you have demands, you got to raise money go, to events. that happens on weekends. you also have family. >> it is really tough. you have to make a commitment. you have to carve out time. i tried to reserve sundays for my family. i try not to do political events on sundays so we can go to church, spend time together as a family. whenever possible i bring my wife and my kids to political events throughout the district. it is an opportunity for us to spend time together. but it is tough. i'm gone more than i with like to be. but they understand the larger mission here and have been incredibly supportive. and i'm grateful for that. >> do they like politics? >> they like it because it's something important to me. i don't know that it is something that i would expect either of my daughters to go into, into politics. they need to find their own calling in life. i don't know what that will be. if it is politics or law, that's great. if it is medicine, that's great. if it is raising a family,

that's great. so, you know, they'll have to find their own way. but they're very supportive, they're learning a lot, they were just up here, you know, school is out for the summer. they were able to come up for a couple of days and we toured a lot of monuments and spent time in the capital and spent time as a family in washington, d.c. they're learning more about the importance of our federal government and the role it plays in our lives. >> your own family growing up in illinois, again, where in illinois? >> well, i grew up in different places around illinois. my parents were both teachers. my dad taught at the university. my mom was a grade schoolteacher. so i lived in different towns. i went to high school in a place called carbon dale in southern illinois, almost in kentucky. great people. but as i said, texas is home now. >> brother, sisters? how many? >> i'm the youngest of six. >> and what -- what is it like in your -- at a family reunion, thanksgiving, a lot of different political points of view? >> yeah.

we have been supportive of one another. all my brothers and sisters have been supportive of my desire to get involved in politics. and we're supportive of me during the campaign and so i continue to stay close and talk to them as much as i can. again, i have a limited amount of free time these days, but we try and stay as close' as we possibly can. >> with your friend would your school be surprised you were in politics today? >> it wasn't something i did, was never a class officer, i never ran for class office. it wasn't really until later when i was in college i got involved with students for reagan, bush. reagan was a figure that inspired me. he was, you know, president during the time i was in high school and in college. and really sort of shaped my

political beliefs. but i don't think my high school friends really saw me as a member of congress. i didn't see myself as a member of congress. >> as we hear the bells that go off and you have a schedule that you have to keep here in congress and your demands back home. what is a daily routine like for you? >> one of the things that surprised me the most, steve, about being a member of congress is how many people want to see me and get on my calendar. during first few months i was here we averaged about 300 requests per day to get on my schedule. i often have 30 or 40 different meetings during the course of the day with different groups that includes, you know, also time for votes, a number of vote series during the day. but i've got different constituents that come up from -- in the district and there are different outside groups that want to come and see me, talk about different matters of legislation that i'll be ultimately voting on. incredibly busy, you know. there is some time in there for

fund-raising. that is always an issue for members of congress as well. so it is different every day. i see a variety of people, but at the end of the day, it all ties back into my role of role g to leg slate to put the country back on a better path. >> where do you put yourself on a political speck truck. >> pretty conservative. most people would put me as very conservative. i represent one of the most conservative districts in the country. if you look at how i voted over the first six months i have been a member of congress i have well over 300 recorded votes by any measure and any standard i would be considered one of the most conservative members of congress. and i think in voting that way i'm representing my district well. >> but can you have those conservative principles and also bridge the divide with democrats on key issues, or are we losing the bipartisanship we have seen

in the past? >> i don't have anything to compare it to as far as what happened in the past. my reality is the six months i have been here and we have gotten important things. i helped move forward major piece of legislation, a cyber bill that i chair. i work very hard to garner bipartisan support and ultimately that bill passed. a lot of republicans and democrats supported it as well. i think hard work can overcome a lot. you have to work hard to find common ground. that's one of the things that all legislators need to keep in mind. that you're intent on just getting your way, nothing is going to happen. it's frankly one of the criticisms i have of this president is that when he doesn't get his way he essentially takes his ball and goes home. so we often don't get things done because the president isn't willing or able to bridge the gap, as you talked about and bring parties together. >> so how do we get there?

what will it take? >> i think one in a one of the things happens is you send better people to washington. there's change in the members of congress that reflects the will of the people. and so we have added to our numbers in terms of conservatives that come to washington. and i think that's helping the process. i think we're getting more done. clearly the 114th congress has been more productive by any measure and any standard than the 113th congress. so i think that's -- i think that you can be a conservative or you can be a liberal. but if you're thoughtful, you can find common ground on issues. so that's one of the things that i would work to do. and i do think the fact that now more than half of the members of congress have served in this body for six years or less really sort of underscores everyone sees we need to do business a little bit differently and a little bit better than we have done in recent times to get more done.

>> you had key support from the tea party organization when you ran for congress. as you well know, a lot of tea party organizations are not too happy with the republican leadership in the house. where does that put you? >> well, when i campaigned on was getting support from all kinds of republicans. and the district that i represent really includes some tea party support, some tea party constituents. it also involves traditional chamber of commerce, libertarians, constitutional conservatives. i really don't get hung up on labels. i think that's the insiders game. i think, again, my goal up here is to represent the constituency well and do the things that i told people i was going to do so far in the first six months, i have been able to my conscious vote the district and have really garnered a lot of great support from the people back

home that i've done things that i told them i was going to do. >> do you feel that speaker boehner has an open-door policy for you and others? >> he does. i've had an opportunity to speak with him on issues. he's tried to persuade me to his point of view on certain issues. sometimes i've supported that. sometimes i haven't. you know, i've really tried to make the decisions that are best and most effective for the 700,000 texans that i'm privileged to represent. and if that decision and that vote happens to coincide with what the speaker wants, that's great. but if it's not, then he needs to understand i have to go a different route. so far i've communicated that. and he seems to be accepting of that fact. >> you talk about money and politics. some say it is free speech. others say it is way too much money in politics. what's your view? >> you know, i've tried to focus on the things that i have the ability to change. i'm going to let others deal

with how much money is spent with respect to campaigns. it seems unhealthy to me. but the realities are what they are at present. and, you know, i had worked very hard to get here. i had to generate a lot of income from outside groups and support to have the opportunity. as you know, very rare to beat an incumbent in your own party. i did that in part because i think i had the right message. if you have the right message you can overcome the amount of money. we have seen recent examples with other folks. i think it's really tapping into the constituency. money doesn't guarantee someone is going to be successful. but like everyone i think i would like to see some sanity. applied to campaigns and the amount of money that it takes for people to hold office. >> some people say texas is

going to become much more of a swing state in the next 15 to 20 years. you are seeing the democrat that changed in your district and the state. what's happening down there? >> well, the demographics are changing. we have a growing hispanic population in texas. i hope it's not a swing state. i hope it's been a conservative state that conservatives can count on. and i think that that can continue if we deliver the right message notwithstanding the changing of demographics. and i think we have an opportunity to the hispanic population to grow them as republicans. i see it every day. and certainly those that are constituents in my district have been effective in persuading that it's republican values and ideas of opportunity that really work well with their work ethic and interests more so than what i see as failed strategies of

dependency and entitlement that the democratic party and this administration in particular have been promoting for the last six years. >> you mentioned your disappointment in 2012. on the larger issue, as you know your party has lost five of six national elections when it came to the popular vote. so how turn that tide? >> a majority of this country is still conservative. we just picked up seats in both the house and the senate. we took the senate back. we think it's a reflection that people do see notwithstanding the recent presidential elections that reflects the fact that this is a conservative country that still believes in the basic principles of opportunity that might party better presents.

i think the problem with presidential elections has been our key to the messages that they have. i was disappointed not that mitt romney didn't win but that republicans didn't win. i'm optimistic that we're going to get a good republican candidate that will get people off the sidelines and presidential elections. i'm confident we will have a republican in the whose to go with a republican house and republican senate in 2016. then we will really get things done up here. >> have you given any further thought on on what you will do? >> i'm thankful for the opportunity i have. i don't know that there is a next for me in politics. i hold on to this opportunity very loosely. i'm grateful every day that the people in the fourth district have given me the opportunity to be the one voice on the floor of the united states house of representatives. it is still hard for me to believe sometimes. so i'm grateful to be here right now. god has a plan for all of us. as i said, i didn't expect to be a member of congress. but once i made the decision to run, because i felt a calling, i

always believed that i would be here. and, you know, it's a different opportunity presents itself down the road where i feel i can better serve the public, i'll look into that. but i'm happy to be the congressman for the fourth district of texas. >> how important is your faith? >> my faith is the guiding principle of everything that i do. i try and, as i go through the 300 votes that i take and run through a series of questions and one of those questions is how does the vote that i'm about to cast coincide with my faith. just as i asked how does it coincide with the institution, with the people in the fourth district and places like sherman is and texarkana and sulfur springs and bonham. my faith is very important to me. you have heard me talk about the fact that i do think god has a change for all of us. i feel like i'm doing what i'm supposed to be doing right now at this point in time.

so it has been and will continue to be at the forefront of all the decisions that i make in my life, not just here in congress. >> when john radcliff has nothing on his schedule, a free day, what do you like to do? >> spend it with my wife and daughters. you know, what we do really isn't important. just spending quality time with family. family is very important to me. i think i talked about the fact that i want my daughters to have the same opportunities that we had. and i also realize that time is precious. we don't know what the future holds for any of us. and so my daughters are growing up very quickly. i want to take advantage of the time that i have with them now while they're still under the roof. and i have to take some directn from my wife and i. and so that's what we do on our time together. >> do they listen to you? >> it's funny. part of my background