ideology and some issues we'll never agree on, but again let's go back to the founders. that's what they wanted. we wanted a debate. if we agreed on everything all the time, there would be no need for us to be up here. so we have to represent our people. that will cause some divisiveness sometimes. but more often than not, we get along better than most people think we do up here. >> do you find it more or less bipartisan than when you got elected? >> a little more. i knew there would be some. i guess i've been surprised refreshingly there has been a little more than i anticipated. so that's a good thing. we're able to do business for the nation and good business. >> you talked about the three committees you're serving on, the amount of reading you had to do. before we started our conversation on camera we were talking about an epa hearing. do you find that you get enough time to get your questions answered in those hearings settings? >> no.

no, i'll say that very quickly. we get five minutes of course to answer or ask, say a statement, whatever we want to do. i wish there were times i had 30 minutes. but of course when you have 10, 15 people on the committee, that's not just doable. logistically, you cannot. >> you're often being yanked out of those hearings for some sort of vote on the house floor. how many times have you found yourself going to the house floor and not knowing what the vote was about, either whip scalise or someone else has to fill you in on where you're going? >> i never go not knowing. every morning my staff brings me a list of what we will vote on that day. we have actually discussed that in the prior week as to what's coming up. so as far as knowing what we're voting on, i know that every day. now, if there's some amendments or some issues that may have an undertow that i need to seek

leadership or an opinion on, i can go to scalise or mccarthy. they're always on the floor. we have some very good congressmen that have been here for a while. they know the issues. i will bump in on them from time to time and say, hey, fill me in on what we need to do here. >> what are the top one or two items you've been working on in this early part of the 114th? >> it's been issues with fema. certainly on the epa rule. goes back to my farmers, ranchers, foresters as to how epa is affecting their livelihood and i'm sure it's effecting it, so they expect me to push back, express our interest, and be representative. that's what we do. >> the issues with fema, is that fallout from hurricane katrina? >> some of it is.

what we want to do is raise the footprint to a 500-year plan instead of a 100-year plan. if we do that in louisiana because we are a low-level lying state in some aspects, up to 40% could all of a sudden be within a floodplain. we can't let that happen. that goes to raising insurance rates, building structures. we have to be on guard. they come up sometimes weekly as trying to be slipped under the radar, so to speak. we have to close the gate when it needs to be closed. >> you mentioned your flying experience with the reserves, and with the mississippi national guard. you're a pilot. what is it you like about piloting an airplane? >> well, there's nothing i don't like about piloting an airplane. it's a freedom that those who fly understand. if i'm not working down here or in the district, i'm usually up in the clouds. i fly for the coast guard, single patrol.

so i get to use my skills in a good way. and i just enjoy it. it's a passion. >> as both military and civil aviator, what are some of your concerns? does the issue of drones concern you, for example? >> they do. certainly let's go back to my agriculture district. we have crop dusters flying right now as we are speaking every day. and they are flying head high so to speak right over the crop. >> right. >> and if they should hit a drone, which would be possible, it will bring them down and could kill them. we don't want that to happen. so the faa has issued some rules for drones right now that are being talked about, debated. but we have to have air space issues with the drones. drones are here to stay. they offer wonderfully good potential for mapping agriculture sites, irrigation

sites. i think the potential is unlimited, but we've also got people flying these aircraft in this same air space. let's talk about right out here at reagan dca. if a drone popped up on one of those big jets coming in bringing passengers in and hit the windshield, trust me, it could do some major damage. the faa has its tasks cut out. we've got people that are -- just stopped fires from being fault because drones were in the way of aircraft delivering water into that area. so it's got to be worked out. it's got to be worked out pretty soon. >> all kinds of caucuses in the house. is there a pilot's caucus? >> there's an aviation caucus. >> you are a member of the veterinarians and physicians caucus? >> i am. >> is that an unusual move for somebody that will move on to be a physician as well. >> there are a few of us across the nation. not many.

i'm not sure of the exact number. and there have been others that have moved from the medical profession to the veterinary profession, and i consider it to a lateral move. to me, it was more difficult to get into vet school than medical school. the competition was much higher when i was applying for veterinary school. so, again, fortunately to get in and staying in veterinary school is difficult too. it's a very hard course. >> and continuing to do farming work or family farming work. >> that's correct. >> it comes in handy i guess. >> it is invaluable. i was on a tractor two weekends ago bush hogging. i can basically do anything on a farm that needs to be done as far as raising a crop, growing a crop, irrigating a crop, and harvesting a crop. i can do it all. >> what is bush hogging?

>> bush hogging is where you take a large boar and you clip pasture. >> we were -- from we started i looked at something you have on your wall going back to reading the constitution, the declaration of independence. this is a letter from george washington to the sultan of morocco. where did you get that and why did you put it up? >> my wife find at a rummage sale. she was able to pick that up somewhere in the district. i wanted it up here. it goes back, again, to our founders. even back in that day washington understood, as most of our founders did, the potential of this nation and how great it probably would be. and even at that point, washington was reaching across the ponds, across the borders to other nations saying, hey, we're growing, we're going to be a force to be dealt with. and we want you to be a friend and part of our growth. and this is what this letter's about. and i think he even sent a copy

of the constitution to the sultan of morocco. so, again, it goes back to our history. that's what we are forgetting, where we came from. we came from good stock and we have to keep the stock in place. >> how do we get people to read those documents more frequently? >> what i do is when i'm in district, i was there last weekend and i was talking to a large group of church people. i handed constitutions out and declarations of independence out. when i go to talk to any educational groups, especially young students, they're going to get a copy of the constitution, and they're going to get a copy of the declaration of independence. and i'll tell stories about it so it will at least entice them to open the first page. and once they start reading, when i go back and say, hey, did you actually read this and they say they did, the verbiage that was used in those days is unlike any that we have seen in these days. the prose, the wording, the way

they put their words together, phenomenal. people still recognize and they appreciate that. once they start reading the constitution and the declaration of independence, they're pretty well hooked. >> louisiana 5th district. thanks for being with us on c-span. >> thanks so much. in august 1945, 70 years ago, american forces dropped two atomic bombs over japan. one if hiroshima, the other in nagasaki. benjamin bederson recalls being sent to los alamos, new mexico, to work on the manhattan project. mr. bederson began working on designing the atomic bomb's ignition switches.