the free will to exercise their rights to work, worship and earn a living. no governor should ever dictate to their people which activities are officially approved or not approved, and no governor -- [applause] no governor should ever arrest, ticket or find people for cash fine -- fine people for exercising their freedoms. [applause] governors and members of congress and the president have a duty to respect the rights of the people who elected them. it seems that conservatives are the only ones who know what that means. personal responsibility is considered a god-given gift in south dakota. personal responsibility is not a term that conservatives have abandoned. when i was repairing to speak with you, i came across fascinating remarks that were made back in 1962. listen to this.

"the declaration was a document not of rhetoric, but of bold decision. the declaration unleashed not merely a revolution, but a revolution in human affairs. this doctrine of national independence shook the globe and remains the most powerful force anywhere in the world today -- >> you can watch all of our programs online at c-span.org. we take you live now to a press conference with senate minority leader chuck schumer and senate democrats about their legislative priorities in the new congress will.you are watching live coverage on c-span3. sen. schumer: are we already? great. thank you for coming here, braving the cold new snow. neither wind nor sleet nor snow nor freezing cold. the democrats from helping working families. today we are here to talk about the senate democrats priorities for the 119th congress.

to lower cost for working people and fight every single day for american families in every corner of the country. democrats stand united, not because of who we fight against, but because of who we are fighting for. the working class, the middle class, hard-working americans who want nothing more than an opportunity to succeed and build better lives for their families. in the months and years to come democrats will show where our values lie with what we do and how we fight for all americans. we will fight to bring down inflation, to help people save money when they go to the grocery store, when they go to the pharmacy, pay their cable or internet bill. we will fight to make housing affordable. fight to see americans are not ripped off by giant corporations with hidden fees and predatory behavior. we will fight to defend women's health care. to defend our fundamental liberties. if republicans want to join us

and not just help those at the very top, we stand ready to work with them. but our promise to republicans comes with a warning. democrats will not hesitate to fight back. if republicans use their new majorities to make life more expensive for the working families of this country, if donald trump and republicans use their new majorities to push the same old gop policies of tax cuts for the very rich, cuts to health care, trickle-down economics, democrats will fight back. if the republicans go after social security and medicare as many of them say they want to do, they will have to go through us. the time to get to work is now. they have been talking about this reconciliation bill. should be two bills or one bill? that is inside washington. they are trying to find the quickest best way to hurt average americans by giving the very wealthy the huge tax break

they don't need. now you will hear from our newest voices. folks we are proud to welcome. we have a great freshman class and they are here to speak. they are a great addition. first is andy kim of new jersey. [applause] sen. kim: thank you leader. i will keep this brief. what i wanted to say is six month ago, i got a phone call. my father had gotten into an accident and was rushed to the hospital. he will never have the chance to walk again. his life turned upside down. now we try to figure out how to get the care he needs. he worked hard all his life but struggled to be able to save. never was able to afford to buy a home. now he's faced with the situation paying upwards of $10,000 a month or basically bankrupting himself until he is eligible for medicaid. we need more options for the american people. i'm a father of seven-year-old

and nine-year-old. i worry about what kind of america my kids are going to grew up in. so many families i talked to a new jersey face these challenges of care, whether it is a sandwich generation like myself or others try to figure out how they will be able to build the kind of lives they want. they are not asking for the moon. they are asking to have a life of dignity and decency. trying to be able to live their best lives, be able to afford the living that they want for their loved ones, which is all i want for my dad and for my family and for my kids. i hear from people of new jersey saying they feel the weight of this anxiety. they say it is often hard to breathe because they feel so anxious about what is happening right now. it feels like death from a thousand cuts. they are struggling where it now. that is what i am here for and i'm grateful for my colleagues to fight alongside and make sure we can deliver for the people and their daily lives and daily needs. thank you so much. sen. schumer: buck rochester

from the great state of delaware. sen. rochester: thank you, leader schumer, for hosting this press conference. i'm excited to be here with my colleagues, including this incredible freshman class. i have a message to the american people. i can tell you one thing. we, the senate democratic caucus already. what did i say? we are ready. we are ready to fight for working families. we are ready to fight for our communities. we are ready to fight for americans. as some of you may know, my colleague chris coons and i represent a small but mighty state, delaware. what you might not know is that delaware is only three counties. we are blue, purple and red. we work with everybody. we are urban, suburban, rural and coastal. we are america.

america, again, i want to tell you the senate democrats already. we are here fighting for you. as the former secretary of labor of the state of delaware, jobs and the economy our job number one. if i were to have a second it'll name it would be lisa blunt jobs rochester. we know that when working people thrive, we all thrive. that means you have a home that you can afford to live in. you have access to quality health care. that means you have the ability to both pay for your prescription drugs and for your groceries. and it means we have a tax code that does not give breaks to the ultrarich while you are just raking even. that is that breaking even. that is what we are fighting for. this is a new day, a america. -- america.

senator slotkin: i'm the newest senator from the state of michigan. i'm thrilled to be here with my freshman class. to all of you shivering out there, i have seen you behind the camera. this is michigan weather. suck it up, buttercup. i want to say quickly as one of the freshman who one in a state that was also won by donald trump, regardless of our differences i believe to my core a strong middle class is a national security issue. it is literally one of the most unifying things we have between us. my job as someone who represents a state that voted for donald trump is to look for common cause anywhere i can. leadership is about picking between the things you have to compromise on and the things you should never compromise on. wherever i can i will work across the aisle. when it comes to our democracy, our rights, our values, high will stand up and stand in the

breach. i am thrilled to be here and thank you for having us. suck it up, everybody. it is a little cold. sen. schumer: no buttercup is she. angela brooks. several brooks -- sen. brooks: i am proud to stand with my colleagues today. i have to say i'm more proud to be here on behalf of the people. you heard my colleague talk about the brisk weather. i think we are all feeling it and i'm reminded in a moment like this that in just a few minute i will have an opportunity to go back inside this building. we cannot forget for a single moment there are americans all across this country who have no place to go on a day like this. a cold day. that is what our work is about. it is about the people. nobody represented it better

than jimmy carter who he recognized his life of work. what president carter represent it for us is the truth. it doesn't matter what we say we believe. it is more important what we do. i stand with my colleagues saying we are here to do something on behalf of the american people. the people who believe like president carter did that every person deserves to have a place to live, who believed like president carter that economic opportunities belong to all of us, and believe like president carter did that we have a role to play in providing this. i prepared to work not only with my colleagues but with republicans and good people all across this senate who intend to get things done for the american people. i will say this as i close. president carter's work was remarkable. one of the things i noticed is his work with habitat for humanity, which we all recognize he did until his final days. i'm sure it is the case that

when he went to build those houses he never stopped to ask the question, will lead democrat or republican live in this house? he believed every person, every human deserved to have a place to live. that is what our work is based on. we are ready to get to work and we will not be deterred. we will continue pushing to ensure every single family and every single person across our country can experience the american dream. sen. schumer: we have a great freshman class. great unity. thank you, everybody. >> all right. >> chronic school absenteeism in which students miss at least 10% of school days in a year has increased in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic. today education officials discussed the issue and potential solutions. from the broking institution, watch live at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span3.