is very sensitive to the legacy of the american occupations here and you don't see the american advisors. they keep them hidden. as far as i have seen so far, they have never given any access to the media to see what exactly the advisors are doing, the american officials we talked to are very clear that they want this to be an iraqi-led effort. they want the iraqis to come in and figure out how to get the army organized and how to get the tribes on their side so that they can go fight isis and that these advisers are here not to lead the battle, design it, finance it but to provide advising on how this is supposed to happen. we don't really have a lot of detail on exactly what that adviseing consists of. but the americans very clear this is a distance -- this is a very different process than what we saw last time we had american military involved in the battle here. >> ben hubbard is based in baghdad, reports for the new york times, their middle east correspondent giving us an update on u.s. strategy against

isis there in iraq. mr. >> the isis threat is among several issues currently before congress. although there was a vote in september to allow for the training of syrian forces, there was not a vote on authorizing specific military action. that is an issue which could come up in the current lame-duck session. on capitol hill, the next congressional session was the focus for house republicans, who chose their leaders for the 114th congress. , the majority whip, and the conference chair were among those voted to continue in their positions when the new session begins. they are expected to be joined by house speaker jon weiner, who must be voted into his post by the entire house chamber when mammals -- members assemble in january. about their agenda

for the lame-duck session, as well as their goals going into 2015. >> good afternoon. americans have trusted republicans with control of both the house and the senate. we are humbled by this opportunity. i'm proud of our leadership team that is assembled here. our focus will continue to be listening to the american people and making their priorities our priorities. we have an opportunity in the coming months to do some important things. we have made clear that we will start with those jobs bills that we have passed through the house, almost all on a bipartisan basis, that sit in the senate today. we have decided not to wait on one of them, the keystone pipeline. the house will vote tomorrow to

build the keystone pipeline and hopefully the senate will pass it as well. this is a vote to lower energy cost and create more american jobs. for the sake of american -- finding common ground is not going to be easy, but for the sake of american workers, i hope the president will sign this bipartisan bill without delay. >> i want to start by congratulating the new leadership team. i want to start also by thanking my constituents for the opportunity to serve another two years. the election was a very large election. but you must not miss read into what it said. the american public has watched, from obamacare to the v.a. to benghazi, the challenge that this government has had in an

-- and incompetency. our mission is to change that. to move america in the right direction. we will start with the keystone pipeline, jobs, the economy. it is moving us forward. you will find that as we walk into the new year the house and senate will work together. we have a number of bills already sitting that we can move to the president's desk. we ask for an opportunity to -- for this president to start anew. both houses and the president work together to put america first. i made a promise when i took the leadership job a few months ago and we will keep that. house republicans will have the wisdom to listen but the courage to lead. >> it is an honor to be reelected by my colleagues to serve as the house majority whip as well as the opportunity to serve another two years. we are excited about the opportunity we have to get our country back on track. if you look back at the election the president said this would be

, a referendum on his agenda. i think the public took him to his word. if you look throughout our races in the house, both returning members on congress and new members, we talked about bills, over 350 bills that we passed out of the house to get our country back on track that were stuck in the senate. i think the public said they want to get a congress and a washington that works for them. when you look at this freshman class in this large house majority, one of the most diverse congresses we've ever had, we have some great people coming up with great ideas who came here to get to work solving problems. i'm excited about that opportunity to be part of this leadership team that is stronger than ever and more focused on the problems this country is facing. working to get our country back on track. >> i too am excited to congratulate the new leadership team. this is a team that is committed

to listening. committed to advancing real solutions, and committed to making life better for every person in this country. that is what focuses us. a team that represents every corner of the country. diverse backgrounds. diverse experiences. we are united in a belief and the promise of this country. we are going to work every day to advance those policy solutions that will improve people's lives, that will create more opportunities, allow people to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks, moms and dads and recent graduates and veterans, so that they have more opportunities. as i think about the new congress, beyond the traditional left versus right, or even republican versus democrat debate, this is a debate about the future of this country and what kind of country we are going to have and the opportunities for every person.

we are about a bright future, the promise of america. we look forward to the challenges ahead. >> good afternoon. i'm greg walden. i am the chair of the national republican congressional committee. i thank my constituents for reelecting me and my colleagues for reelecting me. we had a big week. we had a big night. the country sent a big message. it was about, if you catch the bus, you have to govern, you have to drive the bus. we are going to do that as republicans. we won seats in deep blue territory. at least 10 our seats president obama had carried in the prior election, some of them by as much as 16%. our candidates won with 60%. from maine to american samoa, sunrise to sunset, republicans were elected all across the country. great diversity. youngest woman ever elected to

congress. incredible opportunity for us to grow as a party. and we did. we know 2016 will be a different election year. we will have a new red zone. we have opportunities to gain seats. even on top of what we have. our mission will be to retain and gain. we think we can do that, but first we have to govern. that is what we are all committed to do. thank you. >> i'm luke messer, the newly elected policy chair. a new member of this team. it is an exciting opportunity to be here. i want to thank the voters in indiana. none of us get to serve in these roles without being first sent by the people we represent back in our district. you know on election night, the , american people spoke loudly. they gave our party an opportunity and they expect us to deliver. this congress is serious about -- this conference is serious minded about delivering policy to jumpstart this economy. and makes a difference for the american people. that starts tomorrow with the vote on the keystone pipeline. that is just the beginning. i think we will see that in the

coming days and months. thank you. >> hi, i'm 52 and i'm a freshman. [laughter] i'm very excited to be part of this team and i'm very excited to be the voice for the freshman class at the leadership table. we have a wonderful group of new members. i'm looking forward to getting to meet them and getting to know them. i'm grateful for the opportunity to work with this group. >> a couple questions? >> speaker boehner, there is talk among some of your conference that any bill to fund the government must have language in it that would prohibit the president from moving an executive order pertaining to immigration. do you support that language? >> the president is threatening to take action on immigration even though in the past he has made clear he doesn't believe he has the constitutional authority to do that. i will say this, we are going to

fight the president tooth and nail if he continues down this path. this is the wrong way to govern. this is exactly what the american people said they didn't want. all the options are on the table. we are having discussions with our members. no decisions have been made as to how we will fight this. if he perceives. >> the funding bill could have that language? >> all options are on the table. we are going to have conversations with our members and when we have a decision we will let you know. >> you said the government shutdown should be off the table. government shutdown is not good for the party or the country. >> our goal here is to stop the president from violating his own oath of office and violating the constitution. it is not to shut down the government. >> do you believe there is a mechanism by which you can stop him? >> we are looking at all options. they are on the table. our goal is to stop the president from doing this.

>> [indiscernible] >> we will find out. every administration needs this and needs that. you know, if he wants to go off on his own, there are things he is not going to get. nice to see you. >> can you say, no shutdown? [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> the house democratic caucus chair also held a news conference to discuss their agenda, moving forward. topics included the keystone xl pipeline, immigration, and government funding. congressman xavier becerra serves as democratic caucus chair. he begins this 30 minute news conference. >> are we ready? good afternoon.

xavier becerra, chairman of the house democratic caucus of the 113th. by next week, we should hold our leadership elections, and we will have the official slate of leadership elected by next week. for now, we just finished a meeting of the democratic members of the house, both those of us who are here as part of the 113th congress, to conclude the work of the 113th during this lame-duck session, and also we had the opportunity to be joined by our incoming members from throughout the country who will join the democratic caucus and discuss moving forward as the 114th congress for the next two years. we are pleased to have several of our new colleagues join us this afternoon at this press conference. i am joined by the vice chair of the democratic caucus, joe crowley from new york.

briefly, because we want to get to our incoming members, i want to say this, once again, if you are joining the democratic caucus, you are joining the most diverse group of elected representatives in any body in the world. 2/3 of the incoming democrats to the house of representatives are women. among them, many people of color, and they come from as diverse a background as you can imagine. we are proud of all the incoming members of the house democratic caucus, and we are looking forward to welcoming all of them into the caucus as we proceed forward in the 114th congress. we still have work to do in the 113th. we believe the people of this country expect us to get done the work of the 113th in these last two months before we end the year. and there is quite a bit to do. we need to make sure there is a budget in place so we do not

have this shutdown scenario, where you lose billions of dollars of economic capability and hundreds of thousands of americans cannot go to work. i think a lot of us believe over the next month we should be able to wrap up the work of getting a budget for the fiscal year 2014-2015 in the books. we are hoping in the congress we are able to see the senate move forward with a confirmation of a number of very important positions, whether it might be the attorney general position, or do not forget, we still do not have a surgeon general who has been confirmed to the senate at a time when ebola has been such a big concern for so many, including politicians, who actually ran campaigns on the issue of ebola. we have not seen the senate yet have an opportunity yet to confirm the surgeon general for this country. there are a number of important measures and nominations that must work their way before we

end the 113th. we believe if we heard the public right in this november election that we will stick to trying to help as much as possible all those families that have survived the difficult times as a result of the wall street crash, and we will focus most importantly on the middle class. we can build on the more than 10.5 million jobs created over the last 54 months. we can hope to continue that progression of more than 200,000 jobs created per month for the last nine months. we can continue to see more americans have the health security that many of us here in this room take for granted. we learned recently that we have highest rate of high school graduation in our country ever. and we saw in this election that five states, four of them red,

the people in those states said we should give americans who work for minimum wage a raise. the american people have spoken to us, and if we are listening, it is all about helping the middle class and those who work very hard make it, and if you do that, than everything else will find its place. we are ready to do that. we are pleased to welcome our colleagues who are here to do that with us. let me introduce them quickly. they will speak in order after the vice chairman. we are joined by alma adams, now a fully sworn in member of congress from the 12th district in north carolina. we're joined by congressman-elect pete aguilar from the 31st district from california, congressman-elect brad ashford from nebraska, and congressman-elect ted lieu, from the state of california as well. with that, let me yield now to the vice chair from new york, joe crowley.

>> let me thank the chairman for his service to the 113th congress and to the caucus. he has done a great job in terms of steering our caucus through some very difficult times, and those difficult times will be for some time to come, as we look forward to the 114th congress. i look forward to working with the chairman. i would also welcome this wonderful and diverse incoming freshman class of the democratic caucus, something that we have been known for before, but right now reinforcing what this incoming freshman class -- before i turn it over to them, i think as many of you have heard , me say before, with all the natural calamities that have happened around the world, have been happening here in the united states, some of them man-made calamities like war

itself, and what we have seen happen with crimea, ukraine, what is happening in the middle east, all the uncertainty that exists, adding to that another natural calamity in terms of ebola, and the uncertainty that has created for the american people, the american people are looking for more stability coming out of washington, d.c., something they have not had quite frankly over the past two years. we have seen again and again the creation of man-made instability, like shutting down our government, like threatening not to pay our national debt. we hope those things are behind us, that we can pass a clean c.r. before we leave the 113th congress, that we can have tax extenders that makes sense for the small business community and entrepreneurs of the country, that we can pass terrorism risk insurance, which is important not only to my city, but to the

whole country, in terms of the business community and being able to conduct business. those are ways in which i think our republicans colleagues can demonstrate they are here to work on behalf of the american people and not just their political self-interest. i look forward to working in a bipartisan spirit to make those things happen. i look forward to this incredible incoming freshman class. i have the distinction of having the opportunity to introduce to you first the most senior of the incoming freshman class. you know that seniority means just about everything here. alma adams from north carolina. the fighting 12th district. the microphone is yours. >> thank you. i join with all my colleagues and thanking them and look forward to not only working with them, but the entire democratic caucus, and the republicans as well. i come from north carolina.

we have made national news there, but i'm happy to be here finally to represent the citizens of the 12th district who have had no representation now for 10 months. that is close to a year. that is as close to a year as you can get. i was not born yesterday. i'm happy to be here to get to work toward them to work with -- i was sworn in yesterday. i'm happy to be here to get to work toward them to work with this 113th congress and be sworn in again to the 114th congress. it is unique for me. it has been a double all the way. i had two primaries, two general elections, so i will be sworn in a second time. it is been a wonderful experience for me to be the 100th woman in the 113th congress. with that comes with responsibility, not only representing and advocating for

women, children, and families, representing working families, workers, and for middle-class families. i am an educator by training. taught 40 years and served for 30 in public office. i'm here to work. i have the experience to do that. i am looking forward to making a difference, not only for the 12th district, but for the citizens of the united states of america. it is good to be here. thank you very much for the opportunity. and i would like to introduce now my colleague from california, 31st district, congressman-elect pete aguilar. >> thank you very much. as the vice chairman said, we are envious of her position , starting off with seniority. it is my honor to be here. thank you, mr. chairman. and vice-chairman, for the opportunity to join you. my name is pete aguilar. i am currently the mayor of the city of redlands. in california. and a congress member elect for

california's 31st district. during this campaign, we talked about a lot of things, chief among them being a middle-class initiative, a return to discussing issues that are so important to the middle class of inland southern california, creating jobs, supporting investments in education, making sure we honor the commitment to our veterans and our seniors. these are going to be the focuses of me and my colleagues in this caucus under great leadership. we are already talking about those issues that affect our communities. i want to thank them for the opportunity, and i look forward to this orientation, a process where we continue to learn and grow and get ready to deliver for our constituents come january. we will be getting ready to deliver and to work together on both sides of the aisle. as a local mayor, have a track record of working to composting, -- working together to accomplish things, and i look forward to continuing those efforts. it is my pleasure to introduce another one of my colleagues within the 114th congress, congressmember-elect from nebraska, brad ashford.

>> thank you, and thank you, chair and vice chair, and congresswoman adams for being the 100th woman. i heard on npr about that a few days ago. i am proud to be able to meet you. i have never been to a caucus meeting. i have been in the nebraska unicameral legislature for 16 years. we do not have caucuses or parties. so it's -- this was interesting. this was a whole different deal. i am convinced -- i also when i was running for office, i said the first thing i was going to do was find 25 friends. i have gone over that. i've gotten 25-plus. democrats and republicans. i have never been so impressed by a group of individuals in my life. so much confidence and enthusiasm. hopefully, if i can just a little bit add to the nebraska tradition of nonpartisan

problem-solving, like we have in nebraska, hopefully we can do that. thank you for the opportunity, mr. chair and vice chair. thank you. >> all right. congressman-elect ted lieu -- [laughter] yes, we can go now. we are finished. congressman-elect lieu. >> i am ted lieu, and i am thrilled to be here. i think my incredible colleagues for the job you have done. i have been here less than 24 hours, and there are no coat checks in southern california. i am excited to be here. the democratic caucus is amazingly diverse, and the freshman class is reflection of that diversity, and we are very proud that nearly 1/4 of that class are veterans. i served active duty in the air force. i'm in the reserves. i look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle,

and it is clear voters want us to work together, and i believe we can get agreement on areas such as transportation and infrastructure funding, and protecting privacy of americans from unreasonable surveillance. there are going to be areas where we will not agree, and those areas, we will fight to protect those core values. we will protect a woman's right to choose, social security and medicare, and we will fight for the middle class. and those areas where we will agree, we will agree and cooperate. those areas that hurt the middle class, we will fight to oppose them. i look forward to working with everybody to help make our country stronger and safer, and i'm glad to be here. thank you. >> thank you very much. you can understand why we are proud of the incoming members of the democratic caucus. as i said, 2/3 are women or minority, and it continues the

tradition in the democratic caucus of continued electing individuals who represent america today. we're proud of that. with that, we will take any questions. yes? >> there's a report that the president will address immigration reform by taking executive actions. in the coming week, even. i am wondering if you had gotten a heads-up on any of this or had any chance of reading these reports. and if get your reaction to that. >> i have a chance to read the same reports, but i know nothing about their veracity. i do know that the president was , months ago, and he was clear last week in a lunch with the house and senate with democratic and republican leadership that he was going to take action, since congress had failed to do anything to fix a broken immigration system, that he was going to try to do what

he could to make the laws, the immigration laws, work as well as efficiently and intelligently as possible. my sense is he will act, and he is committed to act before the end of the year, but more than that, i really don't know. >> you just read the reports. the same time as i did? >> certainly, he did not say in our luncheon when he would act. he said by the end of the year. interesting -- all the questions about what the president might do to make a broken immigration system work better were opposed by republicans. all the questions were posed by republicans. so the president was responding to their inquiries. i know he was hoping we would have more time during the lunch to discuss the economy, jobs, some of the pressing issues like ebola, syria, and iraq, but in response to questions, he made it clear he had thought about this quite a bit, and was hoping, looking forward to seeing congress act, but short of congress acting, given for six years he has been president and congress has not acted, he would see what he could do to make a broken immigration system

work better where he could under the law. >> you know what the republican position generally is on immigration reform, especially via executive action, we had several republicans saying there could be an explosion if they did that before the c.r. omnibus is passed. is there concern we could be going back down that road that we did last fall, if the president moves this ahead of time, and that really hurts the c.r.? >> let me make sure my colleagues have the opportunity to say things. i would say this. today, tomorrow, next week we could dispose of the need for the president to take any type of executive action on immigration if the house of representatives would unstick its gears and let us vote in the house as we are supposed to be improving our laws.

for more than a year and a half, about a year and a half, the house has had sitting in its chamber a bill that was a bipartisan bill passed by 60 -- 68 votes that would fix the broken immigration system. my sense is the president would like to see the house republican leadership act, whether on the senate bill or anything else, but to see us do something. short of that, i think the president is prepared to do what he can using his executive authority to prioritize what is -- how we go out there and make a broken immigration system work as best as possible. it is hard to understand why any member of congress would complain to the president about trying to make things work better when it is in the full purview of those same members to make the law work right by making the changes necessary. we could act and we could dispose of the need and the