emerged, what have you done as relates to going back to takata and seeing whether or not, did they really do these? were they really off hours and weekends? what did they do with the evidence? how does that comply? i don't know if you've thought there's enough evidence, i'm not a lawyer, enough evidence to go back to the -- to david j. see if, a, they were true, if there's actually someone is liable for criminal sanctions? i mean, what is -- what is your response behind the scenes to what has been reported publicly? >> mr. chairman, we took two steps. first of all, we looked into all of our information. second of all, we issued special order to takata compelling them, under oath, to provide us with all information on any testing that they have done related to -- >> have they done that? have they reported back yet? >> they have -- they provided their submission as of december 1st. >> monday. >> and my team is going through

the voluminous data to get to the bottom of acted quickly to make sure that we could get to the bottom of this. >> so you don't have -- you haven't been able to get -- since they reported back monday, you don't have -- will you be able to share with us your -- what they submitted? >> we will dig in to all that information and we will be more than happy to brief you and the committee on what we find. >> what has been your response to the reports and the under reporting, 1,700 cases by honda as relates to how you all are supposed to function? >> my personal response was shock and frustration that honda has failed so significantly to follow the act. again, we issued a special order to honda to get to the bottom of this and to push them to discover not only about the 1,700 failures but what other failures are associated with their reporting of early warning

data and information. we are -- our team has gotten back that information also just recently. we're digging through that information. and to determine -- they have basically admitted third guilt. now the question that we're trying to determine is how many different ways did they fail? how many different ways might we have to consider fining them to the full extent of the law? >> have you communicated with the other auto companies, all of them in terms of what honda did and to make sure that in fact the other companies have not followed that same type of pattern in. >> we have two steps along those lines. one in my expectation as would you have exasked me that question. so today i'm calling on every automaker to do an audit of their early warning reporting and provide to that us to ensure they are fully following the act

and can demonstrate that to us. we are looking at other measures potentially compelling them to provide such information. but i think every automaker should take the responsible shep of doing their own audit to determine an ensure that they are appropriately following the act. and if they are not, report that information to us and fix the problem immediately. >> now, you indicated in your testimony that you have been responsible for takata quadrupling their testing. have you determined that by quadrupleing that rate, would that be sufficient to generate the needed data to understand the current problems? >> no. in fact, i was very encouraged to hear -- first of all, we continue to push takata to do

more. second, i was encouraged to hear toyota, ford and honda agreed to do additional testing. we issued a general order to each and every automaker involved to require them to provide us with all the information they have on testing. we are trying to push the entire industry to ramp up their testing. we are also working to stand up some test facilities of our own so that we can verify the work that they're doing. >> henry waxman appreciate it. i yield back. >> chair recognizes full committee ranking member, mr. waxman. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. on november 18, nitsa announced it was calling toen takata and ought mowe automakers to expand the recall of defective driver side airbags to a national recall. they based the decision to expand the recall on airbag failures that occurred outside of the high-humidity areas covered by the regional recall. mr. freedman, you have determined humidity is no longer a key factor or contributing factor to represent tured in these airbags? have you determined that

consumers outside of high humidity regions are potentially in danger from ruptures? >> regarding passenger side airbags, all the data continues to point to an issue associated with high temperatures and high humidity over long periods of time. on the driver's side airbag, while humidity may still be a contributing factor, it is now clear based on the evidence that that is not simply the dominant factor which is why we have called on them and made clear to them while we accept regional recalls where the evidence supports it, the evidence does not -- no longer supports a recall limited to those freefshous areas. >> in september, ranking member interest david j. friedman dwoused a bill that all recalls occur on a national be a sis sis. cars are mobile and move from state to state. you can commit to re-evaluate the procedure that allows for regional recalls based on climb

mat or environmental conditions? >> ranking member, each and every day we are looking at how question do more and better for the american public. this issue is certainly cause us to continue to look into this issue. >> the committee has received takata's testing results from over 2,500 airbags that were collected as part of the regional recalls or safety improvement campaigns. these results are a bit perplexing. they show no ruptured from the driver's side airbags but they show more than 60 ruptures of passenger side airbags. in the case of one auto manufacturer with one type of airbag, one of the -- one of every eight airbags from southern florida vehicles ruptured during tests. can you help us understand why they have asked for a national recall on the driver's side airbags but lass not done so with the passenger side airbags even though takata test results seem to show higher risk for those airbags?

airbags? >> so if you look at chart a, the red dots are multiple cases during the testing of where there have been failures in passenger side airbags. each and every one of of the failures in the real world and in testing have all happened in areas of high temperature, high humidity, consistent exposure to those areas. in this case, we must follow the data. and the data on the passenger side clearly indicates that the problem is in those areas. that said, our investigation is far from over. we are pushing for additional testing. and if we receive any evidence indicating that the problem is broader, we will act and we will act quickly to protect the american public. >> is the issue with the driver's side airbags a different issue than with the passenger side airbags? what's the difference that makes you confident in calling for a national recall only on the driver's side airbag? >> we are following the data and that's the basis for our

decision. we do know that there are design differences between passenger side and driver's side airbags. let me be clear. as takata and the automakers indicated, they have not yet gotten to the bottom of the root cause of the issue. that's a critical step that we are pushing for. we are involved in because getting to the root cause will help dramatically clarify things for consumers, for autd toe makers, for suppliers and for the actions that each and every one must take. that's a critical step and we will continue to push ourselves and industry to get to the bottom of this. that's one of the reasons why we are now looking to get under contract hopefully within a week an expert in propellants and airbag production and design so that we can have added expertise on top of the experts we already have to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts. >> honda failed to report 1,729 serious accidents resulting in injuries or deaths to nitsa between 2003 and 2014.

eight of these incidents involved takata airbags. can you explain how this information could have been used if honda had reported it like it was supposed to and can nitsa penalize honda for this failure to report? in your view, would increasing penalties help ensure manufacturers report the information they are supposed to do? >> ranking member, the way we would use and the way we use all all of the early warning information is to spot trends, cases where there are mow tenl defects. any time an automaker fails to provide that mfgs to us, it leaves us more hamstrung in our ability to find problems quicker and to get the problems fixed sooner. we are one of the things that we are determining right now, based both on han da's admission of their failure and on the information they have provided is to what degree penalties are appropriate. but i can assure you, we will hold them accountable to the full extent of the law.

that said, as you indicate, our maximum penalty for any single incident is $35 million. sadly for too many car companies, that's pocket change. that needs to change. under the gm act, the president and secretary have called for the maximum penalty to be increased to at least $300 million so that it will send a clearer message. we have worked over the last six years and have fined automakers more than $160 million using our authority. more than any administration ever has before. but it is clear to us that we need a bigger stick. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, mr. waxman. now recognize the vice chairman, mr. lance. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i'm interested in the time frame moving forward in answer to the congresswoman's question you said it might be weeks or months. i'd like a little more specifics on that.

your november 26 letter, there was a response on december 2, a response with which you fundamentally disagree. and i would imagine i disagree as well. what is your next step? >> thank you, vice chairman. our next step -- my team already began once we received that -- the information from takata on monday in response to our special order and yesterday in response to our recall demand, we are did iing into that data. we are evaluating their arguments. we are marshaling our evidence. >> is their argument in the three-page response that they gave you? >> that is the extent of their argument. >> rather weak tea, in my judgement. >> i agree. >> what's the time frame? because the american people need to be assured that their automobiles are safe. what is your next step, when will that occur in. >> our next step after evaluating all of that information would be to issue an initial determination, initial decision of a defect to takata and the automakers. after that, we would hold a public hearing. >> how soon can you initiate

that? >> as soon as humanly possible. the key, because we want to protect the american public, we need to make sure we build the trongest case possible because at the end of the day, if takata and the automakers continue to refuse to act, we are going to have to take them to court. we want to make sure that we have a case prepared that will win in that circumstance. >> you can build a court case over time. can you estimate for the committee and through the committee to the american people when your next step will be taken? >> we have begun our next step of diving into the data. >> that doesn't answer my question. the next legal step. not just diving into the data. when will you next do something officially regarding takata and the automakers? >> i apologize. but at this point, because there's voluminous data from takata, i can't give you an exact estimate. my team is working furiously and as quickly as possible.

as i indicated earlier, it could be weeks, it could be months. but it won't be many months if it is. i could see something -- >> if that occurred by the first of february and i would hope sooner than that, then what happens? >> we will hold the hearing. if they refuse -- >> the hearing has to be held within what time frame? >> the safety act does not establish the specifics. >> does not 45 days or 30 days? >> right. the safety act does not establish that. >> from our perspective, it should be time of the essence. >> i agree. >> what happens after that? >> then after that, we will -- if the evidence still points to the need for a broader recall, we will issue a final determination. that will compel takata and automakers to act. if they fail to act, then we will have to work with the justice department to bring them to court and force that action. >> it's the justice department that brings takata, potentially, and the anufacturers to court?

>> i would have to get back to you on the exact process. but my understanding is, yes, that we would work with the justice department. >> this is a civil action? >> i believe that is the case, yes. >> and then do you refer situations for criminal prosecution? >> under certain circumstances the law does allow us to do that. >> and for example, honda's significant under reporting under the act, is that then referred to a doj for civil action or for criminal action or for both? >> we have the authority and we expect honda, frankly, to come in and agree to a significant penalty associated with that. >> that gregg harper would be a civil peoplety in. >> yes, that we won't have to move to the justice department on that specific matter. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i have yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you. the chair recognizes the gentleman from mississippi. >> thank you, mr. chairman. what is a reasonable period of

ime to notify someone? >> automakers are required by law to notify nitsa within five days of either determining a defect or five days of when they should have known that there was a defect. under regulation, they have no more than 60 days to get a letter like this into the hands of consumers notifying them that this is an important safety recall and that they must take action. that said, even that 60 days to me is longer than i would like to see, which is why we have a vin took that every american can go to at afercar.gov/vinlookup. you will be alerted if there's a recall for your vehicle. you can sign up for added alerts from our app. >> it's important for the public, the driving public and passengers in those vehicles to know when there's a safety issue, correct?

>> it's critically important. any recall is an unreasonable risk to safety, automakers must act quickly to inform consumers. consumers should act quickly to get their vehicles repaired. >> explain how nitsa knew honda underreported yet delayed doing nything. >> in 2012 we became aware of a limited number of unreporting -- >> 1,700? >> at the time we were -- >> is that limited? why wasn't something -- if we're talking about time limits being important, nitsa didn't meet your own standard. >> we were only aware of eight. it was only recently that we aware of the 1,700 problems based on the eight. we forced honda to update reports. once we found out that the problem was bigger, we went after honda. we forced them under oath to provide us extensive information. we will hold them accountable for their failings.

>> nothing was really done on those eight at that point. those eight were important to the eight incidents that were involved, obviously, were they not? >> they were important. we made sure once we discovered this that honda reported that information to us so that we could act on it. at the end of the day, the safety of the american public is always our top priority. making sure that we have that information was critical. >> it sounds good. it doesn't seem that was the case in 2012. i will move on and ask you at the november 20 senate commerce committee hearing, you said nitsa acknowledged a plan authorizing dealers to disable potentially defective passenger side airbags with replacement parts unable, as long as they tell consumers no the to put someone in that passenger seat. is nitsa's acknowledgement an endorsement? should it be an opinion for all manufacturers of vehicles with passenger side airbags subject to recall. >> if the first and foremost

priority should be getting the passenger airbags fixed. >> i understand. but is this an acknowledgement that this is the appropriate plan until you can get a replacement? >> if the parts aren't available and if the vehicle doesn't have an occupant set that would disable the airbags, then, yes, it's an appropriate step to take in the interest of safety. >> can i ask this? as the nation's top highway safety traffic official, can you tell this subcommittee you will put in the policy supporting this? is that in writing? >> this is -- it has been part of our standard process. one, if a part is broken, then an automaker can disable it without facing legal penalties. we made that clear to the automakers. >> is that a weren't formal policy of nitsa? >> no. >> will it become one? >> we will investigate that. >> let me ask you, you heard --

you were in here for the testimony on the first panel? >> yes. >> did you hear when mr. shimzu at takata discussed manufacturing versus design and he classified this as a manufacturing issue? do you believe it's a manufacturing problem or design problem? or do you not know at this point? >> i would argue his testimony was inconsistent. he was clear that the industry is not clear yet on the root cause of the problem, which is why we are pushing to get to the bottom of it. >> i know we don't know yet. but do you view the propellant as the prime suspect right now? >> it's clear the propellant is involved. that said, we know other manufacturers in the '90s used the same propellant. we're looking to determine whether there have been any ruptures associated with those. we have not found it. if there are no representuptures with those, it's an indication that if you have good design and manufacturing, the propellant may be safe to use.

but clearly, no matter what, if you don't have the appropriate design and you don't have the appropriate manufacturing, you failed to live up to your responsibility. >> even some previous takata scientists have indicated early that using an ammoniaum nitrate protell atlanta was not safe. >> we are asking the exact same questions, which is why we have compelled under oath all information from takata on all the changes that they have made to the propellant and why we are bringing in michael c. burgess m.d. outside expertise who has had experience with these propellants. >> thank you. my time has expired. >> thank you. >> does dr. burgess wish to is any questions? >> yes. thank you. >> you are recognized for five minutes. >> i thank the chairman for the courtesy of the recognition. hank you for being here.

we have had a chance to interact on other subcommittees in other roles, particularly with ignition problems earlier this year. let me ask you a question. mr. yarmoth of kentucky posed a question to takata and posed to generally to the manufacturers. but his time was running short. he said he would request an answer in writing. his question basically was, how can we be confident the replacement airbags are safe. let me pose that question to you. there's a recall going on. various manufacturers are providing replacement parts. to the extent, can the public be reassured that these replacement parts are safe? >> we believe that the replacement parts, for example, on the passenger side are safer than the ones that are in the vehicles. the data points to a time of over ten years before the failures have occurred. that said, we are looking into the adequacy of this remedy.

if we determine that it is not adequate and that it doesn't ensure safety of the american public, we will push them to take other steps. this ties in part back to the root cause question. getting to the root cause is part of the key of determining the appropriateness and the effectiveness of this remedy. >> i would point out there's more than a is asemantic difference between safe and safer. >> i agree. that said, our job is to protect the american public and if the american public can be provided with airbags that are safer, i truly believe that is the right step. because that can save lives. >> let me ask you a question. because you just dealt with the propellant a bit, and that has david j. friedman come up several times this morning. the fact is that propellant did change from the '90s into the last decade. currently, are there ongoing studies to look the type of protellant and are there safer 21st century propellants that

ought to be considered? >> certainly, we are aware of the industry looking at a variety of different propellants, different manufacturers use different ones. takata has evolved the formulation of their propellant. that's a reason why as we learn more about that we have compelled them to provide all the information under oath of those changes. we have been reaching out and -- >> can i stop you there? >> yes. >> it's just -- i don't want to project. but in many ways the answers today provided by takata seem less than forthcoming. i don't know whether that's just me that picked up on that. but do you have similar concerns? >> i share your concerns. that's why, one, we have required them to answer questions under oath, because now it's not just their word that's at stake. it's more because we with penalize them or they can be held much more broadly responsible if they lie under oath. second, we are not simply trusting takata.

we are in conversations with multiple or airbag suppliers and we are bringing in outside expertise on this propellant, because we agree with you. we cannot simply trust the information that takata gives us. we need to make sure we are covering all our bases to get to the bottom of this for the safety of the american public. >> let me go back to something i think others brought this up. many, many years ago when this -- not this subcommittee but our committee in energy and xhergs was doing an investigation into unxhanlded accelerations in vehicles in 2009. ultimately, there was -- in response to mr. waxman, the amount you can fine someone is capped at $35 million. but in that instance, there was over and above that fine, there was an action by the department of justice. at this point, are you

contemplating additional referral to the department of justice on anything that you have uncovered in this investigation? >> we have been working and cooperating with department of justice and helping them in their effort since september. >> so that is on the table as far as a future action would be concerned? >> my understanding is that the department of justice is looking into this matter. i would direct you to them for dditional comment. >> i appreciate that. but it certainly when that occurred in response to the uncommanded acceleration issue, while i might agree that your ability to fine is limited, certainly there seems to be a fairly significant legalistic that you had at your disposal and another tool that might be useful in compelling cooperation. >> fundamentally, it was discovered that toyota lied to us, despite their lies we got to the bottom of that problem,

der determined the problems and got those vehicles recalled. we fined them because of their failings. in that case, we worked very closely with the justice department in efforts that led john p. sarbanes to their fine of more than a billion dollars. we -- >> i did not mention a manufacturer. you did. i want that to be clear. mr. chairman, i appreciate the time. i will yield back. >> thank you. recognize the gentleman from maryland for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i just have a question about your capacity as an agency and whether you feel that you have the resources you need to do the job and what your capacity currently is in terms of reinforcing public disclosure and encouraging greater transparency and looking at this particular incident that we're investigating or that we're having testimony on

today, would enhanced capacity, additional staff dedicated to the office of david j. friedman defect investigations to the early warning reporting nd so forth, would that have assisted your agency in this instance and then more broadly if you could speak to your capacity, that would be helpful. >> the simple and state forward answer is, yes. we are a small agency that i would argue punches well above our weight. over the last decade, our efforts have led to the recall of nearly 1 million vehicles. but it's also clear when you have a fleet of over 260 million vehicles, murlt mre manufacturers and safety issues, that we need more resources to ensure we can do everything we can to keep the public safe. the president's budget has

continued to request additional resources, both for our office of defects investigation but also for the rest of our agency. congressman, 33,561 people died in 2012. 33,561 tragic lives lost because of issues such as drunk driving. people not waring a seat belt. vehicles that could have had more technology on board to keep them safer. there's no doubt in my mind that with more resources, we can do more to address the epidemic that faces americans in terms chz fatalities and injuries every year on our roads. >> i would imagine that those resources would help you both kind of chase information on the front end, that would get you to a place of pushing for solutions as well as not having to maybe triage or prioritize in ways once you have got the lee terry information in, because you have the capacity to address a number of these things simultaneously. i appreciate your providing

that testimony. with that, i yield back. >> thank you. having no other members requesting time, that then concludes your testimony and questions. this committee, as you know, we can submit written questions to you. i would expect that. we will try to be timely and request that your office be timely in their providing us the responses to those questions. thank you. you were very informative. we like charts. nice job with the visual aides. now, -- have any other closing? a quick note before we adjourn here is that this subcommittee and full committee bipartisanly

have concerns about the role nitsa plays in continuing these continuing large-scale recalls. and i hope that nitsa will fully cooperate with the gao as they carry out of request to look at nitsa's internal procedures and john p. sarbanes processes. >> mr. chairman, we will cooperate. i look forward to working with the committee on ways that nitsa can get resources, additional people, computer tools so that we can do the best job for the american public. >> very good. >> mr. chairman, could you -- >> the gentleman from maryland. >> i wanted to thank the chairman for his ervice on this committee and in this house. we appreciate his leadership and wish him well. >> thank you. i appreciate that. so we are adjourned.

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♪ >> good evening. and thank you. for those of you who know me, they know that i am not shy, i'm not a person that's ever lost for words, and i certainly

just like marion, i at not scared. but this has been overwhelming. and everything that has been said there's nothing left to say except to you that marion was my dear friend. we've known each other since 1970. he was my partner. i knew him in a way that every time i listened all i can think about is just one thing. the essence of him. -- he was not fake. that everything he did big he did little. every big thing he did for people he did little things for people. he was a person who felt passion every day of his life.

he was a person that loved his eople. he loved his people. he was a person who took great pride in helping people get up. not the big stories you hear, but the little stories you hear. -- i stopped letting him go to the gas station because he would spend all of his money not on the gas but the people. giving the people who asked him for money. i stopped letting him go to the grocery store because we couldn't get out of the grocery store. i don't like the grocery store so i want to go in and get out. where you been, where you work? how long you been on that job? what church do you go to? who are your people? this is him every single day. and the most important thing i want to say to you about my

husband was that as complicated as he was, he was a very simple man. none of the trappings of anything that he was exposed to from all over the world affected him. to the extent that it was embarrassing. when i was first lady and he was mayor, we would get on the plane in first class and i would look over there and marion would actually have a super market bag, a little plastic bag with his stuff in it. now, back at the house was a letter gold embossed attasha case. why do you have a grocery bag? that doesn't make a difference. yes, it does. it just does. but he didn't need -- and that's what i used to say to him. that's some mississippi stuff. and then the last thing you

need to know is that his heart was so pure that he had the forgiveness of jesus christ. he really did. people do terrible things to him. not only would he forgive them because we always say we are going to forgive but we don't forget. marion forgot. he would forget it. it would not even stay in his mind. that was my job. why are you talking to him? that was the person that just -- oh, he did? so he was a pure of heart. he was a man after god's own heart. he was our david and he was my husband and he was christopher's father. thank you so much for honoring him.

>> good afternoon. i am pleased to be here with my esteemed predecessor mayor sharon prat, mayor anthony illiams, and also with the mayor of newark, new jersey. on behalf of the 660,000 people who live in the district of columbia, i want to once again extend, as others have done, our deepest sympathies to rmer first lady cora masters barry and of course to marion christopher barry who spoke so eloquently when he was up here earlier. you know, while marion is now

bsent in body, i think we know that he is all fully present in his spirit in this place today. sn't he, ladies and gentlemen? though he is no longer with us, we also know how much he contributed to the growth and to the development of his eloved district of columbia. ere are so many marion barry stories, so many instances in which the mayor for life changed someone's life or opened the door of opportunity for a person or for a community. like many other washingtonens, i choose to remember marion barry by remembering his

lifelong commitment to building p our city and working to free from congressly imposed which s the servitude to we were relegated here in the district of columbia. marion's own story is replete with which witnessing injustices here and around the country. he knew well the daunting heights of the barriers of advancement and success faced by african americans in this nation. and he was especially gifted at getting young people involved and creating a new future for hemselves and for all of us. when marion barry came to washington in 1965, he saw a city that in many ways was

every bit as segregated as the mississippi of his childhood. he found a majority black city that was ruled not by its residents but by a congress in which residents had no voting voice and he also learned that congress has delegated oversight of this city to its most conservative white southern members. marion barry had found a place where he would make his mark. first as an activist for bter relations with police and better jobs opportunities for african americans in the city. he stepped up to the plate as a servant leader. because it was work to be done. he got elected to the board of education and then after home rule such as it was, such as it

is, was approved for the district of columbia, he was elected to the first popularly elected d.c. council. many of us know that in his he achieved mayor some truly remarkable successes. he helped to get the city's chaotic finances under control. and helped turn our metropolitan police department into an agency whose officers look so much more like the people of the district of columbia. and ladies and gentlemen couldn't a lot of other cities earn that at this stage? he also helped build the district's black middle class. through a groundbreaking a share hat required

of city business to go to glack-owned enterprises and of course he created a widely acclaimed summer youth employment program. how many people have you heard say i got my first job under arion barry? i knew marion barry for years. and there's one anecdote that leaps to mind, and he and i talked about it often. it was an example of his true character. some may know i once served as executive director of what was then known as the association for retarded citizens. one of our key goals was to move people with intellectual disabilities from an inhumane institution named forest haven

into community living in the district of columbia. in was fierce opposition so many neighborhoods to group homes. unfortunately supported by some of the worst myths imaginable. one evening i was with mayor barry in an affluent community where the district was seeking to establish a home. nearly 200 people showed up and packed this room for this meeting. and they only had one purpose. the purpose was to stop this home from opening. once mayor barry had finished his presentation, there was a man who immediately rose and began to pepper him with questions. when it became clear that the man's inquiries 45d no

constructive purpose, mayor barry said, "you really don't want any answers. do you? if you want to talk about how we make this work, i will stay here with you all night. otherwise, i have nothing else to say to you. vintage barry. standing up for people who were disadvantaged, people who could not effectively fight for themselves. and by the way the meeting ended soon thereafter. the home opened and was a huge success because marion barry had stood up for a group of people that could not effectively speak for hemselves. many of us don't get to smell the flowers while we are here on earth.

in his last year of his life mayor barry's book was published and he was able to share his story, his thoughts, and his insight with many of us as he appeared at book signings and interviews on television and radio. those who had never heard of mare yb barry were able to learn more about him and gain nsight into the person who was popularly known as mayor for life in the district of olumbia. as longtime supporters and newcomers to the barry story swarmed around him, they embraced his journey and worked with him so he could pass the torch of knowledge on to the next generation.

marion barry's legacy is intimately woven into the fabric of the district of columbia. he is still alive in so many ways in the district of columbia today. and ladies and gentlemen, marion barry will always be alive in the district of olumbia. let me end by just saying on ehalf of those who are up here well done. we love you and we appreciate everything you've done for all f us in this great city. >> republican congress bill cassidy is the winner in the u.s. senate race in louisiana. he defeats three-term senate democrat mary landrieu.

republicans are also winners in the two house races tharp decided in louisiana. we have speeches by both of the senate candidates. we begin with senator landrieu. able satellite corp. 2014] >> what a crowd! >> thank you all for being here. thank you all for being there every day. thank you all for being at my side with our family fighting for the right thing for louisiana. >> all right. i just called congressman cassidy to congratulate him after a long and tough campaign. i told him that representing

the people of this state is the greatest honor that anyone could ever have. >> the people of our state have spoken and while we were working and hoping and praying for a different outcome, i'm so proud that our campaign was open and accessible to oters. talking about issues that are important to the people of louisiana because where i come from and you can tell a little bit with this family, there is no quit. so we were excited to work hard. i could never ever have started this race or finished it if it wasn't for a solid and secure faith in god himself and without my family, my extraordinary husband frank who was not only there with me

every step of the way -- >> not only there with me every step of the way but encouraged me and actually egged me on every step of the way. our beautiful daughter ary. and our wonderful son and daughter in law emily and the most precious angel of all, maddox parker snell. you should never put a precious child on the stage with you, they will upstage you every time and he has. to my mother and father who taught me so much. two of the most extraordinary leaders this country has ever known.

to all of my brothers and sisters, all eight siblings, their husbands and wives and nieces nephews and friends god bless you all. they were out on the street ntil 8:00 tonight. there are literally hundreds of staffers, but no staffer has been at my side longer and in more of the toughest moments and the most joyful moments than norma jane. norma jane. get up here, norma jane.