he 114th congress gavels in on tuesday. watch live coverage of the house on c-span. in the senate live on c-span two. track the gop led congress. new congress, best access on c-span. newsmakers his next with ken buck of colorado. we look at public opinion of the congress and white house. at a :00, our conversation with janet madea. >> joining us from denver colorado is congressman ken buck. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> joining after questioning is emma and sean, i appreciate your

time as well. i want to begin -- as the freshman republican president. you you expect this funding issue to be a contentious debate? do you foresee any possibility that dhs funding could be forestalled. >> i think it will be a contentious debate. i think what the president did was poorly designed. the republicans in both the house and the senate will react to it. whether it in setup in some sort of agency shutdown down as opposed to government shutdown, i help not. i hope we can work through the issue and make sure we can be find defund the parts of the

executive order that the present has issued. and move on, and make sure the other functions of the government are funded, the transition as smooth. >> the issue really is immigration. he expect both sides to come together on an immigration bill that would resend the executive order? >> that would be my hope. i'm not sure that that will happen in the next couple of mmonths. it is my hope that congress will pass a guest worker program beef , up border security, and move forward in immigration in a way that the american people are satisfied that we have engaged in a thoughtful process and produced a thoughtful product. >> two congressional reporters joining us for questioning. the washington examiner. >> hi. as an incoming freshmen in congress, how much impact you think you can make? why do you think your fellow

congressman elect elected you as class presidents? >> you have to stop asking me to questions at once -- i can never remember the second question. how much influence do i think i will have as a freshman? >> yes. >> i have been amazed at how open leadership and others have been in congress to the thoughts, and plans, that the incoming freshmen have. i say that because i think folks who have been there in washington, d.c. for while fear is whether -- what the freshmen have heard. we've been on the campaign trail and interacting with the public. we've heard the concerns most recently -- and in an unvarnished way. as a result of that, there is a lot of input from the freshmen

members of congress. i think that gives us more than just the one vote of influence. i have been very happy with the process of choosing committees and meeting the chairs the committee's and talking to them about future legislature. >> why do you think your fellow republican colleagues elected you as a representative? as class president? >> it concerns me frankly about their judgment. probably no one else wanted the job, so they are willing to give it a go. >> did you run for the position? >> i did. yes. >> were you challenged? >> there may have been challenges beforehand. there was nobody at the time when german mcmorris, cathy

mcmorris rodgers ran the , meeting. i have contacted all the other freshmen and talk to them about my desire and plans. at that point, nobody stood up. i don't know if anybody else was interested. at that point, nobody else stood up. >> let's turn to emma. >> as the president of your freshman class you are , representing a new class coming in that has some diversity -- concerning that the republican party is trying to expand to include women, men and women of color -- all of this is happening while the third ranking republican in the house is under some scrutiny for meeting with a white supremacist organization in 2002. are you concerned about the

optics of that, the mixed messaging of wanting to create a big tent and the possibility of seeing a member in leadership being involved in activities in the past that they've run counter to that? >> look, i think steve scalise is a great man. he has demonstrated over and over again that he is open to all americans who believe in strengthening this country. he has apologized for what happened. i think it was years ago. he has demonstrated through his legislative career that that is not who he is. i think the republican party will continue to be a party that welcomes all americans who was a strong america -- both economically and as a world leader. >> he was a member of the state legislature in louisiana. he did vote against mlk holiday. was that a mistake?

>> you will have to ask steve if that was a mistake. it is not something i think the american people will focus on. we at $18 trillion in debt. we have 100 trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities. the american people send us to washington, d.c. to solve problems. i do not think the issue involving steve scalise will be an issue after we get sworn in on january 6. i think we will roll up our sleeves and get to work and produce legislation and that is what the american people will be focused on. >> m a. >> thank you. emma. >> thank you. >> congressman, i want to go back to what you're saying about immigration reform, and the possibility passing different pieces -- doing a piecemill approach. what can congress due to address the undocumented immigrants living in this country?

something that would have the effect of legalizing undocumented immigrants, without having to rely on the presidents executive order to a congress that goal. >> i think the key is to deal with the immigration issue in a different way. i think we need to focus first on a guest worker program. i think we need to focus on border security. once we have fixed the immigration issue, or once we have dealt with the problems that exist today in the law and the enforcement in the law, then we can start to address what do we do with the folks who either came into this country illegally, or have overstayed their visas. i think if we reverse the order we are going to be dealing with

an emotional situation, and a situation of trust with the american people. this president has not earned the trust of republicans or the american people on immigration. he has failed to enforce laws in so many areas. in order to have a workable immigration system, we have to enforce the laws. we have to ensure that people coming into this country understand that we do respect the law and that we will enforce the law. once we do that, i think the issue of what to do with the folks who are here illegally is much less emotional. we can have a rational discussion on the subject. >> if we do exactly what you outline, what you personally think we should do with those here in this country? if we do everything else you just said we should be doing? >> i would be glad to answer

that and have a discussion about that once we accomplish that. as i said, i think people are suspicious that we're trying to create an amnesty program, and we passed laws about border security but we never really , secure the border. i am not going to address the issue of the people who are in this country illegally until we have a system in place that gives the american people's american people certainty in immigration area. >> congressman elect, you have been a long time favorite of tea party activists. this is a movement that has pressed republican lawmakers not to compromise. what is your view on this? do you think it is okay for republicans, conservative republicans, to compromise with

democrats on major issues? >> i think it is -- i think compromise as part of the legislature process. we need to compromise within the republican party, work together to achieve goals, and make sure we are working with democrats to achieve goals in overall legislation. where i will not compromise is on the fiscal issues that have dragged this country down. i'm very concerned about our national debt. i'm very concerned about the sense that the federal government can solve all problems. i'm going to washington, d.c. to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. so the role of the federal government is as intended in our

constitution, and in the framework of our government. in that sense, i will not compromise my core values. i'm absolutely willing to work with others on crafting legislation that make sure that we have an immigration system that works, a way to protect her our countries interest our country's interest overseas, that we have a monetary system is effective. on and on, and think we have to work together. but, we cannot keep throwing money at problems, and hope that those problems get better. you may have heard a message from tea party groups that i've heard. they've never told me, ken, goat go there and do not work with other people. >> your republican leader in the senate said that the u. s. will not default on the debt.

one of the big issues that you will ffaith in february march will be whether or not to increase the debt limit. >> i think we have to make substantial progress on balancing the budget. if we do that, i will take a serious look at voting to increase the debt limit. i am not at all -- i do not believe that the consequences of failing to raise the debt limit are what the president and some others in the united states congress have said. i think we have a lot of room to cut our spending. if we do that, we will in fact avoid the catastrophic consequences that others talk about. >> do support the so-called dollar to dollar cuts for spending increases? >> i think that is a minimum threshold that we have to meet. and real cuts, not cuts that

happened 10 years from now or 15 years from now that another congress will inevitably change. i think we have to have cuts that happen now, and they will unfortunately hurt. but, the pain is caused by a history of irresponsible spending in the united states, and by the united states government >> if not, could we face the possibility of default? >> i hope that we do not. i hope that congress and the president act responsibly, and balance our budget, or at least moved substantially in that direction. >> emma. i want to ask you about compromise and bipartisanship -- we understand you've been selected to be part of the reform committee -- the

committee that has been very partisan, and did not work particularly work well with his democratic counterpart. there was a sense that in the 114th congress coming in that the new chairman would want to take a different approach. are you familiar with the collaborative approach that he wants to take? or did you appreciate the very confrontational nature of the tenure? his tenure? would you like something more combative along those lines against the obama administration? >> i have had not had a chance

to talk to him about his plans. i can say that i think a combative role is not effective. the legislative branch will perform certain oversight functions. those are regarding the executive branch. it is essential. along with the media, it keeps the executive branch from becoming a monarchy. from becoming a form of government that we don't want to live with here in this country. it performs a very important function. i would imagine that eight or 10 years ago, when congress was dealing with president bush, there was also some tension that existed between oversight functions in the house and senate and the bush demonstration. i think those are natural tensions.

as much possible we have to keep those on a professional level and not make it personal. the use of this president and his executive order, and other regulatory issues that are going on, i think our very important for congress to look into. >> speaking of these tensions with the wise white house, you have certainly not been shied to criticize the obama administration. even tweeting out recently saying that you lost your appetite after seeing the president walk into a pizza place where you were eating at. now that republicans controlled both houses of congress -- do you think it is possible that congress can have a working relationship with the president? or do you see another couple of

years of gridlock? >> i absolute think we will work closely with the president and the democrats in congress. i want to clarify something. you mentioned that i tweeted out that i lost my appetite when i saw the president. i did not tweet that at all. i was sitting eating pizza, and we observed black suv after black suv,. the secret service closed down a restaurant. there were 35 secret service agents there and police officers. this was also the president could have a photo opportunity at a pizza place with a group of hispanic students before the game his speech on his executive order on immigration. i find that offensive. i'm not suggesting that this president is the first to do that. wasting taxpayer dollars has a long history in this country particularly with the executive branch. i find it offensive that we

spend for a photo opportunity $50,000 while we continue to pile up debt. that is why i lost my appetite. that is what upset me. i respect the president. i respect the office of the president. i will be at the state of union address trade i would do the things that a congressman should do and interact with a person in the office of the president. i think he has enacted a law of a policies that have been poor choices, and i think he has put this country at risk in a number of areas. i will not disrespect the office of the president. >> do you respect president obama?

>> i think he has made a number of mistakes. if you are asking me -- do i respect to policy decisions? no. do i respect him as an individual? there are respect the office he holds. ? do i as a christian respect him respect him as a christian and respect him and his family? absolutely. >> another committee that you've been selected to serve on is a judiciary committee. pairing out with your comments -- concerns about present obama's executive overreach -- do you think that republicans ought to consider impeaching the president? >> i do not. >> thank you. >> mr. buck, you are a longtime district attorney. you also served as a prosecutor. how do you think those jobs prepare you for life on capitol hill? >> i think -- while some would

look at it and struggle to see the common skill sets. i think it has been great. the primary job of the district attorney is to get into the community and solve problems. we have reduce crime in my judicial district by 50% in the last 10 years. we have done that by working with city councils commissioners, police departments, and development programs to reduce juvenile crime and deal with drug addictions and other social issues that we face. by working with the community, i think that the same skills are necessary in congress. i will not look at a party label when i sit down and talk to somebody about the need to vote yes or no on a piece of legislation.

i think it is so important that we approach this job as problem solvers, not his partisans. i'm very excited by this job. i am honored by it. i gave up my badge this morning. that is an emotional thing for someone who has had a badge for 25 years. i think it is very common -- there are a number of common skills that are involved in the office of district attorney and legislating. >> i want to follow up with one of those problems, and that is the budget. if you look at where spending is, two thirds goes to medicare , medicaid defense, and other entitlement programs. so where do you cut?

>> the same answer is where do you spend. you spend everywhere and you need to cut everywhere. it has to be in a way that convinces the american people that you have been fair, that you have not just targeted a certain vulnerable group, but rather dealing with the problem as a whole. the initial places that we will examine and that we need to examine are the discretionary side of the budget. but ultimately, we are going to have to find a way to address the entitlements. i don't like using that word because many of us have paid into social security for 30 years. it's not really an entitlement. it is something we have earned. we need to make sure that we deal with the entitlement issue or we will never be able to balance the budget. i say that recognizing that we

have made promises to seniors. we have to keep those promises. the way to deal with the entitlement issue is to make sure that the expectations of those entering the workforce now is not that they will be able to retire at 60 or 65. as life expectancy increases, we need to make changes. >> so you would argue raising retirement age long-term? >> i would support raising the retirement age long-term. that will not balance the social security fund or medicare. we have to look at other areas and frankly i am looking forward to listening to the experts and working across the aisle to find ways to solve this problem in the long term. i do not have every answer at this it is one of the reasons point.

why am going to congress with an open mind. the only real goal is -- we have to make sure social security and medicare are available to those americans 40 or 50 years from now. >> a follow-up from emma. >> >> republicans, now that they control both houses of congress, has said that they want to double down and tackle a reform of the nation's tax goal. do you think that is a viable goal? you think that is something that can be accomplished in the next few years. and what would you hope to see out of the tax reform package? >> i think it is not only viable goal, i think it is absolutely necessary. again, the key term is fairness -- that all americans recognize that what congress has proposed is fair. it treats people at the lower end of the income scale fairly

as well as people to hide and of high in of the income scale. i think it is necessary to flatten our tax code. we have to make sure that people have faith in our tax system and that when they fill out the tax return they are not missing an exemption or deduction something that somebody can of afford to hire an expert or that , someone has not gone to congress to give them an unfair advantage. i think it is essential that people have certainty. as i start to plan my expenditures for the year, i know how much money i will be paying at the end of the year because i know what the tax rate will be. the tax system is unfair. i hear it is as i travel the

state of colorado. i think it is essential that we address it. >> on tuesday, you will be sworn into the house of representatives. what will be going to your mind? >> wow. you should probably ask me that question on wednesday. i am thrilled with the honor. i think it is a challenging time to be a congressman. i think those challenges present great opportunities. i'm really honored that the people of the fourth congressional district of colorado have chosen me. >> ken buck, republican from colorado and representative elect. thank you for being with us on newsmakers. >> thank you. >> we continue the conversation

from the washington examiner and emma. what can we expect over the next two years? >> i'm looking for opportunities -- or instances, like the congressman elect said, where there could be compromised. where we can see democrats and republicans were together. are we going to see stonewalling? i think that is the question everyone is asking, and one that no one has answered as well. >> he ran as a conservative -- did he ask your question on compromise? >> not specifically.

i get the impression that certainly gridlock has not been good for either party. particularly, the republican party. for many reasons, they have been taken more of a hit -- certainly the government shut down in 2013. whether it was fair or not, it was largely blamed on republicans. i think republicans are very wary to be seen as the party of no. at least as far as optics are concerned, i think they don't want to follow that path again. he said all the right things which suggests that he understands that. we will see what happens we get in to the new congress. it is a little too early to tell. >> there is a question -- ddoes

does the story have legs? you brought up the issue of steve scalise. he answered, but will we hear more of this? >> i think it will continue to be an issue for some members. i think it depends on if we get more information. then that becomes more troubling for congressman police to explain. steve scalise to explain. they could depend on whether democrats see an opportunity to continue to make this a point, especially with republicans claiming to be a big tent party. and democrats, their point of pride is being a party of diversity. you have always been the party of old white men. if democrats see an opportunity to continue harping on this, it could be staying in the news

cycle for more than a couple of days. >> a quick follow-up on speaker john boehner and compromising with democrats, working with the white house, and keeping his republican conscious at peace. >> that is the $64,000 question. i have always said that speaker john boehner has the second most difficult job in washington, after the president. he has weathered a lot of storms. the tea party revolt within the house gop that some thought were was coming, never really came. he held control, and holds control now. if anybody can do it, he can. >> for your questions and insights, thank you. i appreciate you being with us. happy new year. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> tonight on q&a, the president and ceo of the national council the nation's largest hispanic advocacy group on the state of hispanics in america, immigration reform, and are compelling personal story. >> i had the great privilege of expensing the american dream born in kansas. my parents came to this country from the very early 1950's. my parents came from mexico with no money and very little education. my dad had an eighth-grade education that my mom had a fifth grade education. and yet, they believed in the promise of this country. they were seeking better opportunities for their children. they worked really hard and sacrificed, as so many latinos

and hispanics of than in this country because they wanted that better future for their children. they believed in the promise of this country. they really taught us important values that have been a guide for our lives, for me and my siblings. that show the importance of family, faith, community, hard work sacrifice, honesty, integrity, all of those were important values that they showed us. >> tonight at it :00 eastern and pacific on c-span's q&a. >> monday night on the communicators, three technology reporter review the big issues of 2014 and the key communications and technology issues facing the new year. the washington post. the national journal. politico.

>> the chairman is not expected to unveil his proposal until march of the earliest, which gives an opening for republicans in congress to introduce a bill about net neutrality of their own, is that going to force him to move more quickly? is it going to put him in a position where they will have to do some questioning and negotiation with congressional republicans question mark that is not clear yet. that is something we will be watching earlier in the year. >> i will expect the azz as easy to come out with new rules on net neutrality. president obama's proposal would treat the internet like the utility. the right pressure on chairman wheeler to go that route. we will see what happens there. the fight is not necessarily over. then there will be lawsuits from the certain industry groups, arising

comcast. >> with talking about neutrality against the multiyear efforts that republicans and commerce have taken. now that they control the senate, they have that working as well. they said they want to get into paper starting in january. we could see something moving on that very soon. that is a tool for them to push back on any rules they think are an overreach. >> monday night at it :00 eastern on the communicators on c-span2. >> congress gavels in on tuesday. the house will have its largest majority. there are currently 247 republican house members compared to 180 a democrats. michael grimm will resign,

effective january 5, after pleading guilty to tax evasion. the senate will now be under republican control with 54 republicans, 44 democrats come into independence. 36 states will have both senators from the same political party, 21 of those will be represented by republicans, 15 will be represented by democrats. they're also be a record number of former house numbers -- members in the senate, with a total of 53. mitch mcconnell is the incoming majority leader. he was featured on this morning state of the union, where he talks about working with president obama and the new session of congress. >> let's talk about your relationship with the president. the last four years he controlled the senate.

now he needs to talk to us. that is good. they are saying that they want things done in the political center. >> there has to be some trust. you trust the president? all the agreements made on a bipartisan basis, i have negotiated. the august 2011 budget control act. the fiscal cliff deal. i'm not opposed to negotiating with the administration. the president picked the vice president to do it. i don't object to negotiating with him. i have done in the past. >> how often are you speaking to the vice president? >> icy him from time to time.

-- i speak with him from time to time. >> senator mcconnell has been in the republican leadership since 1997. tuesday will be the first time he will serve as majority leader of the senate. he spoke recently about the position and his history. >> thank you for being with us on american history tv. the senate majority leader is not a position in the constitution. how did the job involved? speakers of the house see the senate majority leader as their functional equivalent. the present pro tempore is.

no mention of the majority leader or minority leader. the constitution did not anticipate political parties. i think they thought they were going to happen, but they did not want to encourage political parties. they made no provision for it. we had no majority leader in the history of the senate. there were chairman of committees who would take care of things and the chairman of the party conferences that open up and close things the way they do today. but nobody sitting down there trying to organize what happened on the floor on a daily basis. that changed in 1913 when woodrow wilson was elected president. he was former president of princeton university. he had a phd in history and political science. he had written his doctoral information about congress. he had strong ideas about how

congress ought to operate and had an ambitious legislative agenda. he prevailed on the democrat parties. he had come in the majority to pick one of their senators to be a leader, the person who could take charge of things on the floor. instead of going to a senior center as we say for the president pro tempore, they went through a junior senator by the name of john wilkes kern. he was well known because he had run for vice president on the democratic ticket in 1908. this is now 1913. senator kern became the first majority leader of the senate. he functioned just about the way the majority leader's do today. he started out by opening things up during the day, scheduling things, closing things down at night. when the republicans came in to the majority in 1919, they decided this is a good idea. so they picked one of their senior senators, henry cabot lodge, to help carry on those functions.

now, they didn't actually officially have the title majority leader. they had all sorts of other titles, conference chairman and things like that. not until 1925 that charles curtis of kansas is officially designated a majority leader. the fact of the matter is that both john wilkes kern and henry cabot lodge functioned the way a majority leader would today. every since then, the majority leadership has grown considerably in power. although if you read the rules of the senate, you will see a lot of mention of the majority leader. a lot of it has evolved over time. some of their powers come from the presidents of the senate. lyndon johnson, the most powerful of the majority leader's used to say that the single greatest power is the power of persuasion. in howard's baker used to chuckle and say the power to call bills off of the calendar

is also significant. there's a number of things. in 1937, there was the vice president of the united states john nance garner, who had previously served as the speaker of the house. and he gave the majority leader not by rule but by precedent. he relies control of the floor was essential for doing things in an efficient way in the senate to and so he said that i will grant the majority leader the right of first recognition. when all the senators are seeking recognition, i will always call on the majority leader first. after that, i'll call on the minority leader. that means the majority leader can get the floor when he wants it. that's a huge influence. it has a lot to do with the way things happen in the senate today. that's also reason you won't see one minority leaders presiding in the senate. there was a time when majority and minority freshmen would preside. one day a member of the minority party was presiding and the

majority leader sought recognition and that senator called on someone else. it was like a huge eruption in the senate. and the majority said from now on, we will never be a minority senator in the chair. except for the snow days when no one else is available, you won't see a minority senator in the chair because it's essential to the power of the majority leader. >> where on the senate floor do we find majority and minority leaders? how do they work together? >> they're front and center. they both occupy the two front row center seats since 1937. the democrats are early. the republicans have had to wait for one of their senior senators to return to move their leader up there. but now, whoever becomes leader takes that seat. and, again, around them are all of the senators by seniority. so the freshman who just got el elected will be way in the back in the corner. and the senior senators are down

on the center aisle or more towards the middle. that's again if the presiding officer is looking over the body and a number of senators are seeking recognition, the people front and center, of course, are the ones who catch the presiding officers' eye. people in the back have to shout and wave their arms to get that kind of attention. that's one reason people tend to move to the front. they have been there. they signed their names to show they sat there. all of the leaders of the republican party and democratic party, their names are in front row center seats. beside them will be the party whips, and behind them will be the most senior people in the party. that is the seat of power in the senate. the difference in the senate and the house. the house is ruled from the chair. the presiding officer, the chairperson, makes the rules. the speaker is a very powerful figure. the senate is ruled from the

floor. the presiding officer, vice president, president pro temporary, or a junior senator is a neutral presiding officer. the real influence is on the floor. all senators are equal. some senators are little more equal than others. >> what's the impact when there is a change in leadership? >> it is a personality driven body. 100 senator personalities are a huge influence. even a small change in membership has an impact. large changes have very large impacts. especially the leadership. there's a rhythm established by the leaders. they talk about quality of life, decide if you work on mondays and fridays, how late at night they decide the tempo of the senate. so a lot of it has to do with their own personalities. mike mansfield is very different from robert byrd. even though they're built in the same party, much more laid back,

byrd is much more hands on aggressive type of leadership. you can see that in the republican party as well. the leadership of bob dole or trent lott or a bill frist will have a different style different advisors different , tactics. senator mcconnell and reid had were both whips on the floor. they both know the presidents very well. they each have images of what they wanted the body to do. it will be interesting to see now with the switch of leadership if there is much of a change of the style of the senate operations. senator mcconnell gave a speech at the beginning of the last session in which he talked about what he would like to see in the senate. more regular order, more monday and friday sessions, a variety of proposals. and i think he will act to carry out that in the coming congress. >> we are going to hear from

leaders bob dole, bob mitchell and robert byrd. can you say a word or two about each man and the kind of leader he was? >> after 1980, there was a big shock when the republicans took the majority and the senate for the first time in 26 years. there was only one senator who had been around the last time the republicans had been in the majority. everybody was a little bit stunned. no one anticipated a change in that magnitude. even the republicans had not anticipated they would take charge of the senate. senator dole was in line to become chairman of the finance committee. he said the long-time chairman of that committee. and one of the things that made that transition so much easier in the senate than in the similar transition that happens in the house in 1994 was that howard baker was the majority leader. the incoming majority leader. he was what i called an institutionalist. he was the son-in-law of a former republican leader. he was the husband of a dirksen

daughter, joy. he eventually married the second wife. so he's very much an institutionalist. he loved the senate. he loved the traditions of the senate. he understood it. he worked closely with the democratic leaders when he was the minority leader. and so there was almost a seamless transition to it. and i think everyone who worked here at the time breathed a great sigh of relief knowing that howard baker was coming in as the majority leader. he had a great sense of humor. he was the type of person who grasped what was going on. he could figure out what to do about it. he was a problem solver. not surprisingly when the white , house got in trouble at the time of the iran-contra they , brought in the chief of staff for ronald reagan. he also had a great sense of real estate.

and traditionally the democrats had a nice big office and the republicans had a much smaller office down the hall. senator baker said i will not change with the democratic leader but i would like to add , to my suite. so he took over quite a bit of territory, rooms, immediately around him. so the republican leader now had has a very large coherent section of rooms on the west bank of the capitol thanks to howard baker. the main room is now known as the howard baker room. >> bob dole? quick senator bob dole was a fighting partisan. it been the chairman of his party. he was the kind of person who could really debate ferociously. and in the senate, that's really fighting partisan turned into a wise pragmatist. he was a man who realized things

didn't happen often in the senate because they were ramrodded through, they happened because they were negotiated through. and you had to find co-sponsors and colleagues on both sides of the aisle. senator dole was the kind of person who could sit in a chair with a yellow legal pad and with a bunch of senators standing him, working out the texts of the amendments, of the unanimous consent agreement that we get them through the hurdles that's going on. and i think he was leader on two occasions, first in 1985, and and then 1986, and then he came back as the majority leader for a number of years and he came back as a majority leader in 1995 and 1996. all of those occasions, he was the person to work out difficult situations. he had a great sense of humor. he was wonderful to listen to. enjoyed the history of the senate. he would give the historical minutes at the beginning of each day.

we published senator dole's historical almanac of the senate. he got a great chuckle out of doing that. he always wanted more. so the office is always working closely with him on that. >> george mitchell? >> george mitchell, you know, if you watched him, he looked very professor realial. he looked very benign, very calm and very mild mannered. but if you talk to the senators, they said this is a tough politician. this is a person who knows what's going on. who is really scheduling and planning things and he was a very effective leader. but he was just the opposite of what he appeared to be, this detached person. he was not detached at all. he was very much focussed on what was going on. it was a time when the parties were changing, when the structure of the senate was changing. when senator mitchell is majority leader who began to

complain the most about how many blocked cloture motions there were. he thought there were more filibusters coming along. he tried to get around that. politics were becoming more polarized even then. but he was a shrewd leader. he figured a lot of ways to get around. i think he had great respect from all the senators. it's not surprising he would go on to a career in diplomacy after all that. brokering deals in northern ireland. he had that judicial temperament that people trusted him on both sides. he had a way of deciding there were solutions to his problems that you could find. >> finally, robert byrd. >> of all the senators i've worked with, i worked with robert byrd more than any of the others. senator byrd was unique in the senate. he never went to college. he never got a degree.

he went to law school as a senator at night. at the american university law school, who recognized the service in the senate as an equivalent of a college degree. he went to get the law degree and president kennedy come to present his diploma at his graduation. but, i have always thought here he was in a body full of rhodes scholars and yale and stanford and harvard graduates and all of these ivy leaguers with terrific education. he never felt inferior about that. instead, he never ended his education. he was always reading. he was always studying. once i rode with them to an event and in the backseat of a car was a copy of the count of month cristo, and i was surprised and he said i never got to read it. he was constantly reading. his wife, irma byrd complained she could never dust her table because she was bringing books home from the library of congress always stacked up and

he was working on them. in 1980, by chance he gave an impromptu speech because his granddaughters school class was in the gallery. he gave a speech about the historical chamber of the senate. several senators came up after and said i didn't know that. that was very interesting. so he began to give more impromptu speeches on everything that the senate did, the parliamentarian, the chaplain, the rules. eventually, he came for the bicentennial of the congress it was going to be in 1989, i want to give a series of speeches that could be published as a book on the history of the speeches. we worked very closely with him for about ten years. usually a quiet friday afternoons when no one else had business, he would go on the floor and deliver the speeches. he would memorize them. he finished that. he went on to study the romans

senate and the british parliament. he was just constantly studying things. that gave him a huge advantage on the floor of the senate. he also studied the rules and the presidents of the senate. he used to read through the precedents book, which is about 1,000 pages. every congress with the yellow marker going over it, looking for things. so if you were on the floor and you were arguing with senator byrd on an issue, he knew the rules and he also knew the history. it was a very hard combination do get around. very few people took on senator byrd any, confrontations on the floor. he came into the office as majority leader after being with. but senator byrd admired lyndon johnson. much more hands on.

senator byrd also admired richard russell. he knew the rules inside out. and byrd spent a long time studying the rules of the senate, studying the procedures. and he was determined when he became leader he was going to make the rules, make the senate work more efficiently. he cracked the whip a lot more than his predecessor had as leader. he was a very tough maneuver and negotiator. but he also worked closely with the republican counterparts. senator baker was the -- became the republican leader when senator byrd became the democratic leader. they worked together. they got the panel canal treaties together. it was only that partnership of that that happened. had to face senator byrd. he knew so much about the rules. senator baker tells a story he went up to senator byrd the one-day and said, i'm going to make a deal. i won't surprise you if you don't surprise me.

byrd said let me think about that. at the end of the day, byrd came back and said, i agree. that was the working relationship. they did not blind side each other. that kind of corporation help to make the senate work, even when they disagreed with each other when they were fighting with each other. they did it by the rules and respected each other as colleagues. >> donald richie, thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> a new congress meets on tuesday. we will see the swearing in of members and election for house speaker. watch the house live on c-span and the senate on c-span2. with the new congress, you will have the best access, the most extensive coverage anywhere. track the gop on capitol hill and have your say as events unfold on tv, radio, and the web. next, public opinion towards the

white house and congress. this is one hour. >> our sunday round table. gentlemen, thank you for being with us. i want to begin by asking what the biggest challenge your party will be facing as they try to lead in the congress and deal with democrats and the white house. >> we have been the minority in the senate for a while. we have not had the ability to have people meet us halfway. this will be a real challenge for our leaders to find a way to get things done, and find a way to make positive changes and still be able to make changes that can pass and get through a senate and president that are eager for a fight on some issues. >> one of the early debates will be on immigration.

one of the republicans in the united states senate, lindsey graham, told cnn this past month, if we don't at least make a down payment on solving the problem and rationally dealing with it, 11 main people in the country illegally, he we become the party of self deportation in 2015 and 2016, then the chance of winning the white house i think is almost nonexistent. agree or disagree with that? >> we have got to look like we have done things. i admire the way senator graham looks for big solutions. what's to be done when people are here illegally? >> that's going to be tied into the debate over homeland security. >> i agree with gree that i like

senator graham postelection, he is more honest. the math comes down __ the magic number for republicans for immigrant voters is about 60%. it will be pretty tough for any candidate to win the white house. the way to get that, as senator graham says, to not be the party of self deportation. the republicans need to be careful and not alienate hispanic voters more. they would kiss goodbye the dreams of getting the white house in 2016. host: consumer spending is up. gas prices now at a record low level. the stock market continues to surge ahead. this seems to be a growing sense that the country feels better about itself. where does that put congress trying to do some these big