and it will might go to a second round of balloting. as it has been heard today there are about 15 to 20 republicans who say they will vote no against this speaker of the house for a third term in that position. our coverage on c-span, watch it here. we will have our cameras in the chamber, we are allowed to do so , so you get to see the conversations that are have been that happening on the floor. -- that are happening on the floor. it will be a more complete -- we believe and other media outlets believe -- more complete picture of what is happening. senate cameras remaining in control of the senate officials today. when they gavel in at 12:00 p.m. eastern time. president obama and his last news conference before he went on his holiday vacation talked

to reporters about this new republican-controlled congress and working with them. here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> we've come to a point where we have a chance to reverse a different problem a decades long erosion of middle-class jobs and incomes, and making sure that the middle class is the engine that propels our prosperity for years to come. to do that, we have got to make some smart choices, we've got to make the right choices. we have got to invest in the things that secure faster growth and higher paying jobs for more americans. i am being absolutely sincere when i say i want to work with this new congress to get things done, to make those investments to make sure that government is working better and smarter. we are going to disagree on some things, but there are going to be areas of agreement, and we have got to be able to make that happen, and that will involve compromise every once in a while . you saw during this lame-duck

period that perhaps that spirit of compromise may be coming to the four. in terms of my own job, i am energized, i am excited about the prospects for the next couple of years. i'm certainly not going to be stopping for a minute in the effort to make life better for ordinary americans because their efforts, we really do have a new foundation that has been laid. we are better positioned than we have been in a very long time. a new future is ready to be written. we have set the stage for this american moment to i am going to spend every minute of my last 2 years making sure that we seized it. host: president obama on his agenda for the next two years and working with this 114thth congress. we are live for five hours and will take your thoughts and

priorities until noon eastern time, when the housing gavels in. phone numbers will be on your screen, the phone lines are open. we want to hear from you throughout the next couple of hours as we get your thoughts on this 114th congress. joining us from capitol hill from russell rotunda is rachael bade a reporter for politico to talk about tax reform. rachael bade, what are the prospects for the two sides coming together with the president to tackle the tax code? guest: for the next two years we will hear a lot of chatter about tax reform -- could the president worked with republicans and get something passed? at this point i'm skeptical that that will happen in your is why -- think back to the 113th congress. everyone said this would be the year. dave camp and max baucus republican and democrat, had come together and say we would do this bipartisanly, revenue

neutral tax reform to lower the rates for individuals and corporations. speaker john boehner at the time said he would designate the very first bill of the congress to be tax reform. that is a very symbolic gesture on his report showing that house republicans would want to pass a tax reform bill. now, this all changed when dave camp actually introduced his bill. he introduced a and businesses around the world and around the country said listen, we can't have this tax reform draft because these deductions and credits you are going to get rid of to lower the rates companies are going to hurt our business. we don't want this . house republicans turned against dave camp, went 180, and didn't even vote on it in the house. these businesses are going to have to be willing to give up these deductions, these credits, to lower the rates. the question is are they willing to do that? i don't know. at the same time we will need a lot of bipartisanship, democrats and republicans working together and in d.c., think

about the partisan atmosphere we have had going on here. we have had immigration overhaul, we have the irs dental, we have obamacare lighting a fire on capitol hill. there is not a lot of bipartisanship going on. i'm skeptical we will see it happen to. host: representative paul ryan moving from the budget committee to ways and means. what can we expect from him? guest: yes got a lot of star power -- he has got a lot of star power and he could cajole people into supporting tax reform might not otherwise do it. that's one thing -- taxi from they want to do it, they have a name and face who could get republicans on board. in the senate, orrin hatch from republican from utah, who is in on the senate finance committee for a long time, will become the chairman. he is known to have a well knowledged tax staff. you have got to watch the third

player, you have to watch what president obama does. everyone says to get tax reform through you need the backing of the president, like ronald reagan in 1986 when he did that overall. president obama did not support individual -- tax reform for individuals and corporations. rather, he wanted to increase taxes on wealthier americans and republicans said heck no, we are not going to do that. this congress he will say he is open to corporate-only tax reform. we're talking about tax reform that would lower the rate on corporations by getting rid of the tax deductions and tax credit and that is potentially open to revenue neutral without raising taxes. so that is the middle ground. republicans would prefer tax reform of for individuals and corporations, but this might be the middle ground where they actually would show that they could do something. they might go for what the president wants to do -- host: sorry, was just going to ask, might this corporate task reform be attached to something

unrelated, like the keystone xl pipeline? guest: those issues are pretty separate. i think the republicans will go for the pipeline right away. obama, my there be a compromise where he would approve and speed up the pipeline process in return for tax reform? those are different issues and at this point i have not heard any conversation about combining those two. however, there is another big problem with tax reform -- even if the white house and republicans agree to something you have to get them in the same room talking and that is where you have a big public. the 2016 election is going to light up the partisan atmosphere is a really they have only one year to do this, and tax reform takes a long time. what is the president going to talk to republicans about how to do tax reform or are republicans going to asked to sit down at the white house? they are not talking at this point so actually getting them in the room will be quite a stretch. host: and with the president have the backing of his own party? guest: that's another good

question. harry reid in the senate, who will be the new minority leader now that republicans control the senate, has said that corporate-only tax reform is a boon to businesses. he wants reform for both sides and u.s. to increase taxes on wealthier individuals. there could be some democrats who don't support obama on corporate-only tax reform. that said, there are a whole bunch of democrats who are willing to work with him. host: rachael bade, political reporter, you can follow her on the website, politico.com. thank you for your time. guest: thanks so much for having me. host: let's get back to your calls for the 114th congress. daniel, democratic caller, go ahead. caller: yes, thank you for taking my call. i wanted to take a couple comments -- the president said he was willing to work with congress. i think that is fantastic because six years ago that wasn't the same message that the republicans, mitch mcconnell and

the people who met behind closed doors and said this is just going to be about us, how do we get elected, how do we get people unelected. that is a great start and i wish republicans could remember that. as far as, also, the jobs bill, where people talk about americans need jobs, we do need jobs. we do need jobs that pay, and i think dingell hit the nose, you need to bring manufacturing back to the country. they talk about minimum wage jobs and turn around and want to cut the food stamps that the jobs require. one other point i wanted to make real quick on the keystone pipeline. if they made an amendment to that, that all the refined oil that they turn into guest would stay in the country, that would be a starter, but that is not going to happen. that is not what the republicans want. that oil is going out of this country and that is sad. host: well, on the keystone

pipeline, "the washington times" this morning that that is the senate's first bill improving the keystone xl pipe and that would pump oil from canada to the u.s. gulf coast. republicans and some democrats call the project a job greater but mr. obama and other democrats consider it a path to worsening climate change. republicans also planned legislation to expedite u.s. natural gas exports. that is one of the first items on the agenda for this new republican-controlled senate. daniel in hastings, michigan democratic caller, go ahead. caller:: uh, i just -- host: oh, sorry, james, republican. caller: thank you for taking my call. i think the thing that really needs to happen is going back to what the incoming majority said, that they need to get back to regular order. if they go back and pass the 13 bills it would take to fund the

government, then everybody can see who voted for, who put what amendment, and then send that to the president and let him pass it or veto it. this thing about obama wanting to work with congress, i don't believe nothing he says, because he said what he want to do and then he'll come back and say "if you don't do this, we don't have a deal." so the whole thing is pass the bill, let all of us see who voted on what, and when the incoming congress come in today we can see who voted for john boehner and we can see who voted for someone else. and that's my comment. host: all right we're going to keep getting your thoughts on this 114th congress, but more on these lawmakers that are making up the 114th congress. john mcardle on the news desk set. host: thanks, greta

the swearing -- the congressional black caucus swearing in ceremony took place earlier today. members of the caucus had that swearing in ceremony on capitol hill. speaker boehner spoke at the ceremony, minority leader nancy pelosi. the fcbc is having its largest membership in the 114th congress with 46 members. some tweets from members of congress about it. here is andre carson, democrat of indiana. "happy to join the cbc 114th congress swearing in ceremony," with a shot of the class there. marcia fudge, the outgoing chairwoman "behind the scenes at the cbc ceremonial swearing-in."you can see on the bottom right, john conyers, the first african-american dean of the house. the new chairman is congress meant g.k. butterfield, democrat of north carolina. if you want to watch the whole

swearing-in ceremony, go to cspan.org. host: the republicans are welcoming their first black republican female elected to congress, mia love, a name that many of you are probably familiar with, republican of utah. a little bit more about her -- she was previously elected the saratoga springs mayor and she lost the 20 12th bid to the house to represent representative jim matheson by 768 votes. she is an amen a face you will probably see a lot of in this new 114th congress. let's go to nancy, leesburg georgia, independent. hi, nancy. you are on the air. good morning to you. caller: good morning to you. i am glad to get to weigh in this morning. i think boehner set a very dangerous precedent by going ahead with this budget when he quit at the late it until the

congress came in -- could have delayed it until the congress came in, and i think that is a sad thing on his part. i think he didn't want to deal with the new congress and i think that says something, too. i wish they would have a young pressure person -- young, fresh or person in their. i know they probably are not going to, which is sad. this mandate that we had in the midterms was not only for the democrats. it was also for the republican leadership. unless he realizes that, i think he is going to be in trouble later on. also, i wanted to make one comment about the health care situation. i have many, many doctors in albany that will not accept obamacare in any form and they have signs in their office. another doctor told me that one of his patients needed surgery horribly but heard of dr. bullis she could not have surgery. she said -- was s -- her

deductible was so high she could not have surgery. what we have now is walking wounded. they cannot afford insurance they cannot afford deductible, there is not co-pays anymore so they don't have resources there and they are walking around sick and can't go to the doctor. we have traded good health care in this country -- people could always go to an emergency rooms. there were always doctors willing to take care of them. but now we are in a situation where the average person cannot get health care, and they are worried about the middle class in this stretch between high income and nothing, and this is the problem. the middle-class is squeezed from both ends. they can't afford their insurance. they can't afford taxes. they can't afford all of these little feees and different things that the states are waging on them, and the middle class is just being ruined in this country. something has to give, and i hope this new congress will address that. host: ok.

dana in texas, democratic caller bank. what you think about this 114th congress? caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i often don't get to watch the show because i am working but i am off for a few days. i teach at a university. and i volunteer at my local public school, and i want to encourage everyone that is listening that if you are retired to please volunteer, go to your schools, go to your local schools, public schools. you can read to a child. you can visit with a child. that would be the greatest gift you can give this year. one other thing -- as i said, i live in texas. lots of good oil, the fracking is going on. we have been doing a lot since president obama has been here

as president, because he has the all of the above on the energy. that is why we are -- the united states now, i think 80, 80 5% able to take care of their own energy. that is why opec's flooding the market, because they don't want the united states -- that is one of the reasons. there's a lot of reasons much more complicated, of course. but that's why, because of obama, and the democrats with the all of the above strategies, that we are able to have oil and gas at such low prices, which also hurts my brother-in-law, who was a slumber j -- who was with schulmberger and houston is going through a real problem because when oil dips below $80 -- i think it's 80 darl's -- host: it went below 50 yesterday. caller: i know, and it is real

scary because the big company schlumberger is laying off people. host: ok, dana. steve, independent caller. caller: good morning. i just hope the 114th congress does take a look at the tax structure that is squeezing the middle class. and yes, obamacare is really really squeezing the middle class, like a lady mentioned before. and i think they better pay attention to the people, because they are there for the people. they are not there for themselves and their corporate interests on both sides of the fence. and as an independent, i can see how the congress and the senate have disavowed their both to the -- their oath to the american public when it comes to business. if they would restructure the tax structure for everybody from port to the richest, and even now, even more corporate

and put more money back into actual industrialization of the united states instead of having offshore, i think our taxes could drop. it's up to the states to make up for these pitfalls that the federal government had spent money on, barbara money from china and other countries. -- borrowed money from china and other countries. i've a feeling that sooner or later the egg is going to crack and wendy egg cracks people will come out in force. there won't be any kind of peaceful protest. you can see it across our nation come with these riotous-type people looking to start something. that is only the beginning. i think we should take a look at our history. host: ok, richard in south dakota independent. your thoughts on this 114th congress. caller: well, the 114th

congress, to be actually responsible, would do something like perhaps go ahead and actually consider each of the budget matters individually as opposed to what the speaker boehner allowed to happen last year. it is amazing that we have this climate for change in washington but there is only nine or 10 people who will step out on the floor against boehner. what that tells you is that nothing is going to change. it is only about taking care of the individuals that are around and not the people in the areas -- host: all right, richard, while the vote against the speaker when he to reporters up on capitol hill, is somewhere between 15-20, but they need a lot more than that. caller: sure, but do you think that actually represents the american -- the job congress is doing? of course not. all of them are scared that they will lose power in washington if they vote against the almighty boehner. you know what, the country is going to hell in a handbasket and there will be evolution or revolution.

have a great day. host: first on the agenda for republicans from "the washington times," "obamacare will test the clout of the house gop. the house will vote to change the definition of full-time work from 30 hours to the traditional 40, setting up an early test to see how many democrats are willing to buck president obama in his signature overhaul now that they are in the minority. it is part of the agenda taking shape on capitol hill, where republicans in the house and senate are planning votes on issues that have earned bipartisan support for quote which installed as democrats circled wagons to protect mr. obama politically. now that he is a lame duck and the gop is controlling both chambers, republicans are hoping for a better result. it is an important marker on whether the parties can work together said the vice president for health care policy at the national retail federation, which supports the 40-our proposal. already on board a senator joe donnelly, the indiana democrat

who cosponsored the 40-hour legislation in the previous congress. senator joe manchin of west virginia will join him as a second democrat sponsor." jeffersonville indiana democrats. we are talking about this first day of the 114th congress. what are your thoughts about the next two years? chuck, you there? host:caller: yes, i am. i want to thank you for having me on. i want to respond to the obamacare, if i could. host: ok. caller: the obamacare good work for everybody. but companies are putting high deductions and everything, which should be going on. if medicare can do 80-20, i don't understand why obamacare can do the same thing. i want to thank obama for being what he is good nobody gives him no credit for nothing. i am 71 years old. another thing, minimum wage is not going to work because you

can't stay on minimum wage and make a living you've got to do. i want to thank you very much. host: ok, peter, republican go ahead. caller: a little about myself -- i am younger, i'm 21, and i'm a minority republican, a little bit rare also. this will be a test of leadership generally. the people in congress and especially the house -- we had a congressman from florida wanting to become speaker, congressman yoho, but right now yes issues with elections and getting money and not specifying where he got the money from so this is just a big test of leadership in general. in my opinion, in the future, we are going to find that if the republican primary doesn't work out it will switch over to democrats and keep on going back and forth. host: more on this 114th congress from john mcardle the news desk. host: greta come i just want to

give an update on the whip count. the republicans who are intending to vote against speaker boehner, the latest is that republican tim huelskamp of kansas --"i am not voting for boehner. honest. principal. conservative. leadership is what i want." the whip list of opposition to speaker boehner, the opposition is growing. tim huelskamp being counted in that with 6 possible no codes being watched and those who did not back boehner but could back him now. that still gets the opposition to just 23, according to the whip count. republicans would need 29 no votes for a second ballot.

the speaker's race is one race happens today. there's the 2016 presidential race that is being watched and will be watched for the next two years. there are several members that are taking their oaths in the house and particularly in the senate today that are also being eyed as potential contenders for the 2016 presidential race. they included 4 republicans -- rand paul has been considered as a possible presidential contender, ted cruz of texas marco rubio florida, and the lindsey graham of south carolina, a name that is also floated for republicans, those being listed by larry sabado's crystal ball, one of the race watchers out there. rand paul's name comes up highest on his tiered rankings of contenders.

farther down in the third tier includes ted cruz. farther down in the fourth tier, marco rubio. larry sabato's crystal ball puts lindsey graham in his sixth year in the wild-card category him as he calls it, of the 21 republicans who are listed by the crystal ball. on the democratic side, four senators also mentioned by larry sabato's crystal ball. most high profile among them is elizabeth warren in the second here, just behind the first year contender, hillary clinton. for elizabeth warren, the key primary advantages larry sabado lists for her is that she isidore to fight democratic activists -- he is a door to buy democratic activists and claims not be running but would have the same history making potential as clinton as a woman it she won the nomination. further down, bernie sanders in

the third tier of larry sa bato's crystal ball. and in the category of would run if hillary clinton doesn't run is kirsten gillibrand of new york and amy klobuchar of minnesota. the very early look at the 2016 presidential race. host: how those potential 2016 contenders participate in the legislative process and watch what they do on the floor in committee meetings. let's go to louisiana in bristol, connecticut, a republican caller. hi louise. what do you think of this congress? caller: well, i wish the democrats -- i know president obama would like to have us fighting with the republican congress come but i hope they do come around and vote for john boehner. he did try to stop the impeachment, which, of course, obama wanted.

and you know, obamacare if i can continue on for just a few seconds -- host: sure, we're listening. caller: i was with a 60-year-old woman yesterday and she just retired and she went up to pick up her packages -- she is going to be operated on tomorrow morning. they were double the price. as of january 15. quickly, i have a grandson who tried to find a job, couldn't find one, sitting in the car because you couldn't work on the computer, and anyway -- he couldn't work on the computer. anyway, he finally found a job as a security officer at the hospital. she is only working 30 hours a week. he works 12 hours, 7:00 to some :00 on christmas, and for new year's, just so -- and he has to

pay his own insurance at the hospital. but he can't get a full-time job. he's got to move back in with his mother and he is 26 years old. host: louise, what do you want congress to do about this, the president to do about this? caller: obamacare -- you know what it is. it's, you know, it's goofy. let me put it that way. host: ok, will leave it there. john in illinois, democratic caller. caller: hello. i just want to bring up the fact that we have to fight the deficit hawks in washington. these people crying about obamacare when actually it is a republican health care plan, it is romneycare. we need single-payer in this country, and when john boehner says the country is going broke, it is a big lie. we have sovereign fiat currency. the federal reserve creates the currency.

it is the issue of the currency so we have got to fight austerity and the sequestration in washington and people need to wake up. host: pennsylvania, republican. paula, what do you think? caller: yes, my concern is that the congress should be fighting for the country and what the people want, and butto put politics aside. they ask us to be active and to call our congressmen but when we do they don't listen to us. i think the american people know more at this point in history more of what they need than a politician. and they need to act with integrity, and less deceit less politics, and 2 more things. obamacare, they promised to try

to repeal that and replace it. they need to live up to that promise. and immigration is a disaster. we need to enforce our laws, not comprehensive immigration. it is killing the middle class the working class -- i don't call them the middle class. we are the working class. host: all right, that is paula in pennsylvania with her thoughts on the 114th congress. the phone lines are open. what are your priorities for these lawmakers as they come to washington today and get ready to be sworn in for two more years in the house and one third of the senate being sworn in as well. that will take place at noon eastern time in both chambers. watch our coverage here on c-span for the house and over on the senate side on c-span2. al in utah, an independent caller. good morning to you. go ahead. caller: good morning.

thanks for taking my call. i think there is a more vital issue here that the 114th congress needs to address and this is they need to stop president obama before he has an opportunity to fundamentally change of us out of existence as a free people and a free country . remember in 2008 he promised to cut a mentally change america. -- to fundamentally change america. it is not his vision to have a republic that a free people and a free country. his vision is to have an overall occupying government that runs everything, take everything, and distributes everything as they see fit. and this plan is working because we not only have the progressives in the democratic party, but we have got progressives in the republican party as well, and those are the true enemies of the state and the republic. if we can't get the 114th congress to step up and stop this, we will not have a constitution and we will not have a free country.

we will not be free americans any longer. host: let's hear from freddie in oakland, california, democratic caller. caller: how you doing? host: morning. caller: good morning. my opinion on the 114th congress is absolutely obsolete. until there was a third party and in there for the people at the bottom two runs government -- this government -- [indiscernible] corporations. here is an example. black people are the most unemployed people on the planet. and we have a black president plus the mandate drivers license for illegals in here? let's have policies that all businesses have a certain majority of blacks. not mexicans and nations, they are not considered minorities. we are at the very bottom and no

one ever talks about it and that is my point. host: all right, freddie. tom in texas, a republican. go on with your thoughts on the 114th congress. caller: well, the one hundred 14th congress with the new election in the house and the senate, if you look back at the time bush was elected and you had the house and senate controlled by republicans there it was hoped that the wgo would be eradicated and this is what touched off the battle in seattle. this could be the death rattle of the republican party. even though i am a republican if they don't change that, we will not have our industries and manufacturers back to supply jobs and that will affect small business and that will also affect the big-box stores because there won't be any money out there for people to spend. let alone people who are grown-ups now who are trying to work in the small businesses

like the fast food industry. they are hoping that that will suffice. what they need to have is manufacturing with good benefits and health care. host: well, if you are a c-span junkie and u.s. the floor proceedings here, you probably at times wondered what is going on behind the dais there, what do all the symbols mean when the house gavels in for the 114th congress at noon eastern time? we want to give you a little insight into the symbolism of the chamber. back in 2006, c-span did a documentary about the capitol. there is a little bit of it about the house chamber. [video clip] >> the symbols that are there are very important. there is a cornucopia. a clock, a traditional american symbol of abundance, one of the fruits of liberty. there is stars. the first star in the firmament is the united states. we think of stars, we think of america.

there are other things. all these little rods were bound together in ancient rome. individually you could snap, like a reed. put them together and they are strong. they are traditional symbol of the roman government. you're in the chamber and you raise her eyes of. you see this silhouette, almost, of an eagle with its wings spread. up there in the sky. it is rather like a skylight although it is covered from behind. it is not open to the heavens. but it is a wonderful eagle. what i love most about it is the sense that spreading its wings over the day-to-day work of the congress are great aspirations as seen in our great symbols of the nation. foremost among them, of course

is the american bald eagle. when the congress is in session the mace is also there and i love seeing the mace. topped by a silver globe with an eagle on top of it. >> i think traditions are important because when you forget about traditions, you forget about the flavor of this place. the mace is an interesting thing. every time i see the speaker of the british house of commons, i accuse him -- 1814 when the british burned the capitol down they also stole our mace. if you read the stories of former speakers come when the place really got rowdy or people got out of hand or there is a fight on the floor, you had to present the mace. it is a symbol of what the country has invested

in the congress, power of the congress, people coming together and getting things done. host: c-span's 2006 documentary with a little bit about the record of the house chamber -- decor of the house chamber. they will be gaveling in at noon eastern time for the 114th congress. we want to tell show you a bit of that documentary about the desks in the chamber. [video clip] >> these are beautifully laid in mahogany and there our grills on the sides of the desks used for air conditioning could one of the earliest in the capitool cold ice brought in underground to cool the chamber and these were ways to ventilated in the room. they allowed the air to come in on the floor. today as curators we try to preserve that history.

we recognize that every senator in the desk and every event that happens in the chamber adds another layer to the history of the desk. members about 1900 started signing those desks. we have the signature -- not every member -- but we have the signatures in pen or they just carpet with a pen knife inside the desk -- carved it with a pen knife inside the guest drawer. host: tune in c-span2 for coverage of the senate as they swear in the 114th congress. mary in virginia democratic caller. we will continue with our live coverage up until noon and then we will bring you live coverage of the house on c-span and c-span2. what are your thoughts on the 114th congress? caller: well, good morning and happy new year. thank you for taking my call. i am pretty discouraged for the

114th congress mainly because every one of our representatives had to race multimillion dollars to get elected, and if they raise that kind of money, they are beholden to rich people who have contributed the most to the campaign. we cannot expect them to represent us when we know that the very wealthy who have fronted the money to them, they are going to do their bidding, not ours. unfortunately, the very wealthy what they want and what is good for the rest of us may not always be the same thing. and i think we really have to watch closely. a good example of this is the very first bill that the republicans want to do is basically a thank you to the koch brothers, who could greatly to the republicans, and the koch brothers owned thousands of acres of land in canada and they stand to make money, the canadians and the chinese, on the keystone pipeline.

this is the kind of thing we really need to watch carefully because we want to be represented. i am not a rich person, and i am watching the things like the 1% or the wealthy are getting represented wonderfully in congress and we aren't and that is scary to everybody. it should scare everybody in this country. host: we will hear from james in bakersfield, california, a republican. hi, james. caller: how are you doing today? host: good morning. caller: good morning, how you doing? host: good -- james, you got to listen to your phone, please. turn the tv down. you are up james. go ahead with your comments about the 114th congress. james, you got to go ahead, all right? caller: still with me? host: we are still with you, go ahead. caller: ok, my thoughts number one -- we have got to have them

sit down and scrap obamacare. you are not going to get -- a lot of people -- all of the united states, including california -- host: all right, james, reminder to you and others, you have got to turn your tv down when it is time to talk and listen to the phone could otherwise we get feedback and it is difficult to hear you. we are getting your concerns and priorities and comments about this 114th congress here this morning. the lines are open, but first let's go back down to the news desk for more on the 114th congress. host: yeah, greta, just a quick update on the effort to deny speaker boehner the gavel. a fox radio reporter reporting that jeff duncan from south carolina says he is a no vote for boehner for speaker.

that's 15 republicans now. 29 needed to deny boehner the gavel. steve king from i was saying on twitter "there is no political consequence outside the beltway voting against speaker boehner." congressman louie gohmert, westwood's name forward as a possible alternative to speaker boehner, sent out a tweet thanking former republican vice presidential nominee sarah palin for her support for him as speaker. we will continue to watch that race. "the hill" reporting today that speaker john boehner is seeking to stamp out a rebellion from the vocal group of tea party insurgents who are determined to deny him a third term with the gavel. the story noting " the conservative opposition means that boehner and his lieutenants will open the 114th congress with a divided conference, complicating his plans to challenge obama with a barrage of legislation."

we have been bringing you statistics about the new congress. here is a package by "the washington post" noting that the new composition is 80% male and 20% female. by racial composition 7920 percent white, 10.1% black 7.8% hispanic 2.2% asian. in the senate, 94% white, to block members, three hispanic, one asian. and the hill noting the religious affiliations of different members of congress, most identify as christians protestant or catholic, along with 16 mormons. there are 28 jewish americans, two buddhists two muslims, and one hindu american. host: john, you started out talking about the latest whip

count of the votes against speaker boehner for a third term. some of his allies have been critical of this coup effort and one of them is tom cole of oklahoma, quoted in "the washington post" this morning saying host: dave, pittsburgh, pennsylvania independent caller. what are your thoughts? caller: well, my main thing is i would love to see them get rid of boehner and replace them with somebody who would follow the oath of office. the lawlessness is just unbelievable. another thing that i would like to see in 2015 is an absolute full audit of the federal reserve, just to see where our money has gone and how it is being's end by an agency -- being spent by an agency that is

neither federal nor has a reserve. host: david, columbus, ohio democratic caller. caller: good morning! how you doing? host: doing well, sir. caller: my comment is i would love to see john boehner be ousted by a right-wing extremist to make sure the democrats take over the house. another thing is, i hope obama will veto some legislation put up by the extremists who control the house and the senate for stopping obamacare. obamacare works, and those people who have no jobs, they can sign up. i appreciate for c-span to do such a good coverage. host: kentucky, jeff, a republican. good morning to you, jeff. welcome to the conversation. caller: how are you?

what i would like to ask congress to do -- i am a cattleman in kentucky. i raise livestock. i was cheated buying cattle over the internet and i find out that there is no laws for the internet and there is this packe rs and stockard program in washington and they oversee the livestock selling in this country. there is a lady named susan keith who runs that. this lady told the i had fraud committed against me but she couldn't do anything because there is no statute did when they had this sony deal, what the president obama say? the internet is like a wild west. well, you know, he is the sheriff in town. i have been working on this for 2.5 years. i found out a guy like me -- mitch mcconnell is my senator. i don't even have access to the sky, you know what i mean -- to this guy, you know what i mean? i pay taxes. they won't give -- everybody says how they want to help the farmer. you know, we need minor

technology -- modern technology to sell livestock. host: ok, carol in new mexico democratic living. good morning -- democratic caller. good morning. caller: good morning to you. i'm really concerned about the new congress. it seems anymore as though not only do they lurch from emergency and deadline to another deadline, they also strictly played to their base. and i think the idea of maybe working together for the general good has gone away. it is one election to another. host: ok, all right, carol, well , here is the latest tweet from louie gohmert, challenging speaker boehner for that post. "the house of representatives will vote for speak of the house and 11:45 a.m. central time.

you can watch the vote via c-span." we will have our cameras in the chamber for the first couple of hours of opening day of the 114th congress. media outlets like ourselves asked to do so on the opening day, the joint sessions and the joint meetings could we are allowed to do so because we believe that bringing you more complete coverage of the chamber, you will see the conversations happening on the floor with the votes for speaker and other processes takes place in the chambers. tune in here to c-span. after those couple of hours, control of the cameras will go back to the house officials. and the senate cameras remain in control of the senate today over there. tune into c-span2 though, for the opening day of the senate. let's go to quincy massachusetts, republican caller.

quincy, massachusetts, go ahead, you are on the air. caller: yes hi. you done a good job about all the detail on the house and senate side. one more piece that would be very helpful and nice to see is in terms of terms like which is the longest-serving member in terms of years -- is it 10 years, 20 years? and also, what is the youngest age, what is the oldest age on both sides house and republicans. it would nice to see the term data. and how many reelected, how many fresh ielects, things like that. host: ok, caller, i hope you are looking at your screen right now because we are showing the age range. the oldest in the house is representative conyers, democrat for michigan, 85 years old. and the youngest is

representative elise stefanik, republican from new york, 30 years old. the average age for the house 57 years old. that gives you an idea of the age range in the house. in the senate, the oldest is senator dianne feinstein democrat from california, 81 years old. the youngest is senator-elect tom cotton who beat mark pryor the democrat there. 37 years old from arkansas, iraq and afghanistan veteran. average age in the senate, 61 years old. let's go to the news desk for another quick update on the speaker race. host: greta, just wanted to point out this story from "the washington post" this morning that more are announcing opposition to boehner but he just got safer. the current whip count, the biggest development might be a report from politico that at least 12 house democrats are skipping the vote to attend

mario cuomo's funeral in in new york. why is that important? the speaker needs a majority of those voting, not a majority of all members. every member who doesn't vote that is another vote that boehner can stand to lose and still win. it increases the threshold for pushing boehner to a v second alibi votes. -- second ballot by votes. host: you will be able to watch that all unfold on c-span. they will gavel in at noon and the vote for speaker will take place shortly after that. we will go to kevin fort wayne, indiana. caller: hi, greta, how are you? host: good morning. caller: i had thoughts as far as the question of the 114th congress. i hope it is a more mature responsible congress that we will see emerging in the next

two years. i hope emblematic of the situation of any responsible congress -- of an irresponsible congress, we can see that reflected in the john boehner challenge today. it is time for both parties to beside the bitter partisan battles and get on to the task that they are constitutionally required to do, and that is to govern, to legislate. and i think what the american people sat in november -- said in november, both parties, is it is time to see that finally start to happen. i think that we see with the emergence of the republican majority a majority that is now charged with the task of governing. that is the challenge that lies before the 114th congress. it is time to put aside partisanship. it is time to stop striking

out against obama and show that they can really be responsible legislators. host: this is the front page of "the wall street journal." "crop of young outsiders remakes face of congress." they tend to be younger and have less legislative experience. "they will join 33 others who have served less than one six year term, the highest total since 1981. in the house roughly half of all lawmakers will have been in office only since the 2008 election, meaning that their main political experience is the politics of polarization." we are getting your thoughts on this new congress gaveling in today for the next two years. dallas democratic caller. go ahead. caller: yes, i am skeptical that anything will get done with this 114th congress, but i know speaker boehner has been calling on wanting jobs bills to get past and the president has been asking for the infrastructure bill.

i think if the republican leadership is serious about getting anything done, this would be the perfect opportunity to pass a jobs bill by early or even midspring to show that they are serious about wanting to lead. host: ok, we will go to sheila next, kansas republican. hi sheila. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i watch a lot of the committee hearings on here. guthrie, winfield, all the committees when they commission people on hhs, cdc, or irs. the committees are just generally laugh at, and i think there should be more power in a committee that if you ask for information, where the recovery money went, for any fraud by these different bureaucracies that people should be held accountable. they still have not answered questions from two years ago.

host: rudy, mount vernon, ohio, republican. good morning to you, rudy. caller:? hi, how are you? host: doing well, circuit what are your thoughts on the 114th congress? caller: got to be better than what we had last year with harry reid running the show getting nothing done. they talk about these guys coming in with lack of experience. the head guy with lack of experience, the x community organizer good is he going to be able to work with these guys are not? none of them's got experience. they've got to be better than it was, though that ain't saying much, and i think boehner ought to go. he is in bed with obama. that is pretty plain to see. i think louie gohmert would have a set and boehner don't have a set. host: rudy in ohio saying that

the speaker of the house needs to go. we are joined now up on capitol hill by representative-elect barbara comstock, republican of virginia. representative-elect comstock, let's talk about this vote for the speaker. how do you plan to vote? guest: oh, good morning, good to be with you. i do intend to vote for the speaker. we had a conference meeting last night and we were talking about our rules and our agenda for the week. we will be moving very quickly this week, voting on the keystone pipeline this week which is very exciting. that is some thing i campaigned about and talked about throughout my election. i am on the transportation and infrastructure committee, so that bill is part of that committee, too, so i look forward to hitting the ground running this week and getting people back to work and getting

congress back to work in regular order and have our bills in the senate be considered, like the keystone pipeline that majority leader mcconnell already said he is going to be taking up quickly, too. host: congresswoman elect, did you have a personal conversation with the speaker? did you have a conversation with those opposing him representative louie gohmert or ted yoho? guest: well, actually, those opposing him were there but did not talk to -- my colleague from virginia, morgan griffith, is my majority leader when i was first in the house of delegates, he wrote about this, commenting on how there hasn't been a campaign or other candidates coming forward. we were all there really focused on the work we are going to be doing this week. that is what the conference was talking about last night in our meeting, how we are going to get to work and do the job that the american people hired as to do. host: you have experience

working on capitol hill. you were in legislative aide for retired congressman golf -- retired congressman frank wolf. and as you mentioned, part of the virginia house of delegates. how does that experience lend itself to working with others on capitol hill and getting things done, as you said? guest: well, sure, i'm very fortunate to have had a great mentor in congress meant wolf. he will still be a constituent and will be very active on human rights, so i am thrilled he will stay so active on that important issue and i look forward to working with him on that issue. i have a lot of relationships working with people really across the aisle and one of the people that i met with over the christmas holidays was congresswoman-elect debbie dingell,

we will be working on a young woman's leadership program. now we want to expand that i have other women in congress work with us on how we can get young women engaged in leadership roles. back when i worked in these halls and i first worked for congressman wolf in canon 104 now i'm in canon 226. i never thought about running myself. i was working for a lot of men and women who were up your doing a great job but this was not something i thought about so i want to talk to other young women about how they can see themselves as leaders -- in leadership roles not just in government but in business medicine, science and technology which is very important to my district. i am looking forward to being able to continue a lot of the work i did in the statehouse with the tech community and with our business community and our defense community.

the committees reflect a lot of work i did in the statehouse i am looking forward to bringing that experience to work for my constituents. host: why are those issues important to your district? guest: jobs is the number-one issue. jobs and the economy is what we heard over and over throughout the election this year. people want this economy to get going. there have been so many bills that have just been sitting in the house that senator reid refused to take up and now we are going to have this opportunity. lots of bipartisan bills like the keystone pipeline, like jobs for our veterans who are coming back and have so much talent and so much ability to come to work and work with our tech community. i have been very involved with the northern virginia technology council. i have been a member and i was a chairwoman of our science and technology committee in virginia. our northern virginia technology council has a whole program to

work with veterans. i am really excited about the opportunity to take all these different communities that work so well here in northern virginia and the shenandoah valley that i represent and showcase them for the whole country and see the good things we are doing and be able to expand upon that throughout the country and have our good tech entrepreneurs and defense industry folks really show how we can get people back to work and help our veterans and help our men and women who are looking for good high-paying jobs and have good careers for our young people. host: if we are talking with representative elect barbara comstock, republican of virginia who represents the 10th district. we want to show our viewers a tweet from you earlier this morning -- this is taking the metro on your first date to work for the 114th congress. did you have any disruptions like the weather? guest: i was up very early this

morning because my successor -- i was at the polls this morning at 6:00 a.m., i think the number seven voter. craig who is running for the seventh district, if you want to vote for my colleague for delegate, i was out there campaigning early this morning for him. then i came in -- i drove in with my husband and i realized with the traffic i might be running late. he continued in the car but dropped me off at the metro. i ran into a few friends so it was a fun time on the silver line and it got me here in good time and comfort. capital south is right by my office here in canada and so i was thrilled to be able to take the metro and have the silver line work for us in northern virginia. host: i know time is tight but we are asking our viewers to call in this morning. and give us their thoughts on

the 114th congress print i want to squeeze in one call from you from doris in colorado democratic color. caller: good morning. i would like to see the 114th congress work maybe 4.5 days for the week and about as many weeks as working people work in a year. they are out more than they are in in the last congress. that accounts for a lot of the bills being rushed at the end. if they spent more time working we would get more done in a more normal way. thank you. guest: thank you, i think we are going to have a very busy schedule if you look at our calendar. we are in a lot and we will be taking up a lot of these bills this week and will be moving forward.

on days that we are off, i like to get out into my district and travel around so i can tell folks in the 10th district in northern virginia and the shenandoah valley that we will be traveling around and make sure we hear from you and talk with you and hear your views and be very accessible. i have such great talent in my district. i love to get out there. i have been used to working seven days per week. i used to work here on capitol hill and had long hours, long weeks but i think it is a privilege to work here to work for the american people. i look forward to having those long workweeks and getting america back to work. there are a lot of people out there who are not working who want to get good paying jobs and that is the job we need to do to make sure that we can get on the path to prosperity for themselves and their children. host: congresswoman elect

barbara comstock from virginia we thank you for your time this morning. guest: great to be with you, thank you, happy new year. host: we are getting your thoughts on the 114th congress as they about to gavel in in less than an hour and our coverage is on c-span and on the senate they will gavel in as well and you can tune into c-span2 for that. back to the news desk with john mcardle for more on capitol hill. >> as you pointed out, less than an hour to go before the new congress convenes as rollcall puts it in their story -- quirky ceremonies, curious characters mark the hills first day of school. one of the quirky happenings in the senate today is the undisputed star of the show someone with almost universal name recognition but a purposely small footprint recently at the capital, vice president joe biden. he has only been at the capital twice since labor day but is back as master of ceremonies as

the constitution says he is the almost always powerless president of the senate. he will generate long highlight reels by possibly alerting with mothers and grandmothers and daughters while offering oddball quips as he did two years ago. you can certainly watch that and we will have our cameras there as well. the other happening not today but later this week is the house will read the constitution on friday. for the third time in the history of the house. members of the congress will read the constitution on the house floor. the tradition began in 2011 when members read the constitution at the start of the 112th congress. the founding document was read again when the 113 congress began. that is just some of the

happenings today and later this week. host: we will have coverage of that as well later this week so tune in to c-span. we will continue today talking about this new day on capitol hill, the republicans are taking control of congress. they have expanded their majority in the house and a new majority in the senate. they will be led in the house by , more than likely, house speaker john boehner, they are will be a contested vote for that around noon, eastern time. the incoming majority leader mitch mcconnell in the senate from kentucky who just won his reelection bid this last election cycle. your thoughts -- rockville south carolina, republican, go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to comment that i think that dingle has her finger on the pulse of the economy come up -- putting people back to work in america and hiring lower class and middle class jobs.

with the surrounding suppliers in manufacturing, it has eliminated so many jobs in south carolina and across the nation. no one really knows and i think her and ms. comstock both can really help us. thank you. host: when the senate convenes today, one face you will not see is that of the minority leader harry reid. he just tweeted this -- he just wrapped up a good meeting with his leadership team. the senator from new york chuck schumer and the senator from washington, patty murray, the senator from illinois, dick durbin at the home of harry reid in washington. he fell about four days ago exercising at home. he had broken ribs and some bones in his face as well. he will not be coming to capitol hill. the weather likely will impact his decision to stay home.

let's go to henry in new jersey, independent caller. caller: i am calling from south jersey. i called a while ago and a republican seems to be in control of the senate. they shut off unemployment extension in january and i have not collected since 1969. i did a little while ago and they pulled the rug out. i am curious if that will come up in the senate. i have not heard anything about it. host: is this a priority for you? caller: yes, without a doubt. i have been waiting. i got downsized from work. i started collecting for six month on they pulled it out in january of last and i have been waiting to see if they would retroactive it supposedly and that's the last i heard. host: it's not something that has been reported on lately. that is something that senate democrats said they would want to do. back in the 113th congress.

will go to anna in texas, and a credit caller -- caller: good morning, america happy 2015. first of all, i want to start -- i think we need to go back and then fast-forward. when president obama took office, 800,000 jobs were lost per month. now, 2.6 plus. we had to wars of which my nephew was killed and one and i have two nieces who were in college but in the reserve pulled out, the best job they can find is $10 per hour at home depot of which they are happy to have. i have to have 800,000 eligible to that they know they have to work upward. when president obama to took over, the dow was down. i was working before i retired

and lost over $150,000 in my 401(k). now the dow is over -- another thing, in texas, general motors would have decimated texas with job losses. general motors has added on to the company. the portal care act, my son has three kids in college. the 20-year-old is the youngest on the 23-year-old. he was working as a teacher. all of their money was being spent trying to keep medical for the family. now all three kids have insurance on his plan. louie gohmert does nothing in texas for anybody. under president obama, texas has survived. $350 million, rick perry and

greg abbott, refused to accept but by going through with the affordable care act, people are able to get insurance. people don't understand that texas -- in the country. when people have to go to the emergency room, that affects taxpayers paying a lot of money for other people to get insurance. emigration crops are being run let these people come over here. black people use to work these jobs and made not a dime. host: i will leave it there so let's go back to the news desk would john mcardle. >> just a quick news note -- white house official said president barack obama will meet with the new congressional leadership next week and the next tuesday. it will be the first since republicans officially assume control of capitol hill.

obama and leaders rebel parties met days after the november midterm election. that meeting will take place at the white house. host: ralph, south carolina republican. caller: hello. host: welcome to the conversation. caller: ok, i am 85 years old and voted for george bush the junior. my wife and i received notice from lep that they doubled my penalty for buying my own prescriptions and not letting the government pay since i was 65 years old. i was working overseas for 10 or more years during that time. i did not know anything about the law or the penalty my wife did not receive any notice and we were -- or we would have signed up. i want this congress to repeal that stupid law.

it is hurting us. i called the social security and they said i would be penalized for the rest of my life. host: tom from concord, california, independent -- caller: thanks for taking my call. host: what are your thoughts? caller: i think they will take the first couple of weeks and they should read the constitution. host: it sounds like they will read the constitution. caller: they need to take a test on it and study it. it sounds good for everybody to watch but they don't go buy it. this country -- there are no rights anymore. host: lawmakers plan to read the constitution on friday. previous conversation mention health care.

russell rotunda is a staff writer for the hill newspaper to talk about that issue. what is the first move from republicans now that they can call -- control congress? guest: we expect the house to take up a bill repealing obamacare's definition of full-time work which stands at 30 hours per week. they will try to raise that to 40 hours per week. it has been a priority for republicans. the slew of obamacare attacks in the past congress is likely to come back again. it will put additional pressure on the administration because this likely will pass the senate now that other chamber is controlled by republicans. we can see that 40 our bill come up first this week. after that, we are likely to see repeal of the employer mandate, repeal of the individual mandate, repeal of obamacare medical device tax and a variety of other bills. host: this move on the employer mandate by republicans, are all conservatives on board? guest: they are not. there was an adjusting piece in the media this morning that

highlighted a risk between some republicans and their more conservative counterparts who said this bill essentially do nothing to really change obamacare. we know that conservatives care very much about repealing the health care law. that seems unlikely given that there is a democrat in the white house. conservatives are saying to start out with a small move like this, adjusting the definition of full-time work, conservatives want to see a more robust attack from republicans. host: what has president obama said about the republican plan on his legislation? guest: following the midterm election, the white horse was more conciliatory toward republicans but we know they're going to veto a variety of these bills. there is no way present obama will let republicans dismantle his signature domestic achievement. there are a handful of priorities that have bipartisan support, not just support from republicans. one of those would be repealing the medical device tax which has support from democrats in both massachusetts and minnesota

where many medical device companies are located. if possible -- it's possible the white house will cave on that because of pressure from democrats and it's possible a vote on that bill could receive enough votes to overcome a veto. we will just have to wait and see but i think the white house is going to have to cave on a handful of these issues. host: on the employer mandate, could there be democrats that cross over to vote for this legislation? guest: they're definitely could be. it's a great slogan for republicans because many americans look at obamacare and they wonder why the definition of full-time work is not 40 hours which is what we typically think of. that is an easy message for democrats particularly if they are in a swing state or district where opposition to obamacare is high. we are expecting to see a bipartisan vote on that though perhaps not as strong as something like repealing the medical device tax. host: what about legal challenges to the law and how that might impact republicans strategy? t: the supreme court will take up this challenge to some

of obamacare's subsidies. the challenges are arguing it is not valid under the law for the exchanges established by the federal government to distribute subsidies. that is a huge issue that could deal and a norm is blow to obamacare if the supreme court sides with the challenges. from a capitol hill perspective, republican lawmakers are perhaps not as intent as making attacks on obamacare's their main focus right now because they know the supreme court could ultimately deal a blow and dismantle the whole law. we are not seeing republicans focused exclusively on this issue like they have in the past. the supreme court is handling some of that issue before them and they will wait and see what happens. host: who will be the main players on health care in this congress question mark guest: the person i have my eye on is jason chait that's on the house side. -- chafetz he is on the house

oversight committee. under darrell issa malaise congress, it played a major role in defining and shaping the debate over obamacare and conducting oversight at hhs and cmas, the two main to form is running this law. jason chaffetz is interested in bringing jonathan gruber back before the committee. he is the consultant on obamacare who made the controversial comments that went viral about the stupidity of american voters. jason chaffetz, when he came before the committee prior to the holiday pursued an intense line of questioning against jonathan gruber that suggests he might be back so that was certainly be away for chaff it's to begin his tenure with a lot of fireworks over the health-care law and i think that's what republicans want the ticket would because jonathan gruber made waves among the conservative base. host: another issue is physician payments, medicare, medicaid physician payments. what will happen this year? guest: we know the medicare

sustainable growth rate which keeps physicians paid in the program is due to expire this year in a handful of months. the debate is starting in -- on capitol hill and lots of interest groups are up your -- a peer. they are lobbying for a significant pastor that program and i think congress has patched that t times. it's expensive for them to pursue full reform but i think republicans are very interested in getting that done as a serious peas of business. every time we talk about the s gr, it seems they are kicking the can down the road. . host: thanks are giving us an update on what to expect and health care in the 114th congress. let me turn back to all of you to get your thoughts on this new congress. they will gavel in today for the next two years. the new lawmakers in the old who have been around for many years are gaveling in to take up

legislative issues. one of the first items for both sides of the chamber is the keystone xl pipeline. republicans control the house and the senate and that is the number one issue that they want to get to. along with some other items. we'll go to sherry in oakland, california, democratic color. caller: good morning and happy new year. i am offering more food for thought outlining some things i want to highlight. i'm a proud dnc member. the first comment i want to make is i'm tired and i hope the 214th congress stops talking about the constitution. they were slave owners. the senseless wars, i'm tired of that. these men are never asked if they are republican or democrats. they are americans. first and foremost, that needs to stop.

with respect to president barack obama, i am very proud and i have voted for him in both elections. legitimate president no controversy on his election at all. however, the disrespect from the republican party and the anger that he's being shown time and time again, he has taken hit after hit -- could it be because his mother and grandparents look just like the republican party? the last comment i would like to make is that i would like to know and see what the diversity with c-span actually looks like. i don't see people of color at all on this program. maybe in guys should maybe to a calendar of all the people that work for c-span of people who are paid. we can see that c-span looks

like the dnc. the republican party when i watched the last presidential race, is full of good old boys. host: doug in longwood, florida republican. caller: hi, happy new year. i think what people want is a good example -- the individual law is the political system we have that is so corrupt. you'll find out that they will do anything to get elected. they will serve their special interest groups and until we institute some sort of campaign or election reform or we

institute time limits, nothing is ever going to change. i think it would be a very interesting study to take each politician and establish his net worth prior to coming to office and see what his net worth is upon leaving office. i think americans would wind up seeing that the whole gang is the politics. it's not the running of the country. they are selling a product. they are used-car salesmen and they are trying to get you to sign the bottom line and until the americans actually stand up and are tired of not being heard , nothing is going to change.

it does not matter if the republicans or if they are democrats. it basically boils down to that they are a moneymaking machine that gives them money and power. host: here is the breakdown of the senate -- 54 republicans in the chamber 44 them across, to independence. also in the senate 36 states have both senators from the same party, 21 with two republicans if you are interested in having incoming majority leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky will govern, he gave a speech on the senate floor in january of last year. here is what he had to say about putting regular order back in

place. [video clip] >> a bill should come to the floor and be thoroughly debated. we've got an example of that going on right now. that includes a robust amendment process. in my view, there is far too much paranoia about the other side around here. what are we afraid of? both sides have taken liberties and abuse privileges, i will admit that come up but the answer is not to provoke even more. the answer is to let folks debate. this is the senate. let's folks debate very let the senate work its will. that means bringing bills to the floor. it means having a free and open amendment process. that is legislating. that is what we used to do here. that's exactly the way this

place operated a few years ago. the senior senator from illinois, the democratic majority leader used to say that if you don't want to fight fires, don't become a fireman. if you don't want to cast votes don't come to the senate. i guess he has not said that lately. when we used to be in the majority, i remember telling people that the good news is we are in the majority but the bad news is in order to get the bill across the floor, you have to cast a lot of votes you don't want to take. you know we did it and people groaned about it, complained about it in the sun still came up the next day and everybody felt like they were part of the process. senator durbin was right about that when he said it. i think it's time to allow senators on both sides more fully to participate in the

legislative process. that means having a more open amendment process around here. as i said, obviously, it requires you from time to time to cast votes should rather not cast. . but we are all grown-ups we can take that. there is rarely ever a vote to castor inhibits fatal. -- there's really a revote that is cast that is fatal. the irony is that kind of process makes the place a lot less contentious. in fact, it's a lot less contentious when you vote on tough issues than when you don't. when you are not allowed to do that, everybody is angry about being denied the opportunity to do what you are sent here to do. host: senator mitch mcconnell from one year ago today talking about restoring regular order in the senate.

he will be the incoming majority leader when the senate devils and at noon eastern time on c-span. he will have the power of recognition. he will be recognized first is majority leader and that gives him the power to control the floor. the incoming minority leader harry reid come as we told you earlier, he is working for home after an accident he had a few days ago where he was exercising and fell and broke some ribs and some bones. in his face. his office sent out this statement -- tune into c-span2 for coverage of the opening day of the one at

the 14th congress and the senate. we are getting your thoughts on that. utica, montana, independents -- caller: thanks for having me on. i want to talk about the minimum wage. there was a caller before that said something that bothered me. she said we need to forget the constitution and start acting like americans. that sort of an oxymoron. let's get back to the minimum wage -- if we want to make the minimum wage $15 per hour, wouldn't we have to raise the poverty level ,too? i own health insurance agencies in southeast michigan and when you raise the minimum wage, a lot of people who are getting tax credits will lose those tax credits. they will have to pay the full price of health insurance. we really need to think this through. i would love to answer questions for you about health care and what's going on. how well do you think this

second year is going? there was only 18% participating right now. host: what do you think? how was a performing? caller: it is very dysfunctional because we are guessing at what people will be making in 2015 to try to be able to determine what their tax credits are. there is only one person that can determine that and that's my lord and savior. that is a little dysfunctional there. that makes everybody an accountant that gets a tax credit. they need to keep track of every penny they make during the prior year. that is a problem. let's think of this -- the first go around it not go that well. it was pretty dysfunctional and now in 2016, all group policies will have to conform to the affordable care act. if the 18% did not go that well, how well do you think the 82% is going to go? host: ok, those are thoughts on

health care. the phone lines are open for your thoughts on the 114th congress. republicans take control of the house and the senate. what are your thoughts on this? what are your priorities or concerns for these lawmakers as they are about to be sworn in for the next term? a new term for someone and that will take place in about half an hour in both the house and the senate. our cameras will be there. stay tuned in here to c-span for the house and c-span2 for the senate. we recently sat down with longtime congress reporter david hawking's about the ins and outs of congress and what is happening in the house chamber and in the senate chamber when they start the legislative session of the day. take a listen -- [video clip] >> joining us to talk to the

people who make the day to day activities of david hawking's, good morning. tell us about these positions we see all the time heard what purpose do they serve in the day-to-day running of things? guest: on both the house side and the senate side, there are 18 a bureaucratic functionaries who are designed to keep operations running smoothly and according to parliamentary procedure. and make sure records are kept properly and completely and accurately and quickly. there are teams of people you see on the restrooms of the house and the senate make that happen in ways -- if they are doing the jobs properly, the public never notices and the members never notice and that's the way it supposed to work. host: starting with the house, we know where the speaker stands when the house representatives operate but talk about the people behind them. who will we see in the top tier? guest: the person you see under the mace. the mace is carried into the

house whenever it's in session. it's somewhat predictable. the person who sits -- i'm wrong -- the person who sits under the mace is the parliamentarian. he was to stay close to the speaker and he or she has scripted papers that he can hand the providing officer -- the presiding officer. people often ask me how the presiding officers know all of that formal language. it's because it is written down on those sheets of paper in the parliamentarian is there to hand them that or, if things get rough in a parliamentary way, the parliamentarian is there to give advice to the speaker and say you should rule this way or that way. host: on the opposite side, what are these positions? guest: that would be the formal spot for the clerk of the house, a woman named karen haas.

for people watching today, if they are doing the joe's right you never knows who they are. this is the one day beer were karen haas or her predecessors become tv stars for a few hours. the way the house works is when the house convenes at noon today, and a parliamentary sense, it won't really exist. none of the members will have been sworn in yet. for a while, karen haas, the clerk of the house, is the providing officer and you will see her in the speaker's chair until the election of a speaker has taken place and the new speaker, presumably john boehner will take the rostrum and she will go back to relative anonymity to the speakers left. host: a position we hear often is sergeant at arms. what exactly is the job? guest: the sergeant at arms as the chief security officer for the house and is supposed to maintain good order and discipline.

he supposed to ensure that the chamber is secure and members are secure. and the house chamber is in good working order and he's in charge of that. the sergeant at arms, now that i think about it, it's surprising that he sits down by the door brings the mace and and goes to sit down. if there were a disruption on the floor, there is occasionally historically been some periods of heated discussion that the sergeant at arm's has to intervene. it is the sergeant at arms to does that. in front of the sergeant of arms, those two people the lowest tier of the dais are the bill clerks. when member introduces a pillar puts one in the hopper, that is where the hopper is. going around the front, go up to the two chairs above that, those two chairs which are empty in this picture in part because i'm guessing this is not a moment where he vote is about to happen.

one of those people is the so-called tally clerk who is in charge of the voting procedures. if you are watching a recorded vote in the house, towards the end of the boat, you might hear somebody trying to switch their vote. the way it works is it's a electronic voting on most all the time and members get credit cards and put their credit cards in these machines that you don't see on tv and vote yes or no. it is for the end of the vote in the want to change, they have to hand a red card to vote no or a green card to vote yes to one of the people sitting in those in two chairs. host: there are other clerks here? guest: the woman in the red shirt is called a reading clerk. there is a republican and a democratic one. they are the ones who are announcing the amendments or what bill they will do next. they are in charge of keeping that paperwork flow going. in front, way down in front thomas sitting on either side of the lovely dining room table with a red and green cards are

the people who are transcribing the debate. old-school transcribers, a couple of them -- i think they all -- are all gone now. they used to do it with pencil. host: they use those machines. guest: they type in a weird way that only they can decipher. host: the senate has a different configuration but some of the same positions. start with the presiding officer. guest: the presiding officer in that picture is ed markey which is a typical presiding officer a member of the majority party who has minimal seniority. unlike in the house for the speaker of the house has enormous power and how he or she rules from the chair has an enormous amount to do with how the day goes come in the senate, the rules are fundamentally different. the presiding of us are has minimal power. it is a thankless task that is assigned to members of the

majority party who are brand-new. for the next two years, we will see all the freshmenj senators, i think 11 of them, and they will be assigned to take turns sitting up there. they cannot really do anything else other than sign letters or sign autographs. they cannot work their phones or blackberries. they do run the process. several of them say they become procedural experts by sitting in the chair. in that close shot, you see the men to ed markey's front looking as though he is trying to get mr. markey's attention. he is the senatorial equivalent of the parliamentarian. he has some scripts sheets but he -- you will see him handing the presiding officer scripted announcements of the vote coming up on or what they are voting on and he advises the presiding officer and what to do next and what's the next thing that's proper parliamentary order. host: two is right? guest: that is the journal clerk

who helps keep the proceedings and runs the system by which the transcription of the senate proceedings are taken. this is a picture when no vote is about to happen. the empty chair would be the tally clerk, the person who calls out the role. you always hear the sonorous tones whenever they go into a quorum call. the person who is first in the alphabet, i don't know who it will be in the new congress but he gets his or her name called out and they slowly call the roll. when an actual vote is happening, they are the ones in charge of the hubbub of calling the role and simultaneously calling the role members can get that person's attention and vote even when her name is not being called. that is a high stress. job he is the assistant to that job and in front, you will see these

two tables. what is run by the republicans and one by the democrats. it's whether republicans and democrats go to ask their own partisan people what they are voting on how my supposed to vote. host: hua points these people to these jobs? guest: some bubble up in the bureaucratic system of the clerk's office. they need to be willing to spend long hours sitting on television and behaving themselves. it's considered a prestigious job so some of the lesser jobs are people who are careerists in the bureaucratic sellers of congress. some of them like ms. haas and the secretaries of the majority munged minority will have those desks are political jobs who have gotten to know the leaders and gotten the trust of leaders and might have worked as chiefs of staff or legislative councils. it is a capstone position for them. host: walking us through the various positions on the house and senate is the senior editor

of rollcall, thank you very much. host: the ins and outs of congress there from david hawkings. if you ever wondered who was sitting behind those desks when the house and senate gavilan, now you know and their positions and responsibilities. we are bringing you up to noon eastern time when the house and senate will gavel in a new congress. republicans are taking control of both the house and the senate. we'll have coverage of the house on c-span. tune into c-span2 for our coverage of that chamber. about a dozen democrats plan to miss today's opening day, the swearing in for office. that is because they are attending the funeral of former governor marriott cuomo. the funeral began at 11:00 a.m. many democrats traveled to new york for the funeral. "the new york daily news" says it's a who's who of the political world led by vice

president joe biden. they lined up to pay their respects monday and that continues today. the vice president will be in washington for the swearing in of the senators. the dozen house democrats that are missing today's opening day will have to be sworn in later. they can do a private ceremony. they have to coordinate that with the speaker's office because it has to be done by the speaker of the house. they will be sworn in later but as we learned, that complicates the vote against the speaker john boehner. several republicans about 17, are planning to vote no against a third term for the speaker of the house. he is being challenged by his own party. it is led by representative ted yoho of flow florida and louie

gohmert of texas so keep your channel here if you want to see it unfold. it will take over one hour. howard l florida, democratic florida, back to your thoughts about this new congress, what do you think? caller: thank you for letting me get on your show. i don't know, the 114 congress, what can we expect of them? with citizens united the politicians are bought and sold. who are they representing? the first thing on their agenda is the keystone pipeline. that being said, we know china will get most of the oil. they can contribute all the money they want. it's undisclosed. we don't know where the money is coming from. there is too much money out there. host: what do you want to see

from your party over the next two years? they are in the minority. caller: i want them to become democrats, have a spine. why are they running away from the president? they are in a unique position. the president is a democrat. obama is not perfect. but he is looking out for the middle class and compromises a lot. he has wall street in all that. the republicans are going to do away with dodd frank and all the regulations. wall street gamble their money away at our expense and we have to bail them out again. everything on their agenda is big business. host: eugene, oregon, independent, what do you think about this new congress? caller: thank you for having me. i appreciate your show. the 114th congress will be no different than the 113th congress.

what people need to realize is the republican party and the democratic party are two sides of the same coin. my desire for congress would be, number one, term limits. across the board. the house, the senate, the president and judges. if we continue -- go with common sense -- if we continue to allow politicians to make a career out of politicians, what do we expect? host: lawrence, new york, a republican, you are on the air. caller: good morning. i would like to know -- let making gradually the 114 congress. -- let me congratulate the one of the 14th congress. i don't hear any republicans

talking about the poor. they are not talking about the middle class. it's all keystone. it seems to me that there is a lot of david duke without the baggage in congress. don't you think so? host: what you bring that up? we lost him. we have a few minutes left for more of your comments about this new congress. first, let's go back to the news desk with john mcardle for more on capitol hill. >> a quick update on the speaker's race, the effort to try to keep john boehner from a third term. it was reported that more than an hour before the hold a third candidate has emerged as an alternative to john boehner. a group of republicans won a more conservative lawmaker to leave their party have recruited congressman daniel webster, a republican from florida.

he is entering his third term in office and would not comment on his candidacy but congressmen macy of kentucky and marlin stutzman of indiana say they confirmed the news. daniel webster is a former speaker of the florida state house. it's been reported by "the washington post." conservatives are talking up daniel webster, the floor just the former florida house speaker as one of their contenders. even some latebreaking news on the speaker's race just before the vote. host: the vote will take place shortly afternoon eastern time so tune in for our coverage. stay here on c-span for the senate, the swearing in of the new members there and those who have won another term, you can go to c-span2 for the house. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. what i'm hoping for the 114th

congress is they pass a lot of legislation that is race neutral. that way our political leaders that want to play americans against other americans based on their skin color or gender or whatever it is, whatever the issue is, the topic of the day can be done away with and they will be retired at the polls. i think americans all want the same thing. they want to have a decent life a house to live in or a decent job. this focus that has been strictly on race relations and this guy hates you -- this hate is not going to do anybody any good. all they have to do is focus on getting the economy going and i think everybody will fall in line and they will see that this is what we all want regardless of our skin color. i appreciate you taking my call. host: let's go to miami

florida, mike an independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to say congratulations to the 114th congress. it was a tidal wave election. i think that was a message for president obama that they don't want his agenda, the american people. i think the 114th congress should put all their power to stop his agenda. i think that impeaching president obama would not hurt the republicans in 2016. i think they would win more support. host: when the lights turn on in the house chamber in just a few minutes, we will bring you there to watch the 114 congress gavel in. linda in iowa, democratic caller , you are on the air. caller: good morning my comments are about the first female senator from iowa, joni ernst. having a seat -- having a female senator represent us is a big

step for our country. in the past, we have had two elderly gentleman from iowa represent our state for many years. joni ernst being a woman in the military, expect her to support legislation that will help women who are sexually abused in the military. i think congress has been very lukewarm about this issue. . our country always says we support our military men and women but i don't think we do enough for them she is also pro-life. i hope she can see the pro-choice point of view. women in this country want a choice on personal issues in their lives. thank you for taking my call. host: let's go next to barry in humboldt, iowa, republican caller. caller: hi, thank you for taking my call. i love the politicians have forgotten that the job they have is a public service, not a career position. they need to stay with that and

remember the fact that the people put them in there to represent the people. not their own interests. that's all i have to say. host: michael imperial beach, california, independents. caller: good morning. i have not heard anything from republicans or democrats about our supreme court decision about citizens united. you are a smart lady, greta. would you agree that until we overturn citizens united which lets international entities provide money for political campaigns, do you see anything positive with our election process in the future? host: let me ask you, is that priority number one for you? caller: it has to be. if we are letting international entities contribute money to our political process, isn't that crazy? host: foreigners are not allowed to contribute to american

elections. it's something we have talked about onthe "washington journal " there are organizations that focus on the citizens united decision. go to our website, www.c-span.org, go to the "washington journal" and you can find the interviews we have done on that. beverly hills, california, democratic color. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to congratulate the 114th congress. i want to say that i completely object to what the gentle man from eugene, oregon set about term limits. we have term limits in the form of the ballot box. initiating term limits would create musical chairs like it does in california. i believe it brings us to a disadvantage at least in our state. i would be very upset to see that at a federal level. i disagree with the gentle man who called from florida saying that congress has to object from what mr. obama is trying to do

it it goes against their objective of governing which is what they were elected to do mr. o, was elected in 2012 by people who were -- the democratics -- the demographics were different so he needs to stick to his policies. host: lou caller: pennsylvania, and independent. caller:good morning. in this new congress come i'm wondering if you would know the number of members that rt party as compared to the number of members that are progressive. host: there is a teapot he caucus -- a tea party caucus that forms every year so we will have to wait and see what happens there. the house looks like they are gathering. the lights are on. we can see folks about to come in. the door is about to be opening

in the house. when that happens, we will bring you there. let's go to carol in rockville maryland, democratic color. until that happens, go ahead. caller: you did have a congressman on this morning, i think his name was blocked. i'm not sure. host: representative of joe buck ken buck. caller: he talked about lowering the level of the president and that was a disgraceful remark. for him to not come down to the level but rather he would have to rise to the level. the president is a very smart, decent, fine man. host: blake in wheeling, west

virginia, a republican. your thoughts on the 114th congress as we approach the new congress and the gaveling in of the next two years, go ahead. caller: thank you so much for having me on. i would like to say that the voters sent a real message in 2014 whether it was the republicans recapturing control of the senate or expanding in the house, i think the message is that we want change whether it's with the keystone pipeline. i think we need to pass it. and might be obamacare, i think we need to repeal and replace it and on the issue of immigration we to reform it. these are issues that need to be taken up regardless. of what the president does with executive action i believe the start of the 114th congress will show that. host: will go to brighton colorado, dave, and independent. caller: good morning. host: you have a new senator. caller: we certainly do. it was an interesting choice.

i am quite concerned about what will happen with this new congress. the republicans are going to stick -- going to start taking credit for that all the good things that have happened over the last six years. the economy has improved tremendously, the stock market is as high as it's been unemployment is down, more people are working throughout the nation. more people have health care than of ever had. there has been tremendous success in education and republicans will come in starting today, i have already noticed, suggesting we have to get people back to work. people have been getting back to work in the obama policies have worked well the last six years. unfortunately, the democrats did not support it as they should have. now the republicans will start taking credit for all good things that have happened and hopefully good things continue to happen but if they don't, they would blame the president. this congress realizes that the

democrats have done all the heavy lifting to this point. we want to continue with those improvements and not take credit for everything that is happened in the past but they need to do something that is good for the future. host: missouri, republican, hi kathy. you might have to make it quick. caller: i wish for this new congress to keep their word and that they work to do what they promise to do. we need to get our foreign policy and a reputation back in the world standing. host: ok, we go to colorado, jose democratic color, go ahead. caller: i am calling from a small town in western colorado. i am for president obama. he has done good work. if we look back through the years, we will recognize that the term before him had us

spending money. host: i have to leave it there because the house is in session. the lights are on. the lawmakers are gathering on the floor and our cameras are in the chamber. we are allowed to bring our cameras in for the first couple of hours of today's opening day of the 114 congress and then the house will resume control of those cameras. for now, live coverage here on c-span of opening day of the 114 congress.