and the pursuit of happiness is the greatest work we will

perform on behalf of all people. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from ohio, mr. chabot. mr. chabot: i ask that everyone join in the pledge to our nation's flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the speaker: props the gentleman from ohio rise? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 7 of rule 20, i move a call of the house. the speaker: under clause 7-b of rule 20, the chair confers recognition for that purpose. without objection, the call of the house is ordered. members will record their presence by electronic device.

the speaker: on this roll call 421 members have recorded their presence. a quorum is present. the hoist will be in order. the chair requests that members clear the aisle, take seats, nd cease audible conversation.

for what purpose does the distinguished speaker seek recognition? the speaker: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the speaker: all right. thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today to inform you that i will resign as speaker of the house effective upon the election of my successor. i will also resign as the representative from ohio's 8th

district at the end of this month. i leave with no regrets, no burdens. if anything, i leave the way i started. just a regular guy, humbled by the chance to do a big job. that's what i'm most proud of. i'm still just me. the same guy who came here 25 years ago as a small business man and spent all these 25 years trying to just be me. sometimes my staff thought i was too much like me, but it really is i'm most proud of. the same regular guy that came here to try to do a good job for my district and my country. but before i go, i want to express what an honor it's been to serve with all of you. the people's house is in my view the great embodiment of the american dream. everybody here comes from

somewhere and everybody here's on some mission. i come from a part of the world where we are used to working. as far back as i can remember, i was working, my staff was asking me the other day, on november 1, you're not going to have a job. when was the last time you didn't have a job? i thought about it and thought about it and thought about it. i thought, i had to be 8 or 9 years old because i was throwing newspapers back then and working at my dad's bar. as a matter of fact, i used to work from 5:00 a.m. on saturday morning until 2:00 p.m. for $2. not $2 an hour. $2. i never thought about growing up as the easy way or the hard way. it was just the cincinnati way. you know our city takes its name from a great roman general, a man who answered the call of his nation to lead. and then surrendered his power

to go back to his plow. for me it wasn't a farm it was a small business. and it wasn't so much a calling as it was a mission. a mission to strive for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government here in washington. how did we do? here are some facts. for the first time in nearly 20 years we have made some real entitlement reforms. saving trillions of dollars over the long term. we have protected 99% of the american people from an increase in their taxes. we are on track to save taxpayers $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years. the most significant spending reductions in modern times. we have banned earmarks all together. sorry. we have protected this institution. we have made it more open to the people. and every day in this capital city there are hundreds of kids from the toughest neighborhoods

who are finally getting a hance at a decent education. i'm proud of these things. but the mission is not complete but the truth is it may never be. one thing i came to realize over the years that i have been here is that this battle over the size and scope and cost of our government in washington has been going on for more than 200 years. and the forces of the status quo do -- good for an awful lot of trouble to prevent change from happening. real change takes time. yes, freedom makes all things possible, but patience is what makes all things real. so believe in the long slow struggle. believe in this country's ability to meet her challenges

and to lead the world. and remember, you can't do a big job alone. especially this one. so i'm grateful to my family, deb and my two girls, my two girls were 3 and 1 when i first ran for office. now they are a lot older. so they have been through a lot. you-all know what your families go through. it's one thing for us to take the boards and everything gets thrown at us, but it's another thing for our families. their skin isn't as thick as ours. i'm also grateful to all my colleagues. my fellow leaders, mr. mccarthy, mr. scalise, mrs. , and many on rs my side of the aisle, our committee chairs, people i have worked with for a long time. i'm just as grateful to ms. pelosi, mr. hoyer, mr. clyburn, and becerra, and others for all of the work that we have done together. over these last five years we have done an awful lot of work

together. probably more work done across the aisle over the last five years than in the 25 years that i served in this institution. now, as much as i enjoy working with all of you, some of you still could learn to dress etter. ou know who you are. i saw one of the culprits, one of the usual suspects that shows up here once in a while without a tie, but this morning he didn't dress very well but he did have a tie on. i'm grateful to the people who work in this institution every day. whether it's the reading clerks -

there are a lot of people, thousands of people that allow us to do our jobs and to help make this institution what it is. and whether it's the people you see here today or the people in the capitol police or leg counsel, there are thousands of people that do allow us to do our job. i'm grateful to my staff. now, you-all know i'm a big believer in staff. none of this can be what we are without the good staff. i certainly would never have gotten to this job without having built a great team. so really am grateful to my staff as they like to say to each other, once you're part of boehner land, you're always part of boehner land.

and that certainly goes for me as well. i'm especially grateful to all my constituents and the volunteers over the years. that includes a student at miami university in oxford, ohio, in 1990, who was putting up campaign signs for me. his name was paul ryan. i don't think he could pronounce my name back -- he was putting signs up for me. but cincinnati understood there is a difference between being asked to do something and being called to do something. . ul is being called i know he'll serve with grace and with energy and i want to wish him and his family all the best.

my colleagues, i describe my life as a chase for the american dream and that chase began at the bottom of the hill just off the main drag in redding, ohio, right outside cincinnati. top of the hill was a small house with a big family, a shining city in its own right. the hill had twists. the hill had turns, and even a few tears. nothing wrong with that. but let me tell you, it was just perfect. never forget we're the luckiest people on the earth. in america, you can do anything that you're willing to work for, willing to work hard at and things -- anything can happen if you're willing to make the necessary sacrifices in life. if you falter, and you will, you can just pick yourself up,

dust yourself off and go do it again because hope always brings eternal and if you do the right things for the right reasons, good things will happen. and this, too, can really happen to you. god bless you and god bless our great country.

the speaker: thankfully i had a gavel. pursuant to the speaker's announcement, the chair will receive nominations for office of the speaker. and the chair recognizes the gentlelady from washington

tate, mrs. mcmorris rodgers. mr. cmorris rodgers: speaker, today in the people's house, it gives me great honor to nominate the people's speaker. you don't need to look any further than the architecture of washington, d.c., to see what our founders envisioned. it's not by mistake that the dome over the congress is the very center of the federal city. the white house and the supreme court are set about us. satellite to the supreme power of the people expressed in this legislative body. in the house we are eager for a fresh start that will make us more effective to fulfill our obligation to reflect the will of the people and to re-establish the balance of power. and there's no better person to lead us in that calling than

the man i am about to nominate. he was first elected to the house at the ripe old age of 28 and he's served here now for 17 years. we all remember when he led the house budget committee, the visionary proposals, the lengthy debates and who could forget those powerpoints. he's now the chairman of the house ways and means committee, but he's more than a chairman to us. he's more than a colleague. he's our friend. he's a leader, and through it all he's never forgotten his roots. he lived on the same block he grew up in jamesville, wisconsin. there's no place he'd rather be than at home with his family. he will continue to put the people of this country first, and i can say in all candor, he did not seek this office. the office sought him. as chair of the house republican conference, i am directed by a vote of that conference to present for election to the office of speaker for the house of

representatives for the 114th congress, the representative from the state of wisconsin, the man from jamesville, the onorable paul d. ryan. -- the man from janesville, the onorable paul d. ryan. spoirk the chair now recognizes the gentleman from -- the speaker: the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. becerra. mr. becerra: thank you, mr. speaker. i offer my congratulations to my friend, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. ryan, on his nomination by his colleagues.

and at this time as chairman of the democratic caucus of this house, i wish to place in nomination the name of a proven leader for the office of speaker of the house of representatives. a leader who has accomplished in this chamber and for this country what few can match, a leader who as speaker of this house secured passage of landmark economic recovery package legislation in 2009 which transformed a diving economy losing 100,000 jobs each month to one that's created more than 13 million 60 over the last consecutive months of job growth. a leader who has speaker accomplished what 70 years of congresses could not, enactment of our lifesaving health security law which has put 18 million more americans in

control of their and their hildren's health care. a leader who had the foresight in 2008 to fight for the biggest investment in our troops since world war ii with the passage of the post-9/11 g.i. bill and the largest investment in our veterans' health care and benefits in the 7-year history of the v.a. a leader who was not afraid to take on the challenge of fixing our broken immigration system and secured passage of the dream act in 2010. mr. speaker, leadership is about making the tough choices and getting things done.

it means knowing how to bill the majority, not just with the members of your own political party but with the 435 elected members of the house of representatives so we can get things done. this leader understands that and knows how to get things done. even while serving in the minority in this house. that's why less than 24 hours ago this leader succeeded in breaking through the gridlock in this house and secured the votes needed to avert a senseless government shutdown and a perilous default on the ayment of america's bills. thanks to this leader, 16 1/2 million seniors will not suffer a $55 a month increase in their medicare premiums and congress will not cut the social ecurity benefits by 20%.

mr. speaker, that's leadership and that's what americans expect from those they elect. that is why it is my privilege as chairman of the house democratic caucus and as directed by the colleagues of the democratic caucus, i nominate for election to the office of speaker of the house of representatives from the 12th district of the great state of california, the norable nancy patricia 'alesandro pelosi. the speaker: the names of the honorable paul d. ryan and representative from the state of wisconsin and the honorable

nancy pelosi, a representative from the state of california have been placed in nomination. are there further nominations? there being no further nominations, the chair appoints the following tellers. the gentlewoman from michigan, mrs. miller, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. brady, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur, the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen. the tellers will come forward and take their seats at the desk in front of the speaker's rostrum.

the roll will now be taken and those responding to their names will indicate the surname of the nominee of their choosing. the clerk will now call the roll. the clerk: mr. abraham. ryan. adams. pelosi.

derholt, ryan. aguilar, pelosi. allen, ryan. amash, ryan. modei, ryan. ashford, pelosi. babin, ryan. arletta, ryan. arr, ryan. barton, ryan.

pelosi. eatty, pelosi. becerra, pelosi. enishek, ryan. era, pelosi. beyer, pelosi. bilirakis, ryan. .ishop of georgia, pelosi ishop of michigan, ryan. . shop of utah

. shop of utah black, ryan. blackburn, ryan. lum, ryan. lumenauer, pelosi. bonamici, pelosi. mike bost, ryan. oustany, ryan. brendan boyle, pelosi. brady of pennsylvania, pelosi.

rady of texas, ryan. rat bridenstine, ryan. brooks of alabama, ryan. brooks of indiana, ryan. rown of florida, pelosi. rownley of california, pelosi. uchanan, ryan. buck, ryan.

bucshon, ryan. burgess, ryan. cheri bustos, pelosi. butterfield, pelosi. byrne, ryan. calvert, ryan. capps, pelosi. capuano, pelosi. ardenas, pelosi. arney, pelosi.

carson of indiana, pelosi. carter of georgia, ryan. carter of texas, ryan. artwright, pelosi. castro -- castor of florida, pelosi. castro of texas, pelosi. ryan. haffetz, ryan. udy chu, pelosi. pelosi.e,

clark of massachusetts. pelosi. larke of new york, pelosi. webster.f florida, it clay, pelosi. cleave -- cleaver, pelosi. clyburn, pelosi.

ryan.n, cohen, pelosi. ole of oklahoma, ryan.

collins of georgia, ryan. collins of new york, ryan. comstock, ryan. conaway, ryan. connolly, pelosi.

pelosi.

grothman. yan. guinta, ryan. guthrie, ryan. gutierrez, pelosi. hahn, pelosi. hanna, ryan. hardy, ryan. . rper, ryan harris, ryan. hartzler, ryan. hastings, pelosi.

heck of nevada, ryan. eck of washington, pelosi. hensarling, ryan. herrera beutler, ryan. jody hiye, ryan. ryan. -- jody hice, higgins, pelosi. ill, ryan. himes, pelosi. , pelosi. holding, ryan. honda, pelosi.

hoyer, pelosi. udson, ryan. huelskamp, ryan. huffman, pelosi. uizenga of michigan, ryan. ultgren, ryan. hunter, ryan. hurd of texas, ryan. hurt of virginia, ryan. srael, pelosi. issa, ryan. , pelosi.ee

jefferies, pelosi. jenkins of kansas, ryan. jenkins of west virginia, ryan. ohnson of georgia, pelosi. johnson of ohio, ryan. eddie bernice johnson, pelosi. sam johnson, ryan. jolly, ryan. ones, webster.

ordan, ryan. joyce, ryan. kaptur, pelosi. katko, ryan. keating, pelosi. kelly of illinois, pelosi. kelly of michigan -- kelly of mississippi, ryan. kelly of pennsylvania, ryan. kennedy, pelosi. ildee, pelosi. kilmer, pelosi. kind, pelosi.

king of iowa, ryan. ing of new york, ryan. kinzinger of illinois, ryan. kirkpatrick, pelosi. kline, ryan. knight, ryan. kuster, pelosi. abrador, ryan. lahood, ryan. ryan.a, lamborn, ryan.

lance, ryan. langevin, pelosi. pelosi. washington, larson of connecticut, pelosi. latta, ryan. pelosi. lee, pelosi. levin, pelosi. lewis, pelosi. pelosi. . pinski

ipinski. lobiondo, ryan. oebsack, pelosi. lofgren, pelosi. ong, ryan. loudermilk, ryan. ove, ryan. lowenthal, pelosi. lowey, pelosi. lucas, ryan. luetkemeyer, ryan. ben ray lujan, pelosi.

ichelle lujan grisham, pelosi. lummis, ryan. lynch, pelosi. macarthur, ryan. carolyn maloney, pelosi. sean maloney, pelosi. archant, ryan. marino, ryan. massie, webster.

atsui, pelosi. mccarthy, ryan. mccaul, ryan. cclintock, ryan. mccollum, pelosi. mcdermott, pelosi. mcgovern, pelosi. mchenry, ryan. ckinley, ryan. mcmorris rodgers, ryan. cnerney, pelosi.

mcsally, ryan. meadows, ryan. eehan, ryan. . eks, meeks. meng, pelosi. messer, ryan. micah -- mica, ryan. miller of florida, ryan. iller of michigan, ryan. moolenaar, ryan. mooney of west virginia, ryan.

moore, pelosi. moulton, pelosi. , ryan. ulvaney, ryan. murphy of florida, pelosi. murphy of pennsylvania, ryan. adler, pelosi. napolitano, pelosi. neal, pelosi.

neugebauer, ryan. ewhouse, ryan. noem, ryan. nolan, pelosi. pelosi.s -- norcross, nugent, ryan. nunes, ryan. olson, ryan. 'rourke, pelosi. palazzo, ryan. pallone, pelosi. palmer, ryan.

ascrell, pelosi. paulsen, ryan. payne, pelosi. earce, ryan. elosi, pelosi. perlmutter, pelosi. perry, ryan. eters of california, pelosi. peterson of minnesota, pelosi. ingree of maine, pelosi. pittenger, ryan.

pitts, ryan. pocan, pelosi. oe of texas, ryan. ryan. inn -- poliquin, polis, pelosi. pompeo, ryan. osey, webster. price of georgia, ryan. price of north carolina, pelosi. quigley, pelosi. rangel, pelosi.

, paul ryan. ryan. reed, ryan. eichart, ryan. renacci, ryan. , ryan. rice of new york, pelosi. , ryan. south carolina richmond, pelosi. igell, ryan. roby, ryan. oe of tennessee, ryan.

rogers of alabama, ryan. ogers of kentucky, ryan. rohrabacher, ryan. rokita, ryan. rooney of florida, ryan. roskam, ryan. ros-lehtinen, ryan. ross, ryan. rothfus, ryan. rouzer, ryan. roybal-allard, pelosi. royce, ryan. ruiz, pelosi.

rupp -- ruppersberger, pelosi. ush, pelosi. russell, ryan. . an of ohio mr. ryan: while i love the name ryan, pelosi. the clerk: pelosi. ryan of wisconsin. ryan of wisconsin. salmon, ryan. linda t. sanchez, pelosi. pelosi.sanchez, sanford, ryan.

arbanes, pelosi. scalise, ryan. . schiff, pelosi. schrader, pelosi. quikert -- schweikert, ryan. scott of virginia, pelosi. austin scott, ryan. david scott, pelosi. sensenbrenner, ryan. serrano, pelosi. essions, ryan.

sewell of alabama, pelosi. sherman, pelosi. shimkus, ryan. simpson, ryan., john lewis. sires, pelosi. slaughter, pelosi. smith of movement, ryan.

smith of nebraska, ryan. smith of new jersey, ryan. smith of texas, ryan. smith of washington, pelosi. peier, pelosi. stefanik, ryan. stewart, ryan. stivers, ryan. tutzman, ryan. swalwell of california, pelosi. takai of hawaii, pelosi. pelosi. california,

pelosi. of california, thompson of mississippi, pelosi. hompson of pennsylvania, ryan. thornberry, ryan. tea beerry, -- tiberi, ryan. ipton, ryan. titus, pelosi. tonko of new york, pelosi. pelosi. trott, ryan. tsongas, pelosi. turner, ryan.

upton, ryan. valadao, ryan. an hollen, pelosi. argas, pelosi. easey, pelosi. vela, pelosi. velazquez, pelosi. visclosky, pelosi. ryan. walberg, ryan. alden, ryan. walker, ryan.

alorski, ryan. mimi walters, ryan. alz, pelosi, wasserman schultz , pelosi. maxine waters, pelosi. atson coleman, pelosi. weber of texas, webster. webster of orida, florida. elch of vermont, pelosi.

enstrup, ryan. westerman, ryan. estmoreland, ryan. whitfield, ryan. illiams, ryan. pelosi.f florida, wilson of south carolina, ryan. wittman, ryan. omack, ryan. woodall, ryan.

yarmuth, pelosi. yoder, ryan. yoho, webster. young of alaska, ryan. young of iowa, ryan. oung of indiana, ryan. zeldin, ryan. zinke, ryan.

the speaker: the reading clerk will now call the names of members who did not answer on he first call. the clerk: bishop of utah. yan. ipinski, pelosi.

meeks. ryan of wisconsin. ryan of wisconsin.

webster of florida. ebster of florida. the clerk: boehner. the speaker: ryan. the clerk: ryan. the speaker: if there are any members who did not answer the call of the roll, they i may come to the well and vote at this time.

the speaker: the tellers agree in their tallies that the total number of votes cast is 432 of which the honorable paul d. ryan of the state of wisconsin has received 236. the honorable nancy pelosi of california has received 184. the honorable daniel webster of the state of florida has received nine.

the honorable jim cooper of the state of tennessee has received one. the honorable john lewis of georgia has received one. and the honorable colin poul has received one. -- colin powell has received one. therefore, the honorable paul d. ryan of the state of wisconsin having received the majority of the votes cast is duly elected as speaker of the house.

the chair appoints the following committee to escort the speaker-elect to the chair. the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, the gentlewoman from california, ms. pelosi, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, the gentleman from maryland mr. hoyer, the gentlewoman from washington state, mrs. mcmorris rodgers, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn, the gentleman from oregon, mr. walden, the gentleman from california, mr. becerra, the gentleman from indiana, mr. messer, the gentleman from new york, mr. crowley, the gentlewoman from kansas, ms. jenkins, the gentleman from new york, mr. israel, the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. foxx, the gentleman from new mexico, mr.

ben ray lujan, the gentlewoman from missouri, mrs. wagner, the gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. delauro, the gentlewoman from maryland, ms. edwards, the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mchenry, and the members of the wisconsin delegation -- mr. sensenbrenner, mr. kind, ms. moore, mr. duffy, mr. ribble, mr. pocan, mr. grothman. the gentlelady from california, mrs. mimi walters. the members will retire from the chamber to escort the speaker-elect to the chair.

the sergeant at arms: mr. speaker, the speaker-elect, paul d. ryan of wisconsin.

>> the 114th congress of the united states. floor strength yen and inspired by the support of our colleagues. the constituents and the love of our families. my special thanks to all of you my children en, nine grandchildren, and the family for their support. the people of san francisco. the continued honor to represent them here. my heartfelt thanks to my colleagues for extending to me the honor of being nominated to the speaker of the house. thank you very much. said to his constituents and this congress with honor for 25

years. peaker john boehner. in his story we are reminded of the enduring exceptional promise of america. this hardworking son of an ohio bartender and owner who grew up to be the speaker of the house of representatives. john boehner talked about the american dream. john boehner, you are the personification of the american dream.

as you-all know, speaker boehner was a formidable spokesman for the republican agenda. my republican colleagues, i'm sure you know and i can attest to the fact that he was always true and loyal to the members of his caucus in any negotiations we ever had. although we had our differences, and often, i always respected his dedication to this house and his commitment to his values. thank you, john, for your leadership and courage as speaker. your graciousness as speaker extended and was reflected in your staff under the leadership of mike summers whom we all respect. thank you to john boehner's staff.

i know i speak for everyone here, democrats and republicans, when i thank you for making the visit of his holiness, pope francis, such a beautiful and meaningful xperience for all of us. today we extend our thanks and congratulations to debi, your daughters lindsay and trisha, and the entire boehner family, now including grandson. let's hear it for the family of ohn boehner. ebb behalf of house democrats and personally, i wish you and your family all of god's blessings in the glorious years ahead. last month we witnessed

something truly special when pope francis made history addressing a joint session of congress. standing right here pope francis called on us to speak hope, peace, and dialogue for all people. and reminded us of our duties to find a way forward for everyone. a good political leader his holiness said, is one who with the interest of all in mind seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. with that -- with the interest in mind of all. pope francis echoed the principle of our founders that placed at the heart of our democrat -- democracy the saying so many one. the founders could ever have imagine how vast our country would become, how diverse and many we would be ethnically, gender identities, beliefs, and

priorities, but they knew we had to be one. every day in this house and across the country we pledge allegiance to one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. this is the beauty of america that for all of our honest differences, prospeck tiffs, and priorities, aired and argued so passionately on this floor, we are committed to being one nation. despite our differences, in fact respecting them, i look forward to a clear debate in this marketplace of ideas, the people's house of representatives. so my fellow colleagues we have a responsibility to act upon our shared faith and the greatness of our country. we have responsibility to be

worthy of the sacrifices of our troops, our veterans, and our military families. we have responsibility to make real the promise of the american dream for all. there is important work before the congress and we must do more to promote growth, decrease the deficit, create good-paying jobs, and increase the paychecks of america's working families. page is this house a turned, a new chapter has begun. today the gavel passes to a proud son of wisconsin. the first speaker from wisconsin. paul ryan has had the full breadth of experience on capitol hill from young staffer , tore waiter, should i say that again, tortilla coast waiter, to congressman, to being a sincere and proud advocate for his point of view

as chairman of the budget committee, as a respected leader and chairman of the ways and means committee, and in a minute he will be the speaker of the house of representatives. on behalf, mr. speaker to be, on behalf of house democrats i extend the hand of friendship to you. congratulations to you, paul, to your children, your mother who is here, how proud she must be. the entire ryan family whom we all know mean so much to you. mr. speaker, god bless you and your family and god bless the nited states of america.

this is the speaker's house. this is the speaker's -- this is the people's house. this is the people's gavel, and the people's name it is my privilege to hand this gavel to the speaker of the house, congressman and honorable paul ryan.

the speaker: thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you, madam leader. before i begin i would like to thank all of my family and friends who flew in from wisconsin and from all over for being here today. in the gallery i have my mom, betty, my sister, janet, my brothers stan and tobaccoin, and more cousins than i can ount on a few hands.

most important, i want to recognize my wife, jana, and our children, liza, charlie, and sam. i also want to thank speaker boehner for almost five years he led this house, for nearly 25 years he served it. not many people can match his accomplishments. the offices he held, the laws he passed, but what really sets

john apart is he's a man of character, a true class act. he is without a question the gentleman from ohio. so please join me in saying one last time, thank you speaker boehner. now i know how he felt. it's not until you hold this gavel, stand in this spot, look out and see all 435 members of this house as if all america's

sitting right in front of you. it's not till then that you feel it. the weight of responsibility. the grambity of the moment. you -- graphity of the moment. as i stand here i can't help but think of something harry truman once said. the day after franklin roosevelt died, truman became president and he told a group of reporters, if you ever pray, pray for me now. when they told me yesterday what had happened, i felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me. we should all feel that way. a lot is on our shoulders. so if you ever pray, let's pray for each other. republicans, for democrats, and emocrats for republicans.

and i don't mean pray for a conversion, all right. pray for a deeper understanding because when you're up here, you see it so clearly. wherever you come from, whatever you believe, we are all in the same boat. i never thought i'd be speaker. but early in my life, i wanted to serve this house. i thought this place was exhilarating because here, you can make a difference. if you had a good idea, if you worked hard, you could make it happen. you could improve people's lives. to me, the house of representatives represents what's best of america. the boundless opportunity to do

ood. but let's be frank. the house is broken. we're not solving problems, we're adding to them. and i am not interested in laying blame. we are not settling scores. we are wiping the slate clean. neither the members nor the eople are satisfied with how things are going. we need to make some changes, starting with how the house does business. we need to let every member contribute, not once they've

earned their stripes but now. i come at this job as a two-time committee chair. the committees should retake the lead in drafting all major legislation. if you know the issue, you should write the bill. let's open up the process. let people participate. and they might change their mind. a neglected minority will gum up the works. a respected minority will work in good faith. instead of trying to stop the majority, they might try to become the majority. in other words, we need to return to regular order.

now, i know this sounds like process. it's actually a matter of principle. we are the body closest to the people. every two years, we face the voters and sometimes face the music. but we do not echo the people, we represent the people. we are supposed to study up and do the homework they cannot do. so when we do not follow regular order, when we rush to pass bills that a lot of us don't understand, we are not doing our job. only a fully functioning house can truly represent the people. and if there are ever a time for us to step up, this would be that time. america does not feel strong anymore. because the working people of america do not feel strong

anymore. i'm talking about the people who mind the store, and grow the food, and walk the beat, and pay the taxes, and raise the family. they do not sit in this house. they do not have fancy titles. but they are the people who make this country work, and this ouse should work for them. here's the problem. they're working hard, they're paying a lot, they're trying to do right by their families, and they're going nowhere fast. they never get a raise they never get a break, the bills keep filing up and the taxes and the debt. they're working harder than ever before to get ahead, yet they're falling further behind.

they feel robbed. they feel cheated by their birth right, of their birth right. they're not asking for any favors. they just want a fair chance. and they're losing faith that they'll ever get it. then, they look at washington and all they see is chaos. what a relief to them it would be if we finally got our acts together. what a weight off their shoulders. how reassuring it would be if we actually fixed the tax code, put patients in charge of their health care, grew our economy, strengthened our military, lifted people out of poverty and aid down our debt.

at this point, nothing could be more inspiring than a job well done. nothing could stir the heart more than real, concrete results. the cynics will scoff. they'll say it's not possible. you better believe we're going to try. we will not duck the tough issues. we will take them head on. we are going to do all we can do so that working people get their strength back and people not working get their lives back. no more fares for the few. opportunity for all. that is our motto.

you know, i often talk about a need for revision. -- for a vision. i'm not sure i ever really said what i meant. we saw problems -- we solve problems here, yes. we create a lot of them too. but at bottom, we vindicate a way of life. we show by our work that free people can govern themselves. they can solve their own problems. they can make their own decisions. they can deliberate, collaborate and get the job done. we show that self-government is not only more efficient and more effective, it's more fulfilling. in fact, we show it as that struggle, that hard work, that very achievement itself that makes us free. that is what we do here. and we will not always agree. not all of us, not all of the time. but we should not hide our disagreements. we should embrace them.

we have nothing to fear from honest differences, honestly tated. if you have ideas, let's hear them. i believe that a greater clarity between us can lead to greater charity among us. and there's every reason to have hope. when the first speaker took the gavel, he looked out at a room of 30 people. representing a nation of three million. today, as i look out at each and every one of you, we represent a nation of 300 million. so when i hear that america doesn't have it, we're done, we're spent, i don't believe it. i believe with every fiber of my being that we can renew the american idea.

now our task is to make us all believe. my friends, you have done me a great honor. the people of this country, they've done all of us a great honor. now let's prove ourselves worthy of it. let's seize the moment. let's rise to the occasion. and when we are den, let us say that we left the people, all the people, more united, happy, and free. thank you.

i am now ready to take the oath of office. i ask that the dean of the house of representatives, the honorable john conyers jr. of michigan, to administer the oath of office. mr. conyers: if the gentleman from wisconsin would please raise his right hand. do you, sir, solemnly swear or

affirm that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? r. ryan: i do. the speaker: thank you. thank you.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, seek recognition? mr. mccarthy: i offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk will first number the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 503. resolved, that the clerk be instructed to inform the president of the united states that the house of representatives has elected paul d. ryan, a representative from the state of wisconsin, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker: without objection the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid pon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, seek recognition? mr. mccarthy: mr. speaker, i offer a privileged resolution ask for its immediate consideration.

the clerk: the clerk will reminority resolution. the clerk: house resolution 504, resolved, that a message be sent to the senate to inform that body that pall d. ryan, a member from the state of wisconsin, has been elected speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: without objection -- the speaker: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the clerk, house of representatives, madam, as a result of my election today as speaker, this

letter is to inform you that i re-sign as chairman of the committee on ways and means and from further service on that committee. i also resign as chairman and a member of the joint committee on taxation. signed, sincerely, pall d. ryan. -- paul d. ryan. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resignation is accepted. the chair would take this occasion to note that the speaker's announced policies with respect to particular aspects of the legislative process placed in the record on january 6, 2015, will continue in effect for the remainder of the -- of the 114th congress. the chair announces that the speaker has delivered to the clerk a letter dated october 29, 2015, listing members in the order in which each shall act as speaker pro tem under clause 8b3 of rule 1. the chair lays before the house a communication.

the clerk: the honorable the clerk, house of representatives, madam, i hereby designate representative kevin mccarthy of california to exercise any authority regarding assembly, reassembly, convening or reconvening of the house pursuant to house resolution -- con curn resolution 1, clause 1 of rule 1 and any resolutions of the current congress as macon template my designation of members for similar authority. depth or t of the disability of the designee the members of the house are listed in this letter. sincerely, speaker of the house, paul d. ryan. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a further communication. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c., october 29, 2015. i hereby appoint the honorable jeff dunham, the honorable

macthornberry, the honorable fred upton, the honorable andy harris, the honorable barbara comstock and the honorable luke messer to act as speaker pro tempore to sign enrolled bills and joint resolutions through the remainder of the 114th congress. signed, paul d. ryan, speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the appointments are accepted. for what purpose does the majority leader rise? mr. mccarthy: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house add jurns today it adjourn to meet on monday, november 2, 2015, which it shall convene at noon for morning hour debate, 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. i move that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands

adjourned until noon on monday next for morning hour debate.

clerk of the house: let's start with a couple of tweets. reaction on twitter. this is rob who says, hopefully speaker ryan can end the hyper partisan gridlock. work effectively across the aisle. dana says, unfortunately, we will not see anything new from this speaker. let's hear from callers, too. jack in new york city on our democrats line. hi, jack. caller: good morning. i know what i'd like to see, but i know what i'm going to

get. and paul ryan is a major trade supporter. and the transpacific partnership is supposed to come up for a vote in january. so what i'm asking everyone who is listening on radio, watching on tv, or listening on line is to call your representative and tell them to vote no on the transpacific partnership because paul ryan can unify enough republicans to get behind the deal and it can pass. so again what i'm asking everyone to do who is listening today is to call their elected representative and tell them to vote no on deal. clerk of the house: one of the first things he did there was to recognize the fact he's stepping down as chairman of the ways and means committee. now that he's speaker of the house. fountain hills, arizona. this is steve. caller: hi. i feel really good about this. i feel that speaker ryan now i think will lead some leadership to hopefully get some things done.

i feel very good about that. i think we are not going to agree 100% all the time, but hopefully enough to start moving the country forward. clerk of the house: to our republican line. this is salem, oregon. caller: hello. i agree with the previous callsers in the aspect that speaker ryan is a unifying speaker. i watched his press conference when he declared his candidacy for the job and said he wouldn't give up his family time. while i appreciate that, he should know that as speaker he needs to step up a little bit more. he needs to -- hopefully despite that comment, he could be seen as a unifying figure, a people's speaker,. thank you very much. clerk of the house: and paul ryan's family, his wife and three kids, were in the gallery. his mom was there, too. as was former governor mitt romney, his running mate from 2012.

former governor romney and his wife ann in the gallery today. a couple of comments on twitter. on what paul ryan said as he spoke to the house on accepting the speakership. paul ryan he tough love, quote, let's be frank. the house is broken. we are not solving problems. we are adding to them. jake of politico, quote, i come at this job as a two-time committee chair. the committees should retake the lead in drafting legislation heard on the hill rom roll call says, democrat sheila jackson lee into ryan's call stoot and shook her fist in agreement. john on our democratic line. caller: hello. i just want to say everything that made john boehner resign is still the same about the house. the house freedom caucus had to change their beliefs. they haven't changed their opinions. paul ryan expects to get things done in washington, he needs to take a good hard look and make a concrete plan how he's going to address that part of the caucus.

clerk of the house: how do i think he'll deal with that part of the caucus? caller: i have no idea. but i'm not speaker of the house. clerk of the house: here's fay. she's in los angeles on the independents line. caller: hello. listen, i just wanted to say that i will be praying for the new speaker in the house. and i hope they can work together and stop acting like a bunch of cats. he wasn't elected to herd cats. i ould also like to say that hope some kind of way they can keep their hands off of medicare. medicare part d is scheduled to jump $52 january 1. and i hope they understand the seniors are out here on very limited income and $52 is a huge increase at one time. thank you. clerk of the house: thanks for the call. paul ryan, elected the 54th speaker.

getting 236 votes on the house floor today. we'll show you-all of it to you tonight at 8:00 eastern here on c-span. getting your reaction on the phone, on twitter, and on facebook. let's hear from patricia in good year, arizona, on the republican line. caller: good morning. yes, i'd like to first of all congratulate paul ryan and also wanted to let him know that our prayers are with him. and i would like to again let your previous caller, encourage him to fix the house and fix our nation. and to also take care of the seniors of this country along with our young people that are struggling with student loans, etc. again, thank you for your time. clerk of the house: paul ryan's new twitter handle is speaker ryan. first tweet is let's do this from paul ryan. charlotte, north carolina, lynn

on the others line. what do you think? what are you expecting to hear or see from the new speaker? caller: yes. good morning. thank you. congratulations to paul ryan. my hope and prayer is that omestic terrorism is addressed. we cannot go another four more years of this constant barrage of terroristic-type activities. whether it's abroad or here at home. and i do stress here at home as well. and i would like to make reference to master sergeant josha wheeler from the good state of north carolina. my hopes and prayers are with everyone and that we see this violence come to an end. thank you. clerk of the house: we are asking you on facebook as well. facebook.com/c-span, what do you want to see from the spuker? tracy says, i want to see a speaker who puts country before party. who is see a speaker

unafraid of the t people. i want to see a speaker who understands no party can have an only their way. rosely says not ryan a real conservative. gordon says sanity would be nice. linda says they better start working with the president and administration and share some lacking respect of us americans start to improve their work by doing what we elected them to do. solve the problems of america instead of creating the problems of america. more at facebook.com/c-span. to richmond next. our democrats line. and call. caller: my request that this man will bring the party together and that we'll stop fighting people in leadership democratic and republican and independent that we all come together for the better of our people and our nation. wish them more love and respect and honor to our policy and our constitution. clerk of the house: the roll call this morning is hail the speaker. picture of paul ryan inside the

u.s. capitol. paul is next. john is next, rather, in woodbridge, virginia. woodbridge, virginia, are you there? woodbridge, illinois. caller: yes. illinois. clerk of the house: go ahead. caller: all right. i'm on air. i think paul ryan's a go. i think we are going to get somewhere. i think we are going to do something. i think he's great for the country. i think he's fresh. and i think he's looking out for us little guys like me. blue collar guys. host: thanks for your call. engelwood, new jersey, next up is christopher. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i appreciate what you guys are doing on c-span. i think that speaker paul ryan and both parties should come our er to unite, for public school system and protect our youngsters to give

them a judicial voice against bullying and hate crimes. it is time for the youth of america to go to school in peace without the fear of being bullied because of their gender preference. speaking as a person with challenges, i believe it's important. and also protect the rights of those with physical and mental needs. thank you. host: lots of coverage of the speaker leaks. we'll show it tonight here on c-span. and of course in just a few minutes as well. you can also follow our capitol hill reporter producer drage kaplan tweeting about some of the -- craig kaplan tweeting at some of the house -- they gaveled out. house members are lining up in stat warry hall to take photos with speaker ryan. next up is rachel in pennsylvania. on the republican line. what do you think? caller: thanks for having me on. i really love paul ryan. i think the greatest strength

he has is he sees people as people rather than seeing them through the lens of their party. i think that's really going to build the great spirit of collegiality in congress. i have high hopes for his speakership. host: next up, kathy in lafayette, tennessee. lafayette indiana, go ahead. caller: good morning. i would just like to say that i want to congreat speaker ryan and that i apreesh -- congratulate speaker ryan and i appreciate the job he's done and i'm hoping he can bridge the gap of disparity between the parties and people start thinking about who they are representing instead of doing for their own party. and to show the president that we are united as a people instead of trying to be under his anarchy. thank you. host: theresa in colorado.

what are you expecting from the new house speaker, paul ryan? caller: i'm expecting bridge the gap. and for the most part my prayers are going to go out for the new speaker. i do appreciate that he has taken on this difficult role. prayers go for, i want to repeat, for the democrats and the republicans, to work together and bring this country back under unity, one nation under god. that is exactly what we want. i know all americans want that. we need to also stop entitlement programs and teach americans that this country was made great by hard work from every single individual. prayers go out for

him. thank you. host: the legislative deck was cleared a little bit this week for paul ryan in terms of that budget deal that was agreed to. the two-year budget deal raising the spending caps from 2013. the agreement between the white house and congressional leaders assing in the house earlier. paris, california, on the democrats line. go ahead. caller: yes. i would like to thank first of all speaker boehner for all his years of service. d i do trust paul ryan for his office. i do believe he's going to make a change. i hope so. would like to ask him to take a peak at the veterans' affairs at all teran i am not satisfied with the way they treat us in the veteran hospitals. we are just another number. they give us the run around. i'm not -- i don't speak only

for myself when i say that we risk our life for this country. and to be treated so poorly is just so demeaning. it makes you feel so little. i would like him to just pay more attention to the military. and to veterans around the united states. thank you. host: earlier today, paul ryan elected the 54th speaker of the house. pretty wide margin, too. getting 236 votes. the democratic leader, nancy pelosi, with 184 votes. our capitol hill producer, craig kaplan, tweets about governor stamm broukbeck from kansas. points out that paul ryan worked as a staffer for sam brown beck on capitol hill. we continue with your comments and calls. marie in trenton, new jersey. others line. go ahead. caller: good morning.

my hopes are high. my wishes and prayers are with speaker of the house, paul ryan. i liked everything about him. ever since romney picked him as his running mate. and i give him my best wishes. and i also want to say that john boehner is a very fine man. and i will pray for the members of the congress. i'm going to take the advice of speaker ryan where he said let's pray democrats for republicans, republicans for democrats. i'm an elderly independent. i'm going to pray for everyone. and for our nation. we need a good leader. in the people's house. and i pray we have one. thank you. host: a bit of an outgoing tribute to the outgoing speaker on the senate floor today. earlier today the senate was in session. find that at c-span.org. his ohio colleagues, democratic

and republican, and others, too, pay tribute to john boehner in a special order speech, an hour-long set of speeches the other night. you can find that at c-span.org. here's oregon. caller: how are you today? i just would like to see paul ryan present a bill to the president whether he threatens to veto it or not. i understand that they have said he's going to veto it, don't present it. no, let him have the responsibility on his shoulders instead of our republicans. if he vetoes a bill it's his problem. not what they have done. they have done their job and a good job. thank you. host: harrisburg, pennsylvania. joey on the democrats line. what do you think of the new speaker? caller: well, i think it's a new change. i think it's always good to have a new speaker. i think he's generating some

bipartisan support. i think he's definitely trying to build a bridge between democrats and republicans. i think it's totally good for change. host: reminder we are going to show you today's events in just a bit here on c-span. also show it to you tonight beginning at 8:00 eastern. a tweet from lynn sweet of the "chicago tribune" covering today's speech. kind of summing it up. she says new speaker ryan striking a very optimistic note in his inaugural speech. quote, we will not duck the tough issues. here's leonard in illinois. independent line. go ahead. caller: as long as they keep the hastert rule, they'll still be stuck in the same rut they are in right now. they need to get rid of the hastert rule. host: that rule meaning that they don't move anything forward unless they get a majority of their conference. caller: correct. host: how do you think he can get that done? how do you think he can break through some of the opposition

to undoing that rule? caller: he needs to talk to the leadership of his conference and say we need to put everything on the floor and let the whole house vote for it rather than just making sure that we have enough votes to pass what we want. hothse: here's robert on -- host lon here's robert on our republican line in aurora, colorado. what's your take on the new speaker, robert? caller: the new speaker is great. he's young. and he's willing to go ahead and he has experience and background. but he needs to know that we need to start from the bottom. meaning that i think he had said we have to give -- forget about all the favoritism that is done in the house. sometimes there is some things that the people do not know about -- it has to be on the floor. let us understand that all things that he has accomplished

that he needs to say the things that we need to understand the words of. and then the republicans without any kind of blah, blah. we -- the people sometimes they vote, but they still don't understand what they are voting for. and when they do vote, they say i didn't vote for that. well, it's the wording on there is sometimes complicated for old people like me. i'm 71 years old. but sometimes the wording is so far above is that they understand the wordings. people who are down here will try to understand, but then it's mixed up and some are saying, oh, i didn't mean to do that. i didn't mean to vote for that. but the wording saying it's

always the opposite. i know that he wants us to pray, which is good because he's a catholic. he knows what the meaning of house and home and freedom. i know that he's going to be do a good job. we need to start from the bottom. all the way up to the top. host: paul ryan became the third catholic speaker in a row. paul ryan, john boehner, and nancy pelosi. paul ryan facing a number of issues still to be done before the first session of the 114th congress is wrapped up. with the highway bill. the temporary highway bill still needing to be dealt with mid november. of course early december, december 11, is when the temporary spending measure for the federal government runs out. that will have to be completed as well. continuing to take your calls and comments on the newly elected house speaker paul ryan and some of your thoughts, your hopes. what you would like to see in the new speaker, new leadership. to florida. nn is on our democrats line.

brandon, florida. hello. go ahead. caller: hi. thanks a lot for everything. i'm a democrat and i have to congratulate mr. ryan it. hopefully he will do a good job. but my issue is for immigrants. i hate it when he said that nothing's going to come to the i think that's sad about this country. everyone has a right to be here. this country was made out of immigrants. it's a shame people talk like that. without them we would not have food on the table. we don't have people taking care of their sick people. and people correcting or -- i think thoughts

this country and the republicans need to do something about them. that's my issue. and i hope he put everything, republicans together, let's work together. as a democrat i feel that there's a lot of republicans in there that are good people and they can do the work. even here in this day. i think it needs to be done. let's work together. thank you for your time. and god bless. host: as paul ryan assumes the speakership, he also steps down as chair of the ways and means committee. on this weekend's newsmakers, we'll talk to the man who is most likely next in line to be chair of the ways and means committee, kevin brady of texas. it will be newsmakers sunday morning at 1e:00 a.m. eastern

-- 10:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. georgia, others line. caller: thank you for the opportunity to speak. i just want to say that i hope that paul ryan we are all americans and that veterans are placed at some priority in his agenda because we are not treated fairly. hospitalization, benefits. everything is almost like they wait for us to die. and nothing still done. i just hope and pray that he remember we are all americans and we all serve. and i volunteer for the marine corps, and let's hope that he understands that we are sick and that we need help. and that the house will come together and rally around our veterans. thank you. host: thanks for your call.

thanks for all your calls. we welcome more of your comments, too, as facebook.com/c-span. with a reminder of today's vote count, 236 votes for paul ryan elected speaker of the house. the 54th speaker of the house. and nancy pelosi, the democratic leader, getting 184. here are the other votes. daniel webster, the congressman from florida picked up nine. he had 43 in the conference vote yesterday. jim cooper of tennessee with one. john lewis of georgia with one. and colin powell, it was jim cooper who voted for him, colin powell once again gets one vote. up next here on c-span we'll show you-all of today's creed proceedings as the house gaveled in to elect its new speaker.

the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our guest chaplain. the chaplain: let us pray. lord god, you know our needs. you have entrusted to us a great nation funned on life and liberty. we stand before you ready to fulfill a mission that will give glory to your name and ensure the dignity of all humanity. we plead for your wisdom. give us the courage to open our eyes to see, give us the fortitude to endure when the demands of our office seem overwhelming. bless us with prudence when all pathways seem troublesome. help us to discern and seek the common good when comfort and expedience tempt and beckon. challenge our minds and steady our hands and remind us that all

good things come from you. transform our lives and we will remember that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is the greatest work we will perform on behalf of all people. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from ohio, mr. chabot. mr. chabot: i ask that everyone join in the pledge to our nation's flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the speaker: props the gentleman from ohio rise? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 7 of rule 20, i move a call of the house. the speaker: under clause 7-b of rule 20, the chair confers recognition for that purpose. without objection, the call of the house is ordered. members will record their presence by electronic device.

>> a special day in the u.s. house, they're electing a new speaker today. speaker john boehner just began to call of the house the members to the floor. it is likely to be paul ryan of wisconsin. the pastor from his church was the guest chaplain as john boehner gaveled the house in. a little different look today as well, you'll see some different angles, we have our cameras, in addition to the cameras from the house. this call of the house, the quorum call if you're familiar

with the senate, will probably last a half-hour, maybe a little less, then proceedings will get under way, all of it lye here on c-span.

>> congressman paul ryan on the floor of the house. the chamber is in the call of the house, a quorum call, gathering members for the election of the speaker coming up, being surrounded obviously by fellow member the election will get under way just a bit later on as the house gathers. live coverage here on c-span throughout the day. we are joined by scot wong, senior staff writer with "the hill," next to an inauguration or state of the union address, this is as significant an event s happens on capitol hill. guest: this is an enormous deal. the people transfer of power in the house of representatives, paul ryan will become the next speaker of the house, the 54th speaker of the house and second in line to the presidency behind, of course, the vice president.

so there's a lot of activity on the hill right now, and paul ryan, i just bumped into him downstairs in the capitol, he was greeting family members, he was engaged in a pretty fun conversation with governor sam brownback, his former -- one of his former mentors in the house of representatives. so there's a lot of activity, a lot of people, a lot of energy right now in the house. host: obviously on the floor, not just paul ryan's kids but lots of other children as well. we're hearing too that his former running mate, mitt romney, and mitt romney's wife will be in the gallery today. guest: that's exactly right. mitt romney and his wife ann will be in the chamber later today. along with all of his family members, paul ryan's mother, betty douglas will be there, all

of his siblings. this is really a -- they're getting the band bag be -- back together again, i suppose you could say work romney, the former 2012 presidential g.o.p. nominee. >> move us forward a little bit. once the quorum happens, how does the election take place? host: we'll see speaker boehner deliver his fare well remark, then we'll go into the nomination for speaker, followed up by a roll call. s that formal roll call, where members will be asked to shout out, essentially, on the house floor, the name of the person they would like to see as speaker. this also includes democrats. so most democrats will be shouting out the name of nancy pelosi. most republicans will be shouting out the name, when their name is called, for paul

ryan. but we are expecting some defections on both sides as we have seen in recent elections. host: yesterday was 200 votes in the conference for paul ryan, 43 for daniel webster. there was some word after that election yesterday that actually daniel web sfer was not run today, would take his name out of conversation. what are you hearing? -- out of consideration. what are you hearing? guest. what i'm hearing is that he acknowledges that paul ryan probably has the 218 votes necessary to be elected speaker on the house floor. however what he has said is that he cannot control members from shouting out his name on the house floor. daniel webster's name on the house floor. so we are expecting some webster loyalists who are just disenchanted with the establishment, disenchanted with, you know, with not only

speaker boehner but his leadership team. remember the -- most of the leadership team will not change. we still have majority leader kevin mccarthy, majority whip steve scalise, and on down the line. the only person that will change is the person at the top. so we are expecting probably a dozen or so folks who will perhaps vote for daniel webster and that's roughly what he got in january in his race against speaker boehner. host: our c-span viewers moments ago saw congressman webster on the floor. there's paul ryan talking with jim jordan, head of the freedom caucus. what's the relationship between paul ryan and jim jordan and other of the conservatives, particularly the 43 or so who supported congressman webster? guest: the relationship is one of respect. everyone you talk to, i spoke to jim jordan yesterday, there's a mutual respect. he is obviously very -- paul ryan is very much a policy wonk.

he's not really engaged on the political side though he's certainly a very talented politician. so i think, you know, what we've seen in the last couple of weeks here is really paul ryan reaching out to disenchanted conservatives, you know, saying i am hope to all of these ideas of rules reforms, i'd like to get more members involved in the process when it comes to bringing bills to the floor in terms of revamping the steering committee that chooses which members are starting to certain -- are assigned to certain economies, which members will receive chairmanships. all these discussions will be taking place over the next few weeks. we're told that paul ryan yesterday in his meeting with house republicans told them he wants to get many of these rules finalized before thanksgiving.

host: that's paul wong from "the hill," you can read more at thehill.com. looking live on the house floor, this is the call of the house, the house quorum. we're covering it a number of ways. you're seeing different camera angles, there's daniel webster in addition to the house cameras, our cameras, c-span cameras in the chamber today. our capitol hill producer craig kaplan tweets the dean oaf swear john conyers, will in paul ryan. his first swearing in was in january, the last dean of the house was representative dingell. we'll look for your comments too on facebook as well, what are you looking for in the next speaker? facebook.com/c-span.

host: on the left of your screen, is daniel we arester. he's urging people not to vote for him for speaker. he's now in the back of the chamber chatting with steve king, that happened earlier. daniel webster has asked not to be nominated on the floor for peeker per g.o.p. sources. i want to let you know the house is gathering for the election of the new speaker, this is the

call of the house, roll call of members. we expect next in about 15 minutes or so the speaker will announce the establishment of a quorum and proceedings will get under way.

host: look up to the speaker's box, you'll see congressman ryan's wife and his three kids are there, liza, charlie and sam. also in the speaker's box, his

mother, betty douglas and in addition, the former running mate of paul ryan, governor mitt romney, former governor mitt romney and his wife ann will be in the speaker's box. live corning here, the election of the house speaker set to get under way as the house gathers, the quorum is called an members come to the house floor rm paul ryan greeting members on the house floor. you're seeing tweets on the screen from reporters in the gallery reporting what's going on. bridget bowman says representative candice miller says she, ileana ros-lehtinen and others will be tellers or speaker vote counters. we encourage you to follow our @craigkaplan, n, for tweets from the house floor on the election of the new speaker.

host: also a member of that committee. the house now gaveling in, the roll call of members is well under way. john bresnahan a couple of minutes ago from politico said we're still waiting for about 45 members to check in for quorum call. there's a look at the -- the p next to the names is present. the tally board in the house. normally don't see this. normally on c-span you see what we see, the house cameras. they've allowed us today to breng our own c-span cameras into the chamber. ohn brezz mahan saying

nominations for speaker begin in about 15 minutes. live coverage here on c-span.

the speaker pro tempore: are there other members who wish to vote? the speaker: on this roll call 421 members have recorded their presence. a quorum is present. the speaker pro tempore: on the clear the aisle, take seats, nd cease audible conversation.

for what purpose does the distinguished speaker seek recognition? the speaker: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the speaker: all right. thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today to

inform you that i will resign as speaker of the house effective upon the election of my successor. i will also resign as the representative from ohio's 8th district at the end of this month. i leave with no regrets, no burdens. if anything, i leave the way i started. just a regular guy, humbled by the chance to do a big job. that's what i'm most proud of. i'm still just me. the same guy who came here 25 years ago as a small business man and spent all these 25 years trying to just be me. sometimes my staff thought i was too much like me, but it really is i'm most proud of. the same regular guy that came here to try to do a good job for my district and my country. but before i go, i want to express what an honor it's been

to serve with all of you. the people's house is in my view the great embodiment of the american dream. everybody here comes from somewhere and everybody here's on some mission. i come from a part of the world where we are used to working. as far back as i can remember, i was working, my staff was asking me the other day, on november 1, you're not going to have a job. when was the last time you didn't have a job? i thought about it and thought about it and thought about it. i thought, i had to be 8 or 9 years old because i was throwing newspapers back then and working at my dad's bar. as a matter of fact, i used to work from 5:00 a.m. on saturday morning until 2:00 p.m. for $2. not $2 an hour. $2. i never thought about growing up as the easy way or the hard way. it was just the cincinnati way. you know our city takes its

name from a great roman general, a man who answered the call of his nation to lead. and then surrendered his power to go back to his plow. for me it wasn't a farm it was a small business. and it wasn't so much a calling as it was a mission. a mission to strive for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government here in washington. how did we do? here are some facts. for the first time in nearly 20 years we have made some real entitlement reforms. saving trillions of dollars over the long term. we have protected 99% of the american people from an increase in their taxes. we are on track to save taxpayers $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years. the most significant spending reductions in modern times. we have banned earmarks all together. sorry.

we have protected this institution. we have made it more open to the people. and every day in this capital city there are hundreds of kids from the toughest neighborhoods who are finally getting a hance at a decent education. i'm proud of these things. but the mission is not complete but the truth is it may never be. one thing i came to realize over the years that i have been here is that this battle over the size and scope and cost of our government in washington has been going on for more than 200 years. and the forces of the status quo do -- good for an awful lot of trouble to prevent change from happening. real change takes time. yes, freedom makes all things

possible, but patience is what makes all things real. so believe in the long slow struggle. believe in this country's ability to meet her challenges and to lead the world. and remember, you can't do a big job alone. especially this one. so i'm grateful to my family, deb and my two girls, my two girls were 3 and 1 when i first ran for office. now they are a lot older. so they have been through a lot. you-all know what your families go through. it's one thing for us to take the boards and everything gets thrown at us, but it's another thing for our families. their skin isn't as thick as ours. i'm also grateful to all my colleagues. my fellow leaders, mr. mccarthy, mr. scalise, mrs. , and many on rs

my side of the aisle, our committee chairs, people i have worked with for a long time. i'm just as grateful to ms. pelosi, mr. hoyer, mr. clyburn, and becerra, and others for all of the work that we have done together. over these last five years we have done an awful lot of work together. probably more work done across the aisle over the last five years than in the 25 years that i served in this institution. now, as much as i enjoy working with all of you, some of you still could learn to dress etter. ou know who you are. i saw one of the culprits, one of the usual suspects that shows up here once in a while without a tie, but this morning he didn't dress very well but he did have a tie on. i'm grateful to the people who work in this institution every day.

whether it's the reading clerks - there are a lot of people, thousands of people that allow us to do our jobs and to help make this institution what it is. and whether it's the people you see here today or the people in the capitol police or leg counsel, there are thousands of people that do allow us to do our job. i'm grateful to my staff. now, you-all know i'm a big believer in staff. none of this can be what we are without the good staff. i certainly would never have

gotten to this job without having built a great team. so really am grateful to my staff as they like to say to each other, once you're part of boehner land, you're always part of boehner land. and that certainly goes for me as well. i'm especially grateful to all my constituents and the volunteers over the years. that includes a student at miami university in oxford, ohio, in 1990, who was putting up campaign signs for me. his name was paul ryan. i don't think he could pronounce my name back -- he was putting signs up for me. but cincinnati understood there is a difference between being asked to do something and being called to do something. . ul is being called i know he'll serve with grace and with energy and i want to wish him and his family all the best.

my colleagues, i describe my life as a chase for the american dream and that chase began at the bottom of the hill just off the main drag in redding, ohio, right outside cincinnati. top of the hill was a small house with a big family, a shining city in its own right. the hill had twists. the hill had turns, and even a few tears. nothing wrong with that. but let me tell you, it was just perfect. never forget we're the luckiest people on the earth. in america, you can do anything that you're willing to work for, willing to work hard at and things -- anything can

happen if you're willing to make the necessary sacrifices in life. if you falter, and you will, you can just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go do it again because hope always brings eternal and if you do the right things for the right reasons, good things will happen. and this, too, can really happen to you. god bless you and god bless our great country.

the speaker: thankfully i had a

gavel. pursuant to the speaker's announcement, the chair will receive nominations for office of the speaker. and the chair recognizes the gentlelady from washington tate, mrs. mcmorris rodgers. mr. cmorris rodgers: speaker, today in the people's house, it gives me great honor to nominate the people's speaker. you don't need to look any further than the architecture of washington, d.c., to see what our founders envisioned. it's not by mistake that the dome over the congress is the very center of the federal city. the white house and the supreme court are set about us. satellite to the supreme power of the people expressed in this legislative body. in the house we are eager for a fresh start that will make us more effective to fulfill our

obligation to reflect the will of the people and to re-establish the balance of power. and there's no better person to lead us in that calling than the man i am about to nominate. he was first elected to the house at the ripe old age of 28 and he's served here now for 17 years. we all remember when he led the house budget committee, the visionary proposals, the lengthy debates and who could forget those powerpoints. he's now the chairman of the house ways and means committee, but he's more than a chairman to us. he's more than a colleague. he's our friend. he's a leader, and through it all he's never forgotten his roots. he lived on the same block he grew up in jamesville, wisconsin. there's no place he'd rather be than at home with his family. he will continue to put the people of this country first, and i can say in all candor, he did not seek this office.

the office sought him. as chair of the house republican conference, i am directed by a vote of that conference to present for election to the office of speaker for the house of representatives for the 114th congress, the representative from the state of wisconsin, the man from jamesville, the onorable paul d. ryan. -- the man from janesville, the onorable paul d. ryan. spoirk the chair now recognizes the gentleman from -- the speaker: the chair now

recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. becerra. mr. becerra: thank you, mr. speaker. i offer my congratulations to my friend, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. ryan, on his nomination by his colleagues. and at this time as chairman of the democratic caucus of this house, i wish to place in nomination the name of a proven leader for the office of speaker of the house of representatives. a leader who has accomplished in this chamber and for this country what few can match, a leader who as speaker of this house secured passage of landmark economic recovery package legislation in 2009 which transformed a diving economy losing 100,000 jobs each month to one that's created more than 13 million 60 over the last consecutive months of job growth. a leader who has speaker

accomplished what 70 years of congresses could not, enactment of our lifesaving health security law which has put 18 million more americans in control of their and their hildren's health care. a leader who had the foresight in 2008 to fight for the biggest investment in our troops since world war ii with the passage of the post-9/11 g.i. bill and the largest investment in our veterans' health care and benefits in the 7-year history of the v.a. a leader who was not afraid to take on the challenge of fixing our broken immigration system and secured passage of the

dream act in 2010. mr. speaker, leadership is about making the tough choices and getting things done. it means knowing how to bill the majority, not just with the members of your own political party but with the 435 elected members of the house of representatives so we can get things done. this leader understands that and knows how to get things done. even while serving in the minority in this house. that's why less than 24 hours ago this leader succeeded in breaking through the gridlock in this house and secured the votes needed to avert a senseless government shutdown and a perilous default on the ayment of america's bills. thanks to this leader, 16 1/2 million seniors will not suffer

a $55 a month increase in their medicare premiums and congress will not cut the social ecurity benefits by 20%. mr. speaker, that's leadership and that's what americans expect from those they elect. that is why it is my privilege as chairman of the house democratic caucus and as directed by the colleagues of the democratic caucus, i nominate for election to the office of speaker of the house of representatives from the 12th district of the great state of california, the norable nancy patricia 'alesandro pelosi.

the speaker: the names of the honorable paul d. ryan and representative from the state of wisconsin and the honorable nancy pelosi, a representative from the state of california have been placed in nomination. are there further nominations? there being no further nominations, the chair appoints the following tellers. the gentlewoman from michigan, mrs. miller, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. brady, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur, the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen. the tellers will come forward and take their seats at the desk in front of the speaker's rostrum.

the roll will now be taken and those responding to their names will indicate the surname of the nominee of their choosing. the clerk will now call the roll.

the clerk: mr. abraham. ryan. adams. pelosi. derholt, ryan. aguilar, pelosi. allen, ryan. amash, ryan. modei, ryan. ashford, pelosi. babin, ryan. arletta, ryan. arr, ryan.

barton, ryan. pelosi. eatty, pelosi. becerra, pelosi. enishek, ryan. era, pelosi. beyer, pelosi. bilirakis, ryan. .ishop of georgia, pelosi

ishop of michigan, ryan. . shop of utah . shop of utah black, ryan. blackburn, ryan. lum, ryan. lumenauer, pelosi. bonamici, pelosi. mike bost, ryan. oustany, ryan.

brendan boyle, pelosi. brady of pennsylvania, pelosi. rady of texas, ryan. rat bridenstine, ryan. brooks of alabama, ryan. brooks of indiana, ryan. rown of florida, pelosi. rownley of california, pelosi.

uchanan, ryan. buck, ryan. bucshon, ryan. burgess, ryan. cheri bustos, pelosi. butterfield, pelosi. byrne, ryan. calvert, ryan. capps, pelosi. capuano, pelosi.

ardenas, pelosi. arney, pelosi. carson of indiana, pelosi. carter of georgia, ryan. carter of texas, ryan. artwright, pelosi. castro -- castor of florida, pelosi. castro of texas, pelosi. ryan. haffetz, ryan.

udy chu, pelosi. pelosi.e, clark of massachusetts. pelosi. larke of new york, pelosi. webster.f florida, it clay, pelosi. cleave -- cleaver, pelosi. clyburn, pelosi.

ryan.n, cohen, pelosi. ole of oklahoma, ryan.

collins of georgia, ryan. collins of new york, ryan. comstock, ryan. conaway, ryan. connolly, pelosi.

pelosi. grothman. yan. guinta, ryan. guthrie, ryan. gutierrez, pelosi. hahn, pelosi. hanna, ryan. hardy, ryan. . rper, ryan

harris, ryan. hartzler, ryan. hastings, pelosi. heck of nevada, ryan. eck of washington, pelosi. hensarling, ryan. herrera beutler, ryan. jody hiye, ryan. ryan. -- jody hice, higgins, pelosi. ill, ryan. himes, pelosi. , pelosi.

holding, ryan. honda, pelosi. hoyer, pelosi. udson, ryan. huelskamp, ryan. huffman, pelosi. uizenga of michigan, ryan. ultgren, ryan. hunter, ryan. hurd of texas, ryan. hurt of virginia, ryan. srael, pelosi.

issa, ryan. , pelosi.ee jefferies, pelosi. jenkins of kansas, ryan. jenkins of west virginia, ryan. ohnson of georgia, pelosi. johnson of ohio, ryan. eddie bernice johnson, pelosi. sam johnson, ryan. jolly, ryan.

ones, webster. ordan, ryan. joyce, ryan. kaptur, pelosi. katko, ryan. keating, pelosi. kelly of illinois, pelosi. kelly of michigan -- kelly of mississippi, ryan. kelly of pennsylvania, ryan. kennedy, pelosi. ildee, pelosi.

kilmer, pelosi. kind, pelosi. king of iowa, ryan. ing of new york, ryan. kinzinger of illinois, ryan. kirkpatrick, pelosi. kline, ryan. knight, ryan. kuster, pelosi. abrador, ryan. lahood, ryan. ryan.a,

lamborn, ryan. lance, ryan. langevin, pelosi. pelosi. washington, larson of connecticut, pelosi. latta, ryan. pelosi. lee, pelosi. levin, pelosi. lewis, pelosi.

pelosi. . pinski ipinski. lobiondo, ryan. oebsack, pelosi. lofgren, pelosi. ong, ryan. loudermilk, ryan. ove, ryan. lowenthal, pelosi. lowey, pelosi. lucas, ryan.

luetkemeyer, ryan. ben ray lujan, pelosi. ichelle lujan grisham, pelosi. lummis, ryan. lynch, pelosi. macarthur, ryan. carolyn maloney, pelosi. sean maloney, pelosi. archant, ryan. marino, ryan. massie, webster.

atsui, pelosi. mccarthy, ryan. mccaul, ryan. cclintock, ryan. mccollum, pelosi. mcdermott, pelosi. mcgovern, pelosi. mchenry, ryan. ckinley, ryan.

mcmorris rodgers, ryan. cnerney, pelosi. mcsally, ryan. meadows, ryan. eehan, ryan. . eks, meeks. meng, pelosi. messer, ryan. micah -- mica, ryan. miller of florida, ryan. iller of michigan, ryan.

moolenaar, ryan. mooney of west virginia, ryan. moore, pelosi. moulton, pelosi. , ryan. ulvaney, ryan. murphy of florida, pelosi. murphy of pennsylvania, ryan. adler, pelosi.

napolitano, pelosi. neal, pelosi. neugebauer, ryan. ewhouse, ryan. noem, ryan. nolan, pelosi. pelosi.s -- norcross, nugent, ryan. nunes, ryan. olson, ryan. 'rourke, pelosi. palazzo, ryan.

pallone, pelosi. palmer, ryan. ascrell, pelosi. paulsen, ryan. payne, pelosi. earce, ryan. elosi, pelosi. perlmutter, pelosi. perry, ryan. eters of california, pelosi. peterson of minnesota, pelosi.

ingree of maine, pelosi. pittenger, ryan. pitts, ryan. pocan, pelosi. oe of texas, ryan. ryan. inn -- poliquin, polis, pelosi. pompeo, ryan. osey, webster. price of georgia, ryan. price of north carolina, pelosi.

quigley, pelosi. rangel, pelosi. , paul ryan. ryan. reed, ryan. eichart, ryan. renacci, ryan. , ryan. rice of new york, pelosi. , ryan. south carolina richmond, pelosi. igell, ryan.

roby, ryan. oe of tennessee, ryan. rogers of alabama, ryan. ogers of kentucky, ryan. rohrabacher, ryan. rokita, ryan. rooney of florida, ryan. roskam, ryan. ros-lehtinen, ryan. ross, ryan. rothfus, ryan. rouzer, ryan.

roybal-allard, pelosi. royce, ryan. ruiz, pelosi. rupp -- ruppersberger, pelosi. ush, pelosi. russell, ryan. . an of ohio mr. ryan: while i love the name ryan, pelosi. the clerk: pelosi. ryan of wisconsin. ryan of wisconsin. salmon, ryan. linda t. sanchez, pelosi. pelosi.sanchez,

sanford, ryan. arbanes, pelosi. scalise, ryan. . schiff, pelosi. schrader, pelosi. quikert -- schweikert, ryan. scott of virginia, pelosi. austin scott, ryan. david scott, pelosi. sensenbrenner, ryan.

serrano, pelosi. essions, ryan. sewell of alabama, pelosi. sherman, pelosi. shimkus, ryan. simpson, ryan., john lewis.

sires, pelosi. slaughter, pelosi. smith of movement, ryan. smith of nebraska, ryan. smith of new jersey, ryan. smith of texas, ryan. smith of washington, pelosi. peier, pelosi. stefanik, ryan. stewart, ryan. stivers, ryan. tutzman, ryan.

swalwell of california, pelosi. takai of hawaii, pelosi. pelosi. california, pelosi. of california, thompson of mississippi, pelosi. hompson of pennsylvania, ryan. thornberry, ryan. tea beerry, -- tiberi, ryan. ipton, ryan. titus, pelosi. tonko of new york, pelosi. pelosi.

trott, ryan. tsongas, pelosi. turner, ryan. upton, ryan. valadao, ryan. an hollen, pelosi. argas, pelosi. easey, pelosi. vela, pelosi. velazquez, pelosi. visclosky, pelosi. ryan.

walberg, ryan. alden, ryan. walker, ryan. alorski, ryan. mimi walters, ryan. alz, pelosi, wasserman schultz , pelosi. maxine waters, pelosi. atson coleman, pelosi. weber of texas, webster. webster of orida,

florida. elch of vermont, pelosi. enstrup, ryan. westerman, ryan. estmoreland, ryan. whitfield, ryan. illiams, ryan. pelosi.f florida, wilson of south carolina, ryan. wittman, ryan.

omack, ryan. woodall, ryan. yarmuth, pelosi. yoder, ryan. yoho, webster. young of alaska, ryan. young of iowa, ryan. oung of indiana, ryan. zeldin, ryan. zinke, ryan.

the speaker: the reading clerk will now call the names of members who did not answer on he first call. the clerk: bishop of utah. yan.

ipinski, pelosi. meeks.

ryan of wisconsin. ryan of wisconsin. webster of florida. ebster of florida. the clerk: boehner. the speaker: ryan. the clerk: ryan.

the speaker: if there are any members who did not answer the call of the roll, they i may come to the well and vote at this time.

the speaker: the tellers agree in their tallies that the total number of votes cast is 432 of which the honorable paul d. ryan of the state of wisconsin has received 236.

the honorable nancy pelosi of california has received 184. the honorable daniel webster of the state of florida has received nine. the honorable jim cooper of the state of tennessee has received one. the honorable john lewis of georgia has received one. and the honorable colin poul has received one. -- colin powell has received one. therefore, the honorable paul d. ryan of the state of wisconsin having received the majority of the votes cast is duly elected as speaker of the house.

the chair appoints the following committee to escort the speaker-elect to the chair. the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, the gentlewoman from california, ms. pelosi, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, the gentleman from maryland mr. hoyer, the gentlewoman from washington state, mrs. mcmorris rodgers, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn, the gentleman from oregon, mr. walden, the gentleman from california, mr. becerra, the gentleman from indiana, mr. messer, the gentleman from new york, mr. crowley, the

gentlewoman from kansas, ms. jenkins, the gentleman from new york, mr. israel, the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. foxx, the gentleman from new mexico, mr. ben ray lujan, the gentlewoman from missouri, mrs. wagner, the gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. delauro, the gentlewoman from maryland, ms. edwards, the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mchenry, and the members of the wisconsin delegation -- mr. sensenbrenner, mr. kind, ms. moore, mr. duffy, mr. ribble, mr. pocan, mr. grothman. the gentlelady from california, mrs. mimi walters. the members will retire from the chamber to escort the speaker-elect to the chair.

the sergeant at arms: mr. speaker, the speaker-elect, paul d. ryan of wisconsin.

>> the 114th congress of the united states. floor strength yen and inspired by the support of our colleagues. the constituents and the love of our families. my special thanks to all of you my children en, nine grandchildren, and the family for their support. the people of san francisco. the continued honor to represent them here. my heartfelt thanks to my colleagues for extending to me the honor of being nominated to the speaker of the house. thank you very much.

said to his constituents and this congress with honor for 25 years. peaker john boehner. in his story we are reminded of the enduring exceptional promise of america. this hardworking son of an ohio bartender and owner who grew up to be the speaker of the house of representatives. john boehner talked about the

american dream. john boehner, you are the personification of the american dream. as you-all know, speaker boehner was a formidable spokesman for the republican agenda. my republican colleagues, i'm sure you know and i can attest to the fact that he was always true and loyal to the members of his caucus in any negotiations we ever had. although we had our differences, and often, i always respected his dedication to this house and his commitment to his values. thank you, john, for your leadership and courage as speaker. your graciousness as speaker extended and was reflected in your staff under the leadership of mike summers whom we all respect. thank you to john boehner's staff.

i know i speak for everyone here, democrats and republicans, when i thank you for making the visit of his holiness, pope francis, such a beautiful and meaningful xperience for all of us. today we extend our thanks and congratulations to debi, your daughters lindsay and trisha, and the entire boehner family, now including grandson. let's hear it for the family of ohn boehner.

ebb behalf of house democrats and personally, i wish you and your family all of god's blessings in the glorious years ahead. last month we witnessed something truly special when pope francis made history addressing a joint session of congress. standing right here pope francis called on us to speak hope, peace, and dialogue for all people. and reminded us of our duties to find a way forward for everyone. a good political leader his holiness said, is one who with the interest of all in mind seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. with that -- with the interest in mind of all. pope francis echoed the principle of our founders that placed at the heart of our democrat -- democracy the

saying so many one. the founders could ever have imagine how vast our country would become, how diverse and many we would be ethnically, gender identities, beliefs, and priorities, but they knew we had to be one. every day in this house and across the country we pledge allegiance to one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. this is the beauty of america that for all of our honest differences, prospeck tiffs, and priorities, aired and argued so passionately on this floor, we are committed to being one nation. despite our differences, in fact respecting them, i look forward to a clear debate in this marketplace of ideas, the

people's house of representatives. so my fellow colleagues we have a responsibility to act upon our shared faith and the greatness of our country. we have responsibility to be worthy of the sacrifices of our troops, our veterans, and our military families. we have responsibility to make real the promise of the american dream for all. there is important work before the congress and we must do more to promote growth, decrease the deficit, create good-paying jobs, and increase the paychecks of america's working families. page is this house a turned, a new chapter has begun. today the gavel passes to a proud son of wisconsin. the first speaker from wisconsin. paul ryan has had the full breadth of experience on capitol hill from young staffer , tore waiter, should i say

that again, tortilla coast waiter, to congressman, to being a sincere and proud advocate for his point of view as chairman of the budget committee, as a respected leader and chairman of the ways and means committee, and in a minute he will be the speaker of the house of representatives. on behalf, mr. speaker to be, on behalf of house democrats i extend the hand of friendship to you. congratulations to you, paul, to your children, your mother who is here, how proud she must be. the entire ryan family whom we all know mean so much to you. mr. speaker, god bless you and your family and god bless the nited states of america.

this is the speaker's house. this is the speaker's -- this is the people's house. this is the people's gavel, and the people's name it is my privilege to hand this gavel to the speaker of the house, congressman and honorable paul ryan.

the speaker: thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you, madam leader. before i begin i would like to thank all of my family and friends who flew in from wisconsin and from all over for being here today. in the gallery i have my mom, betty, my sister, janet, my brothers stan and tobaccoin, and more cousins than i can ount on a few hands.

most important, i want to recognize my wife, jana, and our children, liza, charlie, and sam. i also want to thank speaker boehner for almost five years he led this house, for nearly 25 years he served it.

not many people can match his accomplishments. the offices he held, the laws he passed, but what really sets john apart is he's a man of character, a true class act. he is without a question the gentleman from ohio. so please join me in saying one last time, thank you speaker boehner. now i know how he felt.

it's not until you hold this gavel, stand in this spot, look out and see all 435 members of this house as if all america's sitting right in front of you. it's not till then that you feel it. the weight of responsibility. the grambity of the moment. you -- graphity of the moment. as i stand here i can't help but think of something harry truman once said. the day after franklin roosevelt died, truman became president and he told a group of reporters, if you ever pray, pray for me now. when they told me yesterday what had happened, i felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me. we should all feel that way. a lot is on our shoulders. so if you ever pray, let's pray for each other.

republicans, for democrats, and emocrats for republicans. and i don't mean pray for a conversion, all right. pray for a deeper understanding because when you're up here, you see it so clearly. wherever you come from, whatever you believe, we are all in the same boat. i never thought i'd be speaker. but early in my life, i wanted to serve this house. i thought this place was exhilarating because here, you can make a difference. if you had a good idea, if you

worked hard, you could make it happen. you could improve people's lives. to me, the house of representatives represents what's best of america. the boundless opportunity to do ood. but let's be frank. the house is broken. we're not solving problems, we're adding to them. and i am not interested in laying blame. we are not settling scores. we are wiping the slate clean. neither the members nor the eople are satisfied with how

things are going. we need to make some changes, starting with how the house does business. we need to let every member contribute, not once they've earned their stripes but now. i come at this job as a two-time committee chair. the committees should retake the lead in drafting all major legislation. if you know the issue, you should write the bill. let's open up the process. let people participate. and they might change their mind. a neglected minority will gum up the works. a respected minority will work in good faith. instead of trying to stop the majority, they might try to become the majority. in other words, we need to return to regular order.

now, i know this sounds like process. it's actually a matter of principle. we are the body closest to the people. every two years, we face the voters and sometimes face the music. but we do not echo the people, we represent the people. we are supposed to study up and do the homework they cannot do. so when we do not follow regular order, when we rush to pass bills that a lot of us don't understand, we are not doing our job. only a fully functioning house can truly represent the people. and if there are ever a time for us to step up, this would be that time.

america does not feel strong anymore. because the working people of america do not feel strong anymore. i'm talking about the people who mind the store, and grow the food, and walk the beat, and pay the taxes, and raise the family. they do not sit in this house. they do not have fancy titles. but they are the people who make this country work, and this ouse should work for them. here's the problem. they're working hard, they're paying a lot, they're trying to do right by their families, and they're going nowhere fast. they never get a raise they

never get a break, the bills keep filing up and the taxes and the debt. they're working harder than ever before to get ahead, yet they're falling further behind. they feel robbed. they feel cheated by their birth right, of their birth right. they're not asking for any favors. they just want a fair chance. and they're losing faith that they'll ever get it. then, they look at washington and all they see is chaos. what a relief to them it would be if we finally got our acts together. what a weight off their shoulders. how reassuring it would be if we actually fixed the tax code, put patients in charge of their health care, grew our economy, strengthened our military, lifted people out of poverty and aid down our debt.

at this point, nothing could be more inspiring than a job well done. nothing could stir the heart more than real, concrete results. the cynics will scoff. they'll say it's not possible. you better believe we're going to try. we will not duck the tough issues. we will take them head on. we are going to do all we can do so that working people get their strength back and people not working get their lives back. no more fares for the few. opportunity for all. that is our motto.

you know, i often talk about a need for revision. -- for a vision. i'm not sure i ever really said what i meant. we saw problems -- we solve problems here, yes. we create a lot of them too. but at bottom, we vindicate a way of life. we show by our work that free people can govern themselves. they can solve their own problems. they can make their own decisions. they can deliberate, collaborate and get the job done. we show that self-government is not only more efficient and more effective, it's more fulfilling. in fact, we show it as that struggle, that hard work, that very achievement itself that makes us free.

that is what we do here. and we will not always agree. not all of us, not all of the time. but we should not hide our disagreements. we should embrace them. we have nothing to fear from honest differences, honestly tated. if you have ideas, let's hear them. i believe that a greater clarity between us can lead to greater charity among us. and there's every reason to have hope. when the first speaker took the gavel, he looked out at a room of 30 people. representing a nation of three million. today, as i look out at each and every one of you, we represent a nation of 300 million. so when i hear that america

doesn't have it, we're done, we're spent, i don't believe it. i believe with every fiber of my being that we can renew the american idea. now our task is to make us all believe. my friends, you have done me a great honor. the people of this country, they've done all of us a great honor. now let's prove ourselves worthy of it. let's seize the moment. let's rise to the occasion. and when we are den, let us say that we left the people, all the people, more united, happy, and free. thank you.

i am now ready to take the oath of office. i ask that the dean of the house of representatives, the honorable john conyers jr. of michigan, to administer the oath of office.

mr. conyers: if the gentleman from wisconsin would please raise his right hand. do you, sir, solemnly swear or affirm that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? r. ryan: i do. the speaker: thank you. thank you.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, seek recognition? mr. mccarthy: i offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk will first number the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 503. resolved, that the clerk be instructed to inform the president of the united states that the house of representatives has elected paul d. ryan, a representative from the state of wisconsin, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker: without objection the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid pon the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, seek recognition? mr. mccarthy: mr. speaker, i offer a privileged resolution ask for its immediate consideration. the clerk: the clerk will reminority resolution. the clerk: house resolution 504, resolved, that a message be sent to the senate to inform that body that pall d. ryan, a member from the state of wisconsin, has been elected speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: without objection -- the speaker: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid n the table.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the clerk, house of representatives, madam, as a result of my election today as speaker, this letter is to inform you that i re-sign as chairman of the committee on ways and means and from further service on that committee. i also resign as chairman and a member of the joint committee on taxation. signed, sincerely, pall d. ryan. -- paul d. ryan. >> that was the scene in the u.s. house where paul ryan was elected speaker of the house. following the session, the null elected house speaker went to a reception with a lunch. here's the null twitter handle. he is saying without question the gentleman from ohio, our capitol hill producer, also

tweeting a photo of mitt and ann romney and at that reception, there you go, first speaker selfie with the speaker of the house, mitt romney and ann romney and jana. if you missed any of today's ceremonies, we'll show them tonight at 8:00 p.m. right here on c-span. >> every weekend the c-span feature politics, nonfiction books and american history. politics and internet experts on whether social media hurts politics and its effects on campaign 2016 and sunday evening at 6:30, texas legislators look at the hispanic vote in the 2016 and 2018 elections. on book tv starting at noon

eastern, 27th annual southern .estival of books in nashville sunday at noon live three-hour conversation with walter williams as he shares his life and career in response to your calls, emails, facebook and tweets. on american history tv, saturday evening at 6:00 eastern, don doyle look at the world view of the american civil war and perspectives of foreign-born soldiers. and sunday morning at 10:00 on oral histories, an interview with supreme court justice clarence thomas on his upbringing in the segregated

south and the influence of his grandfather on his career. get our complete schedule at c-span.org. >> senate is also in session today and the senate foreign relations held a hearing on nominations. issues talked about the iran nuclear agreement and human trafficking. this is about 90 minutes. senator corker: we welcome ambassador shannon for the more than 30 years to our country and as i said to him when he came into our office and i'm sure you

said the same thing, all of us are gratified when people commit their lives this way end up ascending to these types of positions. we are very happy for you. the under secretary of political affairs manages policy issues and oversees the bureaus for africa, east asian the pacific, europe -- near east, south and central asia, central hemisphere and international organizes. we could say the world, but this is easier. the nomination we are considering today for the most senior and influential under secretary in the state department. this is a key nomination for this committee at this time. the person that the senate confirms for this job will not just serve this administration, but also be an institutional bridge to to the next administration. i turn to senator cardin for any opening comments he may wish to

make. senator cardin: thank you for the speed in which this confirmation hearing has been set. and i really appreciate it. and i know you are committed so the state department has a full complement in dealing with the urgent international issues. there is not a shortage of that. we couldn't have a better person than ambassador shannon and thank you for your career in public service and what you have done for our country. this position has been vacated by secretary sherman, who has done an outstanding job representing the interests of our country. as i think senator corker has already pointed out, ambassador shannon is a career diplomat and counsel at the state department and was ambassador to brazil and assist ant secretary of state to the national security council staff of western hems fear. posts in venezuela and other

critically important positions. i think you pointed out we have conversations with key nominees before we have the formal hearings. and it gives ause chance to sort of explore and get a sense as to the commitment to the issues that we're concerned about. and i just want to share my conversation with ambassador shannon, i was very impressed with his understanding of the importance of this committee, oversight role and the critical importance for transparency and openness between the position of under secretary of state for political affairs and the senate foreign relations committee and that's going to bode well for the type of relationship we need in order to speak strongly for our country. proper oversight role of the united states senate. i do want to mention, there are several issues and could talk about the implementation of the iran agreement and increased engagement in the middle east. we could talk about russia's

engagement in ukraine and whether they will comply and how we will assure that they are held to the standards of the minsk agreement and russia's engagement in muscle dovea, in georgia and now in syria. i just want to mention one point. i know the chairman and i are going to be very much engaged with you, ambassador shannon. and that is the advancement of good governance, transparency, human rights, anti-corruption. and the focal point this year was on the tip report. you hold a critically important position to make sure that the tip report, which is the gold standard for judging conduct globally on the commitment to fight modern-day slavery, trafficking, is held to the highest standards and the tier ratings are based solely on the facts on the ground.

and in our conversations, i know you are committed to that. we want you to know this committee is going to do everything we can to support that type of mr. allen: analysis on the tier ratings on the countries of the world. look forward to our exchange. senator corker: thank you about bringing up the tip issue and one of the questions i will ask will be about that. with that, we will turn to our nominee. our first nominee is ambassador thomas shanhon who has been nominated to serve as under secretary of political affairs. he earned the rank of career ambassador, the highest in the foreign service. he currently serves as counselor at the state department, a position he has held since 2013. previously ambassador shannon has served as our ambassador to brazil, assist ant secretary of

state, special assistant to the president, director of the national security council. having some difficulty keeping a job. [laughter] senator corker: he has received a bachelor of arts from the college of william and marry and doctorate. we thank you for being here. you have some people to introduce and we look forward to our testimony. mr. shannon: thank you very much . thank you for the opportunity to ap before you as president obama's nominee. i very much appreciate the opening remarks and the comments regarding tip and i will be happy to answer those questions as we advance in this hearing. as you can imagine i'm honored by this nomination and humbled by the nomination.

it is distinguished from the first occupants, robert murphy to other distinguished people. the position of under secretary has been defined by extraordinary quality, ability and dedication of its occupants. throughout my career, i have sought to serve in challenging and complicated places where the power and influence of our great republic could be brought to bear in pursuit of our interests and promotion of our values. as you consider my nomination, i can offer you the following. first, i have dedicated my life to public service. my foreign service career began in 1984 and has spanned five administrations, two democratic and three republican. second, i understand american power and purpose. i have worked in countries and regions in transition to transformation, from latin america to africa, i have seen the positive influence the united states can bring in helping countries more from authoritarian to democratic

governments, from closed to open economies and import substitution to development based on regional integration from isolation to globalization. i have seen and understood the attraction and the unique role events. in our great diplomats from john jay to john kerry had a deep understanding of power politics and global dimensions and have protected and advanced american interests. however, the vision of order and purpose they brought to american diplomacy was infused with values that reflect our democratic ideals and our conception of individual liberty. i know how to get things done and what needs to be done. as noted in my professional experience has spanned from the white house to the state department and embassies and i probably do have a problem keeping a job. i'm familiar with the machinery

of our foreign policy and diplomacy and have experience at every level. i understand the importance of consultation with the congress. i entered the state department during the wars. this divide limited our ability to successfully implement our policy. it was only when broad consensus was formed around an agenda on human rights and economic development that we were able to form a bipartisan approach to central america. this shaped how the legislative and executive branches faced foreign policy challenges in colombia and the broad bipartisan support in colombia and it led to further bipartisan . and the merit initiative in mexico. these experiences taught me that engagement with congress is an essential part of our foreign policy-making process and only long-term guarantee of success. as noted, if confirmed, i will consult with the congress. i will consult with this

committee. i will consult with its staff. as i reflect in my experience, i'm struck by the tremendous changes i have seen in three decades. as dramatic these changes have been, it will not compare to what awaits us. our driving change, political, economic and social are accelerating due to globalization and will increase the challenge in the world and challenge our ability to respond to events in the world. during the past two years as counselor of the department, i have worked on a variety of issues, of the kinds of changes we face. i worked with our partners in africa. along a historic front line of conflict that divides north africa. i worked with our special envoy to south africa on a long and complicated effort to bring peace toll south sudan and i worked in southeast asia.

a sustainable development effort designed to improve coordination and cooperation of the countries of the lower river basin to ensure the long-term viability of the river as a source of food, energy and water. i worked on trade issues within the indo pacific region. i worked to develop a response to the crisis in the central american child migrants that crossed our border. the result was the alliance for prosperity, a plan and program designed by guatemala and honduras and ellsalva door with e bank to address the root causes of migration. if confirmed, it would be my assignment to ensure the department of state can meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that confront us. it would be my job to ensure that our burros and missions and

remarkable individuals who serve there have the policy guidance to be successful and high level assistance and support to shape and implement our foreign policy. this is a response bill that i take seriously and again acknowledge the important role of the congress. let me close by thanking the president and secretary kerry by the confidence they placed in me. let me thank you, mr. chairman, and senator cardin to appear before you. let me thank my family. today i have present with me my mother, along with my father, who she instilled in me the values that led to my public service. i have with me my brothers paul and terry, both special agents of the f.b.i. and veterans of afghanistan and iraq conflicts. i recognize my wife and our sons thomas and john. i would not be here today without them.

as my colleagues in the foreign service know well, our service to country is a family affair and the joyce and dangers of that service abide in our families. thank you very much and i look forward to your questions. senator corker: we typically are much nicer on people coming before us when the kids are here. but when your mother is here, it is much the same. we talked in our office about the tip report. we were very dissatisfied with the way it was handled this last year and justford i wonder if you would share with us how you plan to handle it differently this year. mr. shannon: thank you very much. i had the opportunity to talk about the tip report withal whole range of members of this committee. and i was struck by the consensus of concern about the tip report and this worries me deeply. and as you noted, the tip report

is a gold standard report and it's one in which the credibility that the report holds both in the congress and publicly is essential -- an essential part of that gold standard. it would be my intention working with my colleagues in the state department who manage this process both on the regional bureau side and our embassies that we have as clear and transparent a process as possible and one that can address the concerns expressed. trafficking in persons is an important issue for me and i have dealt with it in different moments in my career. the information that our office on trafficking in persons collects regarding the actions of states, governments, municipalities regarding trafficking comes from our embassies and how our embassies respond and how they engage with the office of trafficking in persons is an important part of this process.

so i can assure you that i will do everything in my power to make sure that we restore the credibility in your eyes and address the concerns you have expressed. senator corker: i will say in some cases, i would imagine, that ambassadors want to see good things happen in the countries that they are involved in. so i hope that while -- i know the ambassadors play a role and some cases it can be an advocating role in their country. i hope you will figure out a way to cause things not to be out of balance. mr. shannon: i can assure you the american foreign service, as i noted in my remarks understands our diplomacy as advocacy and we understand the importance of trafficking in persons to you and broadly to the congress and also to the president. i will do everything in my power to make sure this advocacy is powerful.

senator corker: the last comment, certainly i respect tremendously those people who offer themselves for foreign service. i understand that dynamics take place, human nature dynamics that can happen on the ground. you've watched and been a part of and worked with so many people who have been in this position. you gave a litany of votes who came before you, many of whom are highly respected. what as you have watched this and seen how people have operated, what is it you think you might uniquely do that is different than those who have come before you? mr. shannon: thank you for that question. it is a good one. there is a bureaucratic and management policy process to this job that infuses the work of all under secretaries. we sit on top of a variety of bureaus, six geographic bureaus

and bureaus that manage international organizations in a and effort to manage policy so they can be as successful as possible. i'm one of the first nominees that comes with strong experience in latin america and africa, larger developing world and really a world of transition and transformation. and although my purview will now be the globe and i have over the last two years done a variety of work in the middle east, more deeply in africa and southeast asian in the indo-pacific region, i understand the impact and importance of countries hell manage transformation and the united states has done it in a variety of environments but especially in africa and latin america. i began my career in central america during a transition from authoritarian government to

democratic government. i have worked in a variety of countries that were making a similar transition such as brazil. and south africa from 1992 to 1996, i helped manage and promote from an apartheid government to the government of mel son mandela. i -- nelson mandela. i think i can inject and add a dimension to our foreign policy that could be very important. senator corker: thank you very much. with that, i'll turn to ranking member cardin. senator cardin: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. ambassador, thank you for your service and very much appreciate the members of your family that are here and we recognize this as a family commitment and we thank them also. you mentioned your experiences with congress in central america conflict that there was deep division in congress, but where we spoke in unity, the united

states was stronger in its carrying out its mission. there has been a division in congress over the support for the iran agreement. but there's been no division in congress about the importance of the congressional review and the ongoing commitment that congress has in the implementation of the iran agreement. the iran review act that was passed in a very bipartisan vote, almost unanimous vote in the united states congress, spells out certain continuing commitments by the administration to keep congress informed. we do that because we had a conversation yesterday about the compliance with iran on the agreement. there has already been a violation of the u.n. resolution dealing with ballistic missiles, how the united states responds to that through many of us is an

indication of whether we will demand zero tolerance for violations and strict compliance. so we need to be kept informed in a very open way as to how the compliance issues are taking place. they may not elevate to the type of violation that would warrant the united states taking actions sanctions, butll they may be of interest as to how we can make sure there is full compliance with the agreement. we also have the concerns of recognizing that iran's not going to change its nepharious activities as it relates to the support of terrorism and its human rights issues that may engage us in a way to how we counter those activities. being able to chase the funds that iran will be receiving through sanction relief and how

they use those funds will be of great interest to this committee and the members of congress. i just would like to get your assurances that you have given us about keeping us fully engaged. we know what the law requires. but as you pointed out in your relationships with congress in the past that we are going to have a very open relationship and full information so we can carry out our critically responsible -- responsibilities of oversight. mr. shannon: thank you very much, senator. i appreciate the question and i appreciate its intent and purpose. the implementation of the jcpoa is what's going to make it a good agreement or a bad agreement. and we are intent on ensuring that that implementation is to the letter of the law and spirit of the law. and in that regard we intend to consult with the congress along the way and will consult with

congress along the way at different steps in the implementation process. it's worth noting that secretary kerry and president obama have selected ambassador steve malt to manage the interagency side and our engagement with the iranians. he has a group of experts working with him that have deep experience in this and chosen myself as the under secretary to manage our work in the joint commission which will meet regularly to assess the implementation process. it is worth noting that in choosing us, he has chosen career foreign service officers and chosen two people who did not participate in the negotiations of the agreement and he is bringing fresh eyes and objective eyes to an implementation process. i think this is smart and important but as the ambassador and i carry out this work, we

will be consulting with you and other members of the committee and your staff and we recognize and understand the importance of having the executive branch and the legislative branch having a clear understanding of what needs to be done in the implementation process. senator corker: senator perdue. senator perdue: it's an honor to have you here today and i appreciate having a private meeting with you recently and i applaud your career. you have raised your kids abroad and probably seen your mother much less, but we are here today -- i applaud your career and thank you for being here and taking on this responsibility. i would like to move to the global security crisis that we talked privately about. i have seen it on three levels. we have a power vacuum that has created rivalries, china and russia. another power vacuum in iraq

into which isis has stepped and created all sorts of problems in syria and iraq and other countries in the region. and now the iran nuclear deal that as you well said privately and i think just now it's all in the implementation. i would like to depoke cuss on syria. we have talks coming up tomorrow. war are the prospects of those talks and are you concerned in your new role are you concerned about iran being concerned in the dialogue and russia. assad has been propped up by putin and without his help he would have been gone a long time ago and wouldn't have the wherewithal to bomb and gas his own people. are you a little concerned about having the arsonist helping to put the fire out? mr. shannon: i'm very grateful

for your willingness to see me and talk about these issues. as secretary kerry noted in his testimony here and i know assist ant secretary patteron and general allen noted, our objectives in syria remain in degrading isil and helping syrians lay the foundation for a free and pluralistic future but without isil and assad. secretary kerry -- senator perdue: is it still the administration's position and your role as counsel, is it your position that assad has to go? mr. shannon: correct. and secretary kerry in his effort to fashion a global response to events in syria as he said trying to chart a course out of hell, he has determined that there is a moment in time in which it is important to

bring together major players and actors to advance events inside of syria. part of this process builds off of earlier processes such as the meetings in london and geneva, but the insertion of russia and iran in a very aggressive way in syria has created a different kind of dynamic. the russian and iranian presence or support for assad is nothing new. but the russian military presence and air strikes is something new. the presence of iranian troops and special forces is something new and worrisome. and for this reason, the secretary thought it was time to bring everybody together and effectively call their bluff and determine whether or not their commitment to fighting isil and terrorism is a meaningful one and the extent to which they are prepared to work broadly with the international community to convince mr. assad during the

political transition process he will have to go. senator perdue: i think you said you've got great experience in post-conflict societies. is it possible that iran would support a secular government after assad perspectively leaves? mr. shannon: i don't know the answer to that question and we are only going to determine whether or not that is possible by engaging. our engagement is not going to affect our intent or our purpose. we are hopeful that we can establish an environment in syria where we can address the underlying political problems and allow the syrians to determine their future and do it in a way in which they are not responding to iran or russia. senator perdue: i do want to move on to venezuela. i know you have led conversations there. talk to us about our role in ensuring they have a true, open and free election in the

upcoming election. mr. shannon: thank you for that question. it's an important one. as we have engaged with venezuela, we focused on a variety of issues that are important to us. first, when we first began our engagement, it was about insisting that venezuela establish a date for legislative actions. when we first engaged, they had not established such a date and there was concern whether or not they would establish such a date. secondly, it was focus on political prisoners, not just alsoprofile prisoners, but a group of students and other political prisoners between 77 and 80, depending on who is doing the counting who were being held by the government of venezuela for political purposes. we made it clear we do not agree and thought these people should be released and be allowed to participate in public life.

and broader purpose of elections, trying to convince venezuela it was in their interests to have international electoral observation in order to validate the results of the elections and allow the people of venezuela to know their votes were freely cast and counted in valid fashion. these remain our principal objectives. we have an elect torl date. the political prisoners for the most prisoner are still there. some have been released. we're advocating for these political prisoners is now more common and more direct. we see it in the o.a.s. we see it in the inter-american human rights commission and in a variety of other forum and we continue to work around electoral observation. senator perdue: thank you, very much. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you.

senator menendez. go ahead, senator kaine. >> new jersey civility is always appreciated. >> notwithstanding what governor kristie said last week. senator kaine: thank you, ambassador shannon. a couple of points. your long career has included service in some very dangerous areas. talk about the evolving security conditions under which our folks have to operate around the globe and your sensitivity to those issues in this new role? mr. shannon: senator, thank you very much. i'm a proud member of the commonwealth of virginia and thank you very much for your service both as governor and senator. we're very lucky to have you. senator kaine: thank you. mr. shannon: today i live in crystal city and get off on

constitutional and 22nd and i walk up 22nd street and enter the state department through the c street entrance. and aside from seeing the array of flags of all the countries with whom we have diplomatic relations, i also see on both walls on either side, both the right and left side of our entrance way, the names of all the foreign service officers locally employed staff and family members who have given their lives in their service of the united states of america. so every day it is impressed upon me the danger of our job but also the honor of serving and the importance of being able to make that kind of commitment. this is really a wall of honor for us, and it's also a wall of inspiration, but at the same time we don't want to add any more names. he first name was walter palfrey, he was lost at sea in 1780. -- 1780 to today we have

we realize we operate in a dangerous world but we are in an especially dangerous and dynamic around the globe. the kind of structures we put in place will be key to how well we can protect our people and how well we can manage risk and whether it's, you know, through our kind of high-threat post review process, whether it's through the determinations we make on whether or not we keep embassies open, how we determine expedited -- or authorized departure or ordered departure in missions, these are all processes that have to be fluid, they have to be dynamic, they have to be agile and they have to reflect the facts on the ground. aside from that, i believe we need to do more training our officers to be their own security officers. nornse, allowing them to understand -- in other words, allowing them to understand better the environment they're going to be in and the tools necessary to protect themselves. the reality is we are an expeditionary diplomatic service. we have 275 diplomatic missions around the world. we have about 10,000 american

diplomats and civil servants posted around the world, and we have over 47,000 locally employed staff and we're responsible for them all. senator kaine: this is something that senator perdue and i have worked on a lot and i hope we can give a green light to the state department's long plan to build enhanced security training facility for embassy personnel. a point on iran to pick up the comments that both the chair and ranking member meant, when we were working on the review act, the administration's attitude really is they didn't think congress should have a role in approving an iran deal which i thought was odd given the congressional sanctions were such an integral part of the negotiation. and i would just say i hope the administration, you know, will have a different attitude going forward in terms of congress' role in oversight and implementation of the deal. the deal puts congress right in the middle of it, because in year eight, congress is required under this deal to dismantle the congressional

sanctions statutes or we are in breach of the agreement. just as in year eight, the iranian parliament is required to permanently accept the additional protocol requirements or they're in breach of the agreement. there's not going to be a scenario where congress will be kept in the dark and then suddenly, ok, we reel the sanctions statute. it's hard to get a mother day's resolution to pass in two houses of congress. the notion you'll get 60 votes in the senate and a majority vote in the house to repeal the sanctions statute in year eight if there hasn't been very significant dialogue and trust building and assurances that congress feels comfortable about, we'll be in breach of the agreement if we don't have this really tight kind of communication dialogue and accepted level of congressional oversight over the implementation. i hope that will be your philosophy in the position. mr. shannon: thank you for that. it will be my philosophy.

the challenge we're going to face is that eight years is a long time. we will pass through at least one other administration and maybe more. and trying to find ways to ensure continuity of purpose and continuity of dialogue will be an essential part of what we're going to do. senator kaine: one last congratulations. it's premature but it's congratulations on the effort. the state department's commitment to really aggressive diplomacy. we're aware of the iran deal. we're aware of taking a new tact with cuba. but also the u.s. has played an important role in accompanying the country of colombia with the farc. yesterday i know there was an announcement by president santos of, hey, we would hope to get to an internationally monitored cease-fire on new year's day. this is the last war that's gone on in the america's. there's of problems in the americas but the notion of two continents without war, i'm not sure there's been a time in recorded history where the

americas has been without war. and we're close to that. and the u.s. has played a really important role in accompanying colombia and being an advocate and an ally in those negotiations and i just give credit to the state department for this kind of focus on important multilateral diplomacy and appreciate your efforts there. mr. shannon: thank you for raising colombia. i want to thank the congress and this committee, in particular, for the tremendous work that's been done over the years. along with the house and the members of the house who have dedicated themselves to colombia. it's really been a stellar group of people and they've been a pleasure to work with and i've had an opportunity to do it in so many different incarnations, from director of the office of indian affairs to deputy assistant secretary. worked on the andies from my posting at the n.s.c. and then as assistant secretary. and also as counselor i've been involved in this. and you're right, if the colombians are able to negotiate this deal, it will be the first time, not only in living memory but probably

since the formation of most of the south american republics in the early 19th century that this hemisphere has been at peace, at least in terms of state-on-state wars and internal conflicts. but the challenge we're going to face -- and this we're going to be engaging with you, sir, and, mr. chairman, and senator cardin, with this committee, about how to ensure that having been colombia's best partner in war, we're going to be colombia's best partner in peace because colombia is going to be -- is a great nation but it's going to be a greater nation. and with brazil it will be one of the defining powers of south america. nd an andean power, as a amazonian power, as a pacific power. and if it's successful in the peace process will have consolidated as a society and been able to extend the reach of the state into the plains of colombia, it will be a major producer of oil and gas. it will be a major producer of minerals.

it will be a major agriculture power. but it will also has a very dynamic and entrepreneurial people who will be very, very important players throughout the hemisphere. so how we shape that, how we engage with them going forward is going to have a big impact on how successful we are in the hemisphere. senator kaine: thank you. >> senator menendez. senator menendez: ambassador, congratulations on your nomination. considering your distinguished career, it's -- i think it's having your mom and dad here and to f.b.i. agents over the top -- you know, in terms of guaranteeing your nomination. a serious note -- we had a good conversation and i listened to some of your responses and i just want to quickly go over some ground because i think it's incredibly important. so would you agree with me that consultation with this committee and the senate is an

important factor in us having a united front in u.s. foreign policy? mr. shannon: yes, it is. senator menendez: because what i have experienced both as former chairman of this committee and as a member is we get a lot of notification but not a lot of consultation. and there's a difference. we may not agree at the result of consulting but at least you'll understand, you know, some thoughts of those of of us who represent the nation. and maybe there will be ways to achieve a common goal but to do it in a different way. and so what i've experienced is a lot of notification but not a lot of consultation. so i'm glad to hear that you're committed to consultation. secondly, do you agree with me that the tip report needs to be the gold standard? mr. shannon: yes, i do. senator menendez: i think i could probably not find anybody on this committee who believes that the last report did not have -- did not meet that

standard. in the questions of malaysia and cuba and some other places. the justifications belie the facts, and the reality is that you can't say that certain things in a reporting period that happen to be good for that country will be included even though they're beyond the reporting period. and certain things that are bad that are also beyond the reporting period don't get included. so either we include everything beyond the reporting period, good and bad, or we stick to the reporting period but you can't go beyond the reporting period for what's good but not beyond the reporting period for what's bad. i'm referring particularly to malaysia and the mass graves we found. so that wasn't considered and what malaysia was doing in that context, but some passage of the law that wasn't even yet enforced was considered. so we need to make that the gold standard. and i hope that we can --

understanding the pressures within the department from regional bureaus and what not, but it just doesn't work the way it worked last time and it undermines our ability in trafficking persons. thirdly, would you agree with me that we must respond to violations by iran of whether it is -- its nuclear agreement or security council resolutions with significant responses or else we will be down a slippery slope in terms of what they think they can get away with? mr. shannon: yes, i do. senator menendez: so i say that because we -- regardless -- and there are members of this committee who voted both ways. i opposed the agreement. i think it's aspirational. i hope it works now it's the law, but by the same token, i don't think any of it can work if iran thinks it can get away

with violating as it largely has done for the past decade and a half in violating international united nations security council resolutions, international law and still largely develop a nuclear program. if we're going to get anything out of this agreement it has to be enforced. and with the ballistic missile test that they had, i don't think you're going to end up with a u.n. resolution that's going to sanction them because russia will probably negate it with its veto, so we have to be thinking about how we're going to respond to that. otherwise we're headed down a slippery slope. i know this won't be the main stay of your portfolio, but the reality is you're going to have as the third highest ranking person at the state department -- some say in this -- and i hope that you will hold the view that you publicly describe here saying is important within the deliberations of the department. thirdly -- fourthly, venezuela.

you and i had a long discussion on this, and i have to be honest with you. i appreciate what you are with to do, and you met one that's supposedly, by some of our agencies described as someone who is involved in narco trafficking. i also realize he has an elected position inside of venezuela. but that's a question for the future of the policy, however do we go with -- how far do we go with individuals who are involved in this context of narcotrafficking? but in venezuela we have a process in which you don't have international observers. you have a sham trial where a prosecutor ultimately flees one -- one of the prosecutor flees the country and says he was under pressure to ultimately pursue the case in the manner in which he did. lopez is convicted in a sham

trial. i think 13 years in jail. and you have a series of other human rights activists and political dissidents jailed. and you have the maduro regime saying publicly in essence, well, we're going to win the elections which basically means we're going to win one way or the others. the polls don't say we're going to win at the ballot box but we're going to win it. so my concern is, and i think the thing you do bring to this job that others don't have is the combination of latin america and africa experience. but my concern is we're not willing to challenge regimes, whether it be in venezuela or cuba, where we are seated everything to the re-- creeded everything to the regime and has seen nothing, nothing in erms of human rights democracy issues. so talk to me about challenging a regime when the diplomacy has not achieved what we want, and

we passed this law that came out of this committee on venezuela in sanctions. the president invoked some of it. there's still a lot more that could be invoked. when is the demarcation which we say, ok, our diplomacy hasn't worked, at this point, how do we back it up with some strength? mr. shannon: thank you very much, senator. and let me thank you for your tremendous commitment to latin america and also to the state department and diversity within the state department. it's been an important motivator for us, an important driver of how we shape the diplomats of the future. in regard to the tip report, let me reiterate that i'm committed to atresing the concerns of this committee and members of the committee that have expressed their concerns to me. as i noted previously, it's very worrysome to me that a report that should be -- worrisome to me that a report that should be a gold standard is not seen as being that. so i'll do everything i can to address those concerns and ensure that we are examining

countries under the rubric of the report, with all the rigor that's required by law. and in regard to iran violations, sir, i can guarantee you we will be responding to them. we recognize as important as the jcpoa is, it has a set of sanctions tied to it that are nuclear related but sanctions related to ball missiles, to human rights and to terrorism, and we'll continue to pursue those sanctions and pursue violations whenever we see them. we understand that our relationship with iran is a complicated one, but, again, our success in the jcpoa and its implementation will only happen if we show a clear willingness to pursue violations elsewhere under other sanctions regimes. and in regard to venezuela, we did have a good conversation yesterday, and i appreciated the conversation and i appreciated your point of view. i understand it and i appreciate the concerns that others have expressed. as we look at what's next in

venezuela, so much of our own relationship with venezuela will depend on what happens around the legislative elections and what happens around the issue of political prisoners. cadello, it was first with the purpose of winning from them an electoral date for legislative assembly elections which we thought was important and essential, first of all, to create a political process that would allow the venezuelan people to express themselves but also to begin to create a larger environment for dialogue inside of venezuela. its secondary purpose was to save the life of leopold lopez, which was in the fourth week of a hunger strike. we're looking for action by the venezuela government that would convince lopez to come off his strike. we believe that lopez and other political prisoners being held are part of the broader solution to the internal

challenges that venezuela faces today. we'll continue to advocate for his release, as we have done over time. it should be noted that as we have engaged with venezuela, we have never backed off our criticism of venezuela regarding some of its political behavior and activity. and we've expressed our concern about the politicizization of the judiciary and the holding of political prisoners. and we'll continue to do so. as we look toward the elections, the ability of the elections to be perceived as free elections and the vote count is valid is going to be a very important part of how we manage the next step in the relationship. and in that regard, the legislation that you worked on and that other members of this committee and senate worked on will be an important tool for us. and we will use it if necessary. senator menendez: i hope you use the tool. i look forward to supporting confirmation before the committee in the senate. >> senator coons. senator coons: thank you, mr.

chairman. thank you, ambassador, for your service. thank you to your family for sustaining and supporting ambassador shannon's service and immediate family's service over so many years and so many challenging environments. i will concur with my colleague from new jersey that your long service in latin america and in africa i think brings of particular and needed strength. your service as a member of the korean foreign service officer brings an important and vital perspective. so let me just broadly reference three questions and then you take as much time as you'll wish and i'll allocate your time accordingly. ultimately, i'd be interested in hearing on behalf of the 10,000 foreign service and civil service employees of the department what you think are the most important, most needed steps to continue to attract and retain and motivate the best and brightest that serve in these difficult and demanding and important posts around the world. i'm also interested, you succeed wendy sherman. hopefully you'll be confirmed.

i'll support your confirmation. she focused a real focus on peacekeeping. peacekeeping is difficult business. it's expensive. it's full of complications. there is an african standby force that's in the early stages of being perhaps ready to actually serve on the continent. they've been doing some recent exercises in south africa. i'd be interested in see how you see peacekeeping and how we see it sustainable across the perspective. and last, i am concerned about how we support economic growth in africa while also supporting democracy and governance. there's been a hotly contested election in tanzania. the results were just announced in the last hour. they were invalidated earlier today. we have a number of critical other elections this year. how do we balance those two -- promoting economic growth and development while still advocating for our values over the values of some of our competitors in africa? mr. shannon: well, thank you very much, senator.

i appreciate the questions. and let me thank you for the trip you made to the state department to meet with some of our mid-level officers. it was a great experience for them. but we really appreciated the respect you showed up, and we look forward to -- showed us, and we look forward to inviting you back. thank you for that. with regard to your first question, how do we attract and keep the best people, that's something we struggle with every day. luckily we have a really interesting portfolio and so we intend to attract people who are smart, motivated and expeditionary in mind set. they want to go places and they want to do things. and so that's important to us. but the challenges we face are real. the challenges that career families face in the foreign service, the challenges that families with special children face, and the broader security environment that we spoke about earlier also affect how people understand the foreign service and the degree to which they enter the foreign service or stay as officers.

we are really at this point in time going through a generational change in the foreign service. 60% of the foreign service, nearly 60%, it's about 57% of the foreign service have served for 10 years or less and this is quite remarkable. t means that we have a whole cadre of young officers who will be our next generation of leaders who have served in the foreign service during a period of combat in iraq and afghanistan and a larger global struggle against terrorism. and in many instances some of these classes have gone in large numbers to iraq, afghanistan, pakistan and other areas, first, where there are unaccompanied postings and second where the challenges are quite significant. and how we help these officers understand a larger world, how we train them, how we enhance

their language capability will be a big part of our success in the future. so one of the assignments i'm going to take on myself is ally a men-- mentoring assignment which is engaging with our foreign affairs training center and with the secretary to ensure that he can leave behind a legacy of enhanced language training, enhanced regional studies and an ability to do more in the field to help officers become familiar with the areas they're working on and areas they want to continue to work on. but let me share one quick antidote with you. as i go around and talk to younger officers, especially in the middle east, one of their biggest concerns is security but not whether they're going to be ok. their concern is, are they going to be able to do their job. and this is where we talked about earlier. they want the tools to be able to do their job. and that means the security environment that protects them but also their ability to understand and interpret the

environment they're in. and in this regard, we've got a lot of work to do. because there are some places that are just deadly for us and we just either can't go there or we have to go there under very careful conditions. but, again, this is something i'm really focused on because this will have a big impact on the best and brightest whether they stay. if they think their career is going to be spent in a container or behind an embassy wall, and if they can only go out in force and with interpreters, they're not going to stay. so we have to find a way to deal with this. and then finally, the -- africa is a special interest of mine. i've served in washington on african affairs but also in the field on african affairs and i've been able to travel to africa a lot. the economic growth side is really important for this continent. this is the continent of the 21st century, and president obama, through his africa leader summit, highlighted the importance of commercial engagement and presented a

different vision of africa to the american people. one of opportunity and growth. and as we look into the future, we need to understand that the chinese have figured this out and the chinese are present in africa in a big way, and so we have to be present in a big way and that means looking for ways to push american businesses, american investment and create economic growth that's necessary for africa to continue to grow at the rate that it's growing. i think it's the fastest growing continent in the world in terms of commerce and investment. but that said, the governance issues is really striking in different parts of africa and the issues we're facing, whether it be in tanzania, the drc, rwanda, how leaders understand their role as elected leaders, how they understand their ability to perpetuate themselves in power and the degree to way they use state structures to further themselves in power and don't address the transparency,

accountability and anti-corruption issues that are really going to be the basis for long-term economic growth and development is going to be key and it has to be a central part of our engagement in africa and i believe it is and i think with our assistant secretary, linda thomas greenfield, we've been really dynamic, really pushing hard on these issues. not always successfully because of the nature of some of the countries that we've been working in, but we haven't given up. i can assure you that governance is going to be a big part of how we engage in africa because absent that -- the right kind of governance, that economic growth is not going to have the social impact it needs to have. senator coons: thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. as you know, there will be some follow-up questions and we'll keep the record open until monday for both of nominees. but at this point, again, thank you for your willingness, sir, for having your family here, for their service to our country and we look forward to your confirmation. mr. shannon: thank you very much. i'm very grateful. senator corker: yes, sir.

next we'll condition the nomination of laura, nominee to be u.s. represented to the vienna office of the united nations and u.s. representative to the international atomic energy agency, commonly called the iaea. this role requires an agile ambassador, capable of representing u.s. position with a diverse array of organizations from the u.n. office on drugs and crime to the u.n. division of management, the comprehensive test man treaty organization of which we're not a party, the arrangement and the u.n. commission on international trade law, among others. perhaps the most visible to this committee on the jcpoa with iran will be the nominee's representation of the united states at the international atomic energy agency. i recognize that you, ms. holgate, have dedicated your career, as we have discussed privately, to promoting nuclear

security and establishing an environment that sponsors the spread of nuclear materials. but the challenges of the position may be daunting. you will be called upon to hold a strong line in the face of pressure from our partners who in order to open economic relations with iran may seek to close the door on old allegations and turn a blind eye to previous military dimensions of the program that may provide indicators necessary for the iaea to monitor the program going forward. you may be called upon to defend u.s. -- key u.s. positions in the face of opposition from nonaligned movement -- from the nonalign movement. you may have to stand alone to adequately defend u.s. national security interests. i hope you'll explain how you intend to fulfill these obligations in this role and your ability to successfully represent the u.s. while we have the opportunity, i'd also like for you to

discuss your government -- our government's current efforts to counter nuclear smuggling and how you may use this position, if confirmed, to further ensure the security of nuclear material globally. i appreciate your attendance before the committee today and look forward to growing our relationship should you be confirmed. with that i would like to recognize our distinguished ranking member, senator cardin. senator cardin: well, let me also welcome laura holgate. thank you very much for your long-standing public service. as was pointed out by the previous witness, this is a family commitment and we thank you and your family for your willingness to serve our country in this critically important position. you bring a host of qualifications to this nomination. senior position at the department of energy and department of defense, career that prevents states and

terrorists from acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction. you're currently the senior director of the weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and threat reduction at the national security council. you come well-prepared for the challenges in vienna. and i say that because, yes, there are the -- they are the direct responsibilities you have on the organizations in vienna under the united nations and the iaea and others, but it's also working with two other very important missions that we have, the host mission for austria as well as the osce mission that you and i had a chance to talk about. all are housed in vienna. to you're part of a diplomatic team that we have in a critically important place where major decisions are being made. obviously the focus today is very much one of the responsibilities and the implementation of the iran agreement by the iaea, and as we talked privately -- and i'll repeat now, and as i pointed

out to ambassador shannon, your openness with us is critically important, and i appreciate the commitments that you made in that regard. mr. chairman, i'm also pleased to note that a former member of this body who worked closely with laura holgate during the eight years she spent at the nuclear threat initiative has written a letter on her behalf touting, superb knowledge, diplomatic skills and strong passion for reducing global dangers. i would request that that letter be made part of our record. senator corker: without objection. thank you, senator cardin. i'll now turn to the nominee, our second nominee is laura holgate who's been nominated to serve as ambassador and u.s. representative to the vienna office of the united nations and the iaea. currently, she's advised the president for over six years in the position of special assistant to the president and senior director for weapons of

mass destruction, terrorism and threat reduction at the national security council. she received her bachelor of arts from princeton university and a masters in science from the massachusetts institute of technology. we welcome you. if you could summarize your thoughts in about five minutes we'll look forward to questions. and, again, congratulations on your nomination. ms. holgate: thank you very much, mr. chairman, ranking member cardin, members of the committee. i'm honored to appear before you today as the president's nominee to serve as the u.s. permanent representative to the vienna offices of the united nations, the international atomic energy agency and other international organizations in vienna. i'm grateful to president obama and to secretary kerry for the confidence they have placed in me. this is a critical moment for the united states' interests in the international atomic energy agency and the other u.n. offices in vienna. full implementation of the joint comprehensive plan of action with iran, successful transition of the nuclear security summit's worked to secure and reduce global

stockpiles of nuclear materials to the relevant enduring international institutions, safe and secure expansion of nuclear energy and other peaceful nuclear technologies and innovative peaceful applications, space science depend active, focused leadership and engagement by the united states to promote our national interests and to vaps our contributions -- advance our contributions toward shared authorities. i've worked on reducing nuclear, biological and chemical threats since 1989. i have served a combined 14 years in the department of defense, the department of energy and at the national security council where i led programs and developed policies to keep nuclear materials out of terrorist hands, to destroy chemical weapons in russia, libya and syria and to prevent bioterrorism. for eight years, i headed the nongovernment nuclear threat initiative programs in the former soviet union and

pioneered projects such as the iaea's low enriched uranium fuel bank. the position which i am being considered, i led the preparation of four nuclear security sum its working closely with counterparts from 52 diverse countries and four international organizations, including the united nations and the iaea. each of these positions have contributed to my ability to represent the united states and the president with authority and respect. if i may, mr. chairman, i would like to introduce to you and this committee very very special people who have joined me here today. my husband, rick holgate, has for 27 years steadfastly supported my career even as he's bit his own impressive accomplishments in the government and the private sector. my parents, susan and bert hayes are here from richmond as well. my father, as a t.w.a. pilot, opened my eyes, ears and mind

to the wide world beyond overland park, kansas. and my mother set the examples of opening our doors and hearts to people who are different from us. these early influences launched me on the path to today's hearing, and i hope to honor their faith in me by my service. and i deeply appreciate the support of friends and colleagues who are watching these proceedings today. mr. chairman, if i'm confirmed in this position, i pledge to strengthen and broaden the partnerships with other member states and with the u.n. agencies in vienna. and further develop the coalitions that we need to achieve u.s. priorities. key among these goals is that the iaea has the tools it needs to monitor implementation of the-plus-plus joint comprehensive plan of action. going forward, the iaea, with its proven record of technical expertise, offers us an agency a robust place for implementation. keep the united

states informed as this proceeds. another opportunity i see is to leverage the u.n. office of drugs and crimes, technical assistance to counter and prevent terrorism and trafficking through training and other support for judges and prosecutors, especially those in high-threat regions and countries. u.n. o o.d.c.'s efforts reach countries we may not be able to engage directly. finally, if confirmed, i will press international organizations in vienna to continue to make progress on management reforms, transparency and fairness. i will encourage intensified efforts towards achieving greater diversity, including at the senior and policymaking levels. i will continue the efforts of my predecessors to strongly support the hiring of qualified american citizens to these organizations. mr. chairman, the specialized and technical agencies in vienna foster activities and technologies that affect the lives of every citizen every

day. from combating the spread of nuclear weapons and human and arms trafficking to harnessing the power of the atom to promote nuclear -- human health and reduce and eliminate hunger, to utilizing space for communication, disaster early warning and exploration and research. if confirmed, i would work in close consultation with this committee and the congress to ensure the u.s. values and priorities are fully reflected in our positions, and that u.s. contributions and resources are expended with care. we owe the american people and the people all over the world no less. i thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and i look forward to your questions. senator corker: well, thank you very much. if you would explain -- i know we have former ambassador steven mull that will oversee the implementation. how will your role and his role interact? ms. holgate: thank you, sir. if confirmed, i would be part

of ambassador's team of interagency partners. participate in those conversations, those interagency meetings remotely and is in regular contact with the ambassador. i expect to continue and intensify that level of engagement in the interagency policy process. and the role in vienna is to be the eyes and ears on the ground of what's going on, not just the formal presentation of information from the secretariat but understanding the trends, the i shall ute, the mood, how the conversations are going and being sure that those are reported back into the u.s. policy process. also, being alert to opportunities to improve activities or steps that may need to be taken and to be sure that those are incorporated into our governmentwide implementation efforts. senator corker: who do you actually, if confirmed, who will you actually receive direction from here in

washington relative to positions that you take? ms. holgate: the letter of commission for ambassadors typically says it comes from the president and the secretary of state, sir. the -- my chain, my reporting chain goes to -- assistant secretary crocker and then up through the position that we just had the nominee for. but these issues are addressed in an interagency process and whole of government effort. if confirmed i'll play the role i'm assigned in that context. senator corker: i know you're going to get questions from someone, whether q.f.r. and personal, in a personal way. relative to whether you're involved in the negotiation of the jcpoa. so i'd like to get you the opportunity publicly to state what your involvement was. ms. holgate: i appreciate that question, senator. as we discussed in our conversation, which i

appreciated, i was not part of the negotiating team nor was i privy to the judgments made in the process of that negotiation. i am, however, familiar with its contents and i am fully prepared to vigorously support its implementation in the iaea. senator corker: and will you have the opportunity in this position, if confirmed, to be able to read the side agreements that were negotiated? ms. holgate: mr. senator, the side agreements that are referred to are actually safeguard agreements that are bilateral agreements between the iaea and the member state. those are safeguards confidential and those are not shared with any member states. i didn't plan to go down this route but what kind of oversight role do you have in this position? in other words, you have the director. so the director's just able to negotiate whatever the director

wishes and the folks who do what you do have no oversight role, no board of director's type role relative to the entity? ms. holgate: senator, it's my understanding that these are bilateral agreements between the secretariat and member states. the u.s. has a similar safeguard agreement that is not public -- is not available to other member states. this is part of how the iaea maintains the confidentiality of information that is supplied in connection with that. the iaea is, however, required to support on its findings on confirmation and verification of the commitments made in these safeguard agreements and those are the reports that are provided to member states and that we will be providing to the congress as they come from the s.e.c.ate. senator corker: again, i know you have nothing to do with how this has been set up. this is not directed at you a. again, not planned to go down

this route. it's odd, it would seem to me, the safeguards agreement is the agreement as to how the work is going to be carried out so you're really not conveying any confidential information. you're just talking about how you're going to deal with that entity to find out or that country to find out how they're progressing in the agreements that are made. why would that be kept away from the folks, if you will, that are overseeing this particular organization? i'm just curious as to why you think that would be the case. ms. holgate: the safeguards agreements include a range of technical details including design of nuclear facilities, including information how those facilities operate, an extreme amount of technical detail that helps the agency understand where it needs to apply safeguards, has to do with the process that's executed in that facility. that is not information that countries are eager to share

with other countries and frankly from a nonproliferation point of view, that's not information we're eager to be -- to have made public. senator corker: one of the things that concerned people, no matter how they ended up voting relative to the agreement, i think there was a concern, universal concern about the issue of possible military dimensions and the fact that all iran had to do was go through the process. and whether the iaea came up with a report that was an a-plus report or d-minus report, it didn't matter as long as the process had gone true, if you will. that was very concerning i think to a lot of people and somewhat shocking. i guess i would ask you, let's say you're confirmed and, you know, the report comes back as a b-minus, in other words, we really didn't learn much because they didn't provide much information which, again, concerned a lot of people, what

is it in this particular role that you would be able to do about that, if anything? ms. holgate: senator, as i understand it, the iaea will be delivering its report in mid december. if i am fortunate enough to achieve your confidence by then in order to be there at that time, that report will be provided to the board of governors of the iaea and the board will have a chance to act and engage on the basis of that information. the jcpoa is focused on the future rather than the past, and so its mission is to make sure that those activities do not occur again, that if in fact there are steps taken towards possible military activities of iran that those are alerted to, that those are identified by the iaea, alerted to member states and in a timely fashion that allows us to take steps to prevent them from happening again.

senator corker: but you do agree with all the technical background that you have that having knowledge as to how far they've gone in the past towards weaponization is an important element in discerning how quickly in the future they will be able to move towards that same goal, is it not? ms. holgate: yes, sir. knowledge is an important component of approaches to a military program, but all the knowledge in the world does not get you to a weapon if they don't have material, if they don't have the wherewithal to get the material to make the weapon and that's the mission of the iaea to monitor in an unprecedentedly intrusive way from the minds to the reactor, every piece of nuge material that's used in iran and that is where we gain the confidence that that knowledge will not be misapplied. senator corker: i'll move on to senator cardin. my time is up.

i'll probably have more questions. senator cardin: i'll follow up on your question, first. the general of the iaea reports to the board of governor. you're our representative on the board of governors. we expect you'll have access to all the information you need to properly manage the director general, the iaea and represent the united states. and i don't disagree with your analysis that the agreements we're referring are confidential agreements negotiated by the iaea and the member states and confidentiality is maintained. iran's somewhat different. during the negotiations of the jcpoa, representative of the united states was allowed to review those documents and i don't know whether that was done directly by the iaea or by iran, but it was done and i mention that because i think, as senator corker has pointed out, we're going to need a

clear understanding as to how iran is proceeding, particularly as it relates to its military dimensions. but there's more to it than that. and a working understanding of the arrangements between the iaea and the -- iran is going to be essential for you to be fully read into that and i think you will. and then we need your candid assessments as to how much information we receive and whether it's in compliance with the jcpoa. so i just really wanted to underscore that point. i understand confidentiality but i understand the board of governors and you're the key player in that regard so you have responsibility here. let me just ask you an open , stion on this which is where do you see the greatest challenges within the iaea in assuring compliance of iran with its commitments under jcpoa, that part that comes

under the responsibilities of the iaea? ms. holgate: senator, thank you for that question. he -- i think the most challenging components of this agreement will be the novel aspects of the safeguards activities that the iaea is being asked to undertake under the jcpoa. the work that they're doing at the mine, in the milling, in the conversion process of how uranium is handled within the country is unprecedented. now, the u.s. has continued its long tradition of providing training, information, technical support, equipment to the iaea safeguards community and that will -- that continues to be the case and it will be even more important as these safeguards inspectors are traped for these new roles. so the -- trained for these new roles. so the u.s. stands ready for the role of strong support to make sure the agency has the

people, the resources and the technology it needs to carry out these new roles. senator cardin: even there will not be inspectors carrying u.s. passports, the united states plays a critical role here as far as training and information, etc. i assume that's what you're referring to? ms. holgate: that's precisely what i'm referring to, senator. thank you. senator cardin: outside of iran, there are other things of the safe handling of nuclear materials, particularly by those states are involved in the use of nuclear materials and the commitments. where do you see -- with such a focus on iran and the resources ing used there, where do you see the challenges and a strong commitments toward the n.p.t. safeguards? s. holgate: the safeguards requirement will be applied globally under their role, under the treaty. the u.s. and other member

states have committed to make sure that this is not a zero some game from a resource point of view with the resources that are going to be required in support of jcpoa implementation. and there is a formula being worked out in -- as we speak on the balance between regular assessments and voluntary contributions to be sure that agencies work in the jcpoa implementation, does not interfere with or take away from the work it needs to do all over the world to assure the material is not diverted to weapons programs. senator cardin: and then lastly, if i might, how do you see your role working with other representatives from other countries, some who are directly involved in the vcpoa, jcpoa, s that were -- but others that were not in getting a firm national support for policies? ms. holgate: that's the

essential role of the diplomat and that's one that i'm eager to have the opportunity to play, if confirmed. many of these permit representatives and ambassadors in vienna are individuals that i have worked with because they represent their countries in the nuclear security summit process. so i begin with some familiarity with some of the key members of the vienna diplomatic community. certainly the work to do to assemble coalitions around supporting particular decisionmaking processes, to represent a common base in discussions in the board of governors, in the general conference is something i look forward to and commit to doing effectively as i am able. senator cardin: well, once again, we appreciate your willingness to continue to serve. ms. holgate: thank you, sir. senator corker: senator kaine. senator kaine: thank you, chairman. as someone that grew up in overland park and lives in richmond, i'm particularly

happy to see your family there. the iaea has a track record, not unmarred by challenges, certainly. after yirke and north korea developed nuclear weapons programs in the covert means, that was i think an admitted weakness of the iaea. and others that allowed that to happen. but then the iaea said we need a fix so they went back to the table to develop the additional protocol that nations now must follow to root out that possibility. so that was a bad incident in the iaea's history but then reacted to fix it in a good way. the iaea was -- i mean, to our kind of remaining sadness right in march of twee when they said that iraq didn't have a program of weapons of mass destruction or they couldn't find no credible evidence it did, that conclusion of the iaea was heavily trashed by a lot of people here and it turned out the iaea was right and we were wrong. hat was a moment us --

momentus moment. i'm impressed by the organization but the tasks on the shoulders of this organization are pretty monumental. first, does the iaea have the budgetary resources that it needs to do the work that its own its shoulders, especially in the jcpoa, the commitment there would be 130-plus iaea inspectors in iran to monitor the jcpoa? talk to bus the resources the organization -- talk to us about the resources the organization has. ms. holgate: might i say, go royals? senator kaine: we're thrilled. ms. holgate: the resources to support the jcpoa has been estimated about 10 million euro. they believe that about half of that can be accommodated within the existing safeguards budget without detriment to the other missions it has inside that bument. and about five million euro

will be need to be raised from voluntary contributions from other countries. the u.s. is the largest contributor of contributions for a range of projects within the iaea. i'll fully expect we'll play our appropriate role. that's clearly an area where other countries can contribute to the success of the jcpoa, including many of those who were -- who may have been on the sidelines but supporting the diplomatic solution that we pursued. so we do not expect this will be a large challenge for the gency to find resources. senator kaine: next to iranian intent, to make sure this jcpoa works or not, is -- the yarnian intent, we'll keep focus on their actions. their intent is still the most important factor. but the verification mechanisms are what give us the ability to determine that intent. and so the iaea doing a good job and having the resources to

do a good job is clull critical and i know you share that view. one of my hopes is this. the deal certainly talks about traditional iaea protocols, the additional protocol which iran exceeds to the first eight years and then i guess legislatively has to decide whether they permanently accept. but in addition, this extra inspection of the supply chain, as you point out, you know, kind of from mind to -- mine to ill to reactor, the fills il material is important. i hope at the end of that 25-year agreement this might have been incorporated as a best practice into the additional protocol so it wouldn't just be a 25-year commitment iran would make but if iran agrees to the additional protocol over time this supply chain monitoring could be added to the additional protocol for iran and for all nations. i think the -- this is a new best practice in the agreement

in terms of verification. right now it is only applicable to iran and only for the 25-year period. but i would hope -- and i'd like to ask, since i don't know about this, kind of -- has the additional protocol been modified over time? does it get modified to include new best practice elements? and would that be a realistic hope i would have by the end of 25 years this would become the norm? ms. holgate: thank you, sir. it's always important that the safeguards process of the iaea improve over time and in fact they have done so. the jcpoa is explicit, however, that the specific innovations are unique to this agreement and do not form a precedent. that was important to getting an agreement to this document and that is the intent of those who associated with it. that having been said, as you said, there are best practices that are developed in the

implementation of these activities. there are lessons learned. there are new technologies identified. there are ways to accomplish the same goal with fewer people or fewer resources. and so the iaea and indeed the whole international community will be learning a lot during this 25-year period. and in our constant effort to improve and enhance iaea safeguards, we may find that some of those techniques may be applicable to the broader safeguards activities of the agency. senator kaine: thank you so much for your testimony. thank you so much, mr. chair. senator corker: thank you so much for your ability to serve. there will be questions that will be coming until the close of business monday. obviously you understand the importance of responding to those fairly quickly. we thank your family for being here and their willingness to participate in this. and with that, the meeting is adjourned. ok. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]