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a mcdonald's franchisee. she talks about her background and the distention of being the first african-american elected to congress from her state. from a family where my mother graduated in 1970 from one of the last segregated high schools in the state, in the country, rather, in south carolina. and i think about all the opportunities that weren't afforded her, you know, coming out of segregation. and i bring that perspective to oregon, saying my mom was a rural kid that haven't a -- didn't have a lot of tuns but i'm going to make sure i bring that forth for all the kids in oregon. host: let's go to your background. i understand you were born and raised here in washington, d.c. ms. bynum: i was. host: what was that like, what was family life like here in the district? ms. bynum: my parents were educator, i went to d.c. public schools until the last two years. i had the world at my fingertips. my playground was the natural

history museum and library of congress. it was fascinating to grow up here and exciting to be back. host: what interesting or fond memories do you have? ms. bynum: my first job was at the zoo. i worked in the department of zoological research. i wrote a paper on transistors. >> you went on to study engineers. >> i did. host: why did you choose that field initially? ms. bynum: i loved math. i was kind of a smart, nerdy did i went to u.b.c. on saturdays and did engineering classes at project yes and they did the -- they got the ball rolling. i did the egg drop, built the bridges. i was interested in building things. host: and you went on to work for yen motors. ms. bynum: boeing and general motors. nene general motor i was a

supply engineer, i worked in luxembourg. i'm the candidate that had the border experience. and i worked on lecture high control i think power steering in the hydraulic space. host: you have an interesting, diverse background. engineering. you have an m.b.a. our businessperson. ms. bynum: yes. university of michigan, go blue. host: tell us about that part of your career. ms. bynum: i wanted to merge business and engineering or the law and engineering. so it was an opportunity to just study how capital move hours, you get ideas and take them to market. so i've been able to do that now, in my former life as a mcdonald's owner operator and giving kids their first job. that's exciting. host: are there similarities to engineering and business and being a member of the house? ms. bynum: i try to bring a problem solving approach to

things, being logical. but also understanding like, decisions are very emotional and personal. so for instance, when people come into our restaurants, they're connecting, they want something to eat but they're also connecting with their kids, they're sharing a moment. maybe with their mom that they bring out once a week for a coffee or ice cream. so some things are emotional. some things are technical. i think being a good lawmaker is being able to bridge the two at just the right time. host: tell us how you made your way to oregon? >> it was after september 11, i was a quality engineer, life changed, we were expecting our first child so we wanted to be near family. we chose d.c. or oregon. oregon is where we were going to invest in my husband's family business and that's how we ended up in his hometown. host: what was the family business? ms. bynum: mcdonald's

franchises. multiple franchises. host: what's that like? ms. bynum: we have golden moments at our restaurants. a grand parent taking their kid, a mom taking their mom. during the pandemic it was interesting to see how important to keep the drive through open because it allowed people to keep regularity in their life. families with a disabled family member would come through, it was a way to keep something in their lives. host: you decided to run for the house in oregon. why did you take the turn into politics? ms. bynum: i was listening to speaker johnson talk the other day about providence. i was looking for things to agree with him on. i think that was just my calling. i was a mom who was concerned about educational investments. my parents were teachers. i have a lot of education. and i think it is the pathway to opportunity. so i wanted the state to invest more in our kids and i got that. host: how and when did you decide to run for congress?

ms. bynum: oh, boy. again, that's more providence. i was ready to retire from the legislature but i think there's -- there are women like fannie lou hamer who were patriots in this country, she was from mississippi, she fought for the right for black people to vote. being someone who has been incredibly blessed with opportunities, having grown up in d.c., having been very well educated around the country, this was an opportunity to be patriotic. i wanted, of course, to see leader jeffries be speaker. host: you mentioned other names, your own middle name is sojourner. tell us the story behind that. ms. bynum: i was born in 1975. you either got a name like knowie -- i got janelle which was different. parents often wanted to give their children something to hold onto. my parents chose sojourner after

sojourner truth, she was an abolitionist and women's suffragist. i feel like i've followed in her footsteps and been rellenoless about making sure the american dream is possible for everyone. host: what are your earliest memories of being politically aware? ms. bynum: as a seventh grader i would woman come to house office buildings and deliver speeches. there was a group that held contests. there were themes like, if i were mayor, and, should d.c. become a state? so from the appropriations room or ways and means room, as a little girl from the rostrum, i was delivering grand speeches. that's a sweet memory i have of this place. host: what other major influences, people, events, or things have shaped you? ms. bynum: my grandmother. my brother worked in hotels.

sheafs hotel maid. but she was very articulate. she used to watch the people's court. and so -- [laughter] and so when i would go to her house we would constituent sith there and watch judge wapner. and she made me order the u.s. constitution and the -- there was a calendar as well. so i wrote the note. so i kind of got into like justice and law with my grandmother watching judge wapner. host: you have four children, what are their ages? ms. bynum: 23, 20, 16 and 14678 they are my heart. one will be a dentist. someone a football player, he's in the transfer portal. shoutout. and he's a running back, so i'm an avid football and sports fan. my other two kids, my daughter caroline is an amazing basketball player. host: what do think they -- what do they think about all this? ms. bynum: they want me to watch their games. if i can log in and cheer them

on that's what i do. host: you have the distinction, not many people do, of flipping a red seat to blue. how did you get that done? did hakeem jeffries, the minority leader, give you a pull? ms. bynum: i always had to run in a swing seat. i had the most expensive campaigns in the state. i would start my campaign activities at 6:00 a.m. i'm a relentless campaigner, a relentless lawmaker. i run everything, once you're on team pie bye numb, you're always on team bynum. we run it like a sports team. host: i mentioned hakeem jeffries giving you a call. what did he say to you? ms. bynum: he was encouraging. he wanted me to consider very seriously running for this office. i was reluctant candidate but again it was an opportunity to be patriotic. host: final question. what's it like to be here?

ms. bynum: it's amazing. a little girl coming home and being able to effect change in a major way is pretty special. >> one of more than 60 new members of the u.s. house is congressman ryan mackenzie of pennsylvania. the republican holds and m.b.a. from harvard business school and chose a career in public service. first as a member of the pennsylvania house, where his mother also serves. after a dozen years as a state representative he explains what it means to now be in washington. mr. mackenzie: i think it's a great opportunity not only for the greater lehigh valley but pennsylvania and america to make a significant difference. it's an honor and privilege to represent my hometown area, a place where i was born and raised my family is a ninth generation family in the greater lehigh valley. right now we face so many challenges in our country that stem from the federal government and can only be fixed here. so we have an opportunity to make those changes, get our country back in a positive direction. host: tell us about your

district. mr. mackenzie: it's a very diverse community. it's evenly divided into thirds, we have an urban core, then you have a suburban area, concentric circle around those city that's another third of the district and then also beyond that you have more rural areas. carbon county, northern lehigh, northern northampton. evenly divided into thirds. but that's great. because that brings the nature of the district to life. that's why we are a swing district. we very accurately reflect the entire pennsylvania region and the entire country. host: let's talk about you and your background. you have an m.v.b. -- and m.b.a. from harvard you could have chosen in paths but you those elected office. how come? mr. mackenzie: i grew up in a family where we discussed politics they should dinner table. what it did going harvard by

school into public service, it gave me a better way to actually look at problems, analyze them very quickly, come up with solutions and also communicate the potential solutions to a larger audience. that same kind of mind set and thinking that they trained us on at harvard business school is applicable to government as well and it's certainly -- it served me well in the state legislature and i think it will here too. host: tell us more about your family, you grew up in allentown. tell us about growing up. mr. mccane sy: a middle class family, grew up in a row home kind of situation. had an older brother, parents that were both involved politically, my dad was a township supervisor. he was involved in elected office. but that was a part-time position. i never really thought about government as a full-time position. but then it was an internship that -- when i was in my senior year of college, i interned for our hometown congressman at the

time. fell in love with public service, the ability to interact with people, look at problems, help them solve them. all of that led me to actually take full-time positions in government as a staff member and ultimately when the opportunity came up to run, people asked me to step up and run for state representative. it was a challenge at the time but i was happy to take it on. host: what is it about elected office that moves you? mr. mckenzie: there are two parts to the job. the first is what we do back home for constituent services. it's rewarding when you have a problem somebody has in federal government and you can help them solve that problem. those types of things we teal diehl with on a daily basis. when you see and deal with those, and somebody comes pack to you and tells you how meaningful it was for them in their lives that rewarding. that's the first part of the job. constituent services at home. the second part of the job is the legislating we do here in washington, d.c. and i saw as a state

representative, you can have a meaningful impact in a much larger way by the legislation that you offer and pass. one example that i'll talk about is what i did for veterans. we created a program called pennsylvania startups for soldiers, whereby veterans returning from military service can now start a business in pennsylvania and have all their startup filing fees waived. and they can do that. we've had thousands of people across pennsylvania utilize that program, starting businesses right in our home state that are hopefully going to grow and employ lots more people. we saved them millions of hours doing that. i think it's a great program. we can do things like that with the federal government. host: you intrigued me talking about the family dinners that got you interested in politics. what early memories do you have of those conversations? mr. mackenzie: some are chronicled in pictures in our family, letters my parents have where our state representative sent us a letter on the birth -- on my birth to my parents saying congratulations.

ultimately it was that same, because i ran and won the state house seat in the same community, same area i grew up in, it was that position i was elected to in the state house. so those are great memories we have that are very personal for me and our family. at the same time the most rewarding thing about the job is what we can do to help people in the community and across the commonwealth. host: other influences in your life? mr. mackenzie: i have an older brother. in a family with two sibling, one older brother, i looked up to my hold older brother, provided great guidance and direction throughout my life. somebody i still stay in close contact with. host: married? mr. mackenzie: married, have a 9-month-old son at this point. all of, my wife, thankfully she works remotely, and we have a rescue dog. we pile up in the car and come here to washington, d.c. we can make in it three to four

hours. we'll go back and forth for session each week. host: your race was somewhat of a bellwether from 2024. you flipped a seat from blue to red. a lot of money spent. won by a few thousand votes. what was that like for you? mr. mackenzie: we knew it would be a challenging race. it's an r-plus two cricket, meaning it slightly leans republican. we had been represented by a democratic congresswoman for two term. she came in in the 2018 wave, and i felt like and our community felt like she was out of touch with our district. on so many issue she was voting a hard left position up and down the line. that was just out of step with that swing district nature and evenly divided district. we highlighted that. we also highlighted some failures we felt like on the constituent services front. that's something that's very important to me is actually representing constituents and doing work on their behalf.

we're going to try to direct those things as we move forward. host: how do you like to spend time when you're not working? mr. mackenzie: one of my favorite activities is ski, we have great resorts in our local area. i like to go skiing when i have time. that always -- i like to do family ski trips once a year if poible. >> democrat george latimer of new york is one of more than 60 new members of the u.s. house. he's had a career as a marketing executive and served in election positions in his home state for many years. he talks here about his district and what he hopes his experience will bring to congress. mr. latimer: it's the southern half of westchester county, where i live. westchester being the suburb just north. then it has a sex of the bronx, some of the north bronx, about 70,000 from the north bronx. i have both urban and suburban.

rather significant numbers in that district. host: when you first ran for office back in the late 19 80's? what did you do prior to that? mr. latimer: in the first 10 years in my elected career i had a career as a sales and marketing executive, had a masters from new york university. running for the city council, the first position i held in 1987, unpaid position. the community that you live in is much more like to serve on a voluntary board, a library board or community center board. in that regard, a small community irk served on the westchester county legislature. multiple community, 55,000 people. did that for a long period of time. in those kinds of jobs you still maintain the rest of your life. corporate life you don't do it as anastole time job. i did chair the westchester legislature more than 25 years ago before going on to state legislature. host: where did the interest in politics first come from?

mr. latimer: i grew up in an every remark the vietnam war during high school. watergate scandal in my college years. that transfixed attention of my generation on what was happening in government and politics. i didn't envision i'd ever be here in washington. i thought my service would be at a more localized level. but one thing led to another over time. but when we -- but we would talk about politics at the dinner table because of vietnam, what was happening in those years. 1968. it was a long time ago. i was a tweener in those days. then in college the debate about watergate was overwhelming. it sparked an interest in politics that might be unique for that generation. host: how do you -- when did you know you were a democrat and what was that like? mr. latimer: i grew up in a democratic household my mom and dad were middle class blue collar folks. truman democrats. roman catholic.

john f. kennedy's presidency connected with us demographically. i'm part irish heritage, part italian. with that i was pretty surely a democrat. things over the course of political years give you ranges of democratses. now we divide ourselves by other titles. but as a kid i rooted for lyndon johnson, hubert humphries, george mcgovern. very different democrats in consecutive cycles. host: are you a moderate democrat? mr. latimer: that has come to be defined as the two prolairties. if you see yourself as very far left or very far right, if you're not either of those, you're moderate. in some issues i project progressive values. on some issues in terms of keeping taxes low, honoring veterans, dealing with violent crime that you might describe me

as right of center. so the balance is on all those different things you come out in the middle because you hold some view on either side of the dividing line. host: what experiences you mentioned in business, in industry, of course in politics, many years, collectively, how do they inform you as you begin your career in congress? mr. latimer: because i've been at different levels of government, served in the state legislature and the county legislature not only as chair but chief executive for the westchester county executive, it's a million person population, a significant government within the overall structure of new york state. i've learned how to not only advocate for ideas and be a supporter of things, but also how you have to actually crafting legislation. you have to craft it to an eye to how it's going to be used. in the last seven years of my career helped frame that as an executive. the executive to legislative

shift now that i'm back to being a legislator here, i'm a junior legislator, i'm in the minority, i'm not a young man but i've seen life from all sides now. i understand that i'm not driving the train down here. i want to make a contribution that's productionive through the committee, through bills i sponsor and hopefully through things i accomplish. host: tell us about your family. mr. latimer: i'm married to robin, we have one daughter, meghan. she has one one kid, she's in lexington, kentucky. they were all here for the swearing in ceremony. i have a sister here in the d.c. area. i'm the only person in my family ever involved in politics, i'm a bit of the unicorn compared to careers of the rest of hi friends. host: what do they all think of that? mr. latimer: in some ways, you're a little unusual george, who why are you doing this?

and particularly at 71 years of age, i'm not the normal freshman here. but i've met people who have careers in science, law enforcement, people who were medical professionals. all sorts of involvements. my involvement in public sector, in a decision making capacity, has been what it is that i do well and have energy and drive for it. i've been able to have the support of the voters throughout the different situations. >> republican riley moore of winch is one of more than 60 new members of the u.s. house. he served in the west virginia house and as that state's treasurer. he's also grandson of the late west virginia governor arch moore and talks about coming from a well-known political family. mr. moore: certainly we have a history of public service in west virginia. my grandfather serving as the only three-term governor in the state of west virginia. my aunt currently serving in the united states senate right now and then my cousin who is in the house of delegates.

certainly we have a long family history of service in the state of west virginia. certainly proud to be able to carry on the tradition. host: we're talking about arch moore, former governor, and shelley moore capito, the current senator from west virginia. what did you learn from all those family members about public service? mr. moore: my grandfather was governor, i was quite young. in his last term. so a lot of it was the learning process for me was that you could order anything you wanted in the governor's mansion to eat. other than that, not too much. in terms of his actual service. but i did learn a lot from him in terms of his life and he was talking about, he served in world war ii. he was in combat. wounded. in germany. what that did in terms of changing his life and his service to this nation. and put him on that path. he was not on that path before then. really felt like he had a calling toward it. obviously i talked to my aunt

shelly all the time, senator capito. she's been a real good sounding board for me in terms of how to get things done in this type of legislative body. she's served in the house previously and was also in the house of delegates in west virginia. host: when did you realize what age, that this might be for you? mr. moore: not until later in life. i started my career as a welder, worked in a mining operation. went to trade school, didn't go to college right after high school. so you know, my mother's family, they are all union labor. and that was kind of the route i went. i went into the trades. i had no interest in politics whatsoever. just liked building things. ended up going to college and majoring in government and international relations. ended up being pretty significantly affected by the events of 9/11. that's what kind of pushed me toward that. host: tell us more about that.

mr. moore: i was in college during 9/11. i was in school here in virginia, george mason university. i was here during that. before that i was studying kind of computer programming. and then ended up going on to switch my major after 9/11 took place. i wanted to understand why this happened. what can i do to try to serve in some type of capacity, government or otherwise, to try to prevent these types of things from happening again? so that set me on that course. i ended up a contractor at homeland security and eventually came up here to the hill as a young man and worked here. that's kind of got me on he path. host: tell us about the hill experiences? mr. moore: i worked on the house foreign affairs committee, i worked for chairman hyde, henry hyde, who passed away, i think in 2007. wonderful man. real honored to be able to serve and work for him.

obviously well knowner in hyde amendment which is something that's very important to me and i support. so started off with him. i left with chairman ileana ros-lehtinen. then went into the private sector working in aerospace and defense. host: then got into a career in government in west virginia. which positions did you hold? mr. moore: i first ran for house of delegates. won my house of delegates seat by 100 votes, 2016, as part of the trump train wave in west virginia. won that seat. was in house leadership in the house of delegates. and then went on to run for state treasurer in west virginia which i was the first republican elected state treasurer in west virginia in 92 years to take that position. which i obviously just ended that term right now, four-year term. then ended up running for congress and here i am. host: you mention all these life experiences, professional experiences you've had. collectively, how have they

prepared you for what you're now facing? mr. moore: some may say, you worked on the hill i'm sure that prepared you to be a congressman. yes and no. more to the point of what prepared me to serve the people of west virginia was my clear in the trades. being a welder. working in a. the messenger: ing operation. steel structural, also fab shop. doing the types of jobs that normal people are doing. this is not a normal job. this is not what normal people do. i wouldn't suggest going out and trying to do it for a living. normal people, people of america, people of the great state of west virginia, those are the types of jobs they do. truck drivers, coal miners, steelworkers, these are jobs that actually matter in this country. so that i think prepared me to be able to represent the hardworking people of west virginia and their interests and equities in a town like this that so many of our >> tell us about the second

district of west virginia. >> it runs from harpers ferry, the eastern panhandle, my home town. i was born in morgantown, west virginia which is the central part of the district where west university is and all the way up to parkersburg which is on the western side of the state borders ohio and the ohio river and runs down south to randolph county, that is about as far south as i go. seneca rocks. canadian is in the middle, contain valley, great ski resort, it is snowing mayor and a great time to be in the district. district is really focused on manufacturing like coal mining, natural gas, oil. a lot of manufacturing, particularly in the northern

panhandle, it's only 30 minutes from pittsburgh so when you think of the northern panhandle, we have a lot of steelworkers and we are trying to ramp up the amount of manufacturing we do in the district and since we have taken control of the legislature we have done a good job. >> tell us about your family. >> i have three beautiful children and my wife. another snow day in harpers ferry. i live right next to my parents. my side yard opens to their backyard. we are all just living in the eastern panhandle of west virginia and have a nice set up with our family and could not be more blessed. >> what do you like to do in your spare time? >> sleep. [laughter] i am really focused on my church. i am a roman catholic and i

volunteer my time with my church when i can. that is a lot of my extracurricular activity. i go hunting. i bagged a couple of deer this season. on top of that, i go to the gym and i like to ride skateboards. i have been a skateboarder my whole life. i still do it. a few months ago i went to a skate park and it was kind of fun. i started doing it when i was really on that's really young. >> i think the number of skateboarding congresspeople is really low. >> i think it is very low.

>> thank you for your time. >> republican michael bond barton -- baumgartner has served in the washington senate, worked at the state department during the iraq war and as a contractor in afghanistan and talks about his career, including some of his early experiences overseas. >> before going to harvard i volunteered with a group of jesuit priests in mozambique. i am catholic and i felt compelled to have an adventure so i lived with the jesuits. and in high school i was a kurd scholar and went to syria and jordan for the summer. >> and you was served in the iraq war with a lot of distinction. what were you doing in your life at that time and what did you do in iraq? >> after i left harvard of all

things i study development economics and first i was going to go back to africa but then 9/11 happened and i became interested in the middle east so i worked for the crown prince of dubai trying to help turn dubai into the next singapore but when i was working in dubai and saudi arabia the iraq war was going on and i felt told to go -- compelled to go. i am not a military veteran, i went with the state department and worked on counterinsurgency in baghdad. >> what was it like they are at the time? >> a tremendous -- what was it like they are at that time? >> a tremendous privilege. during the iraq surge we took a war that was losing and turned around. it wasn't -- it was and it -- a tremendous experience. i was doing high-level things in a rack and would go with the general and ambassador to see the iraqi prime minister and

work on issues at the highest level of government and in afghanistan i wanted something different and to push out. in a rack i was officials state department officer. in afghanistan i was in a hotbed of taliban activities and of all things that is where i met my wife, elinor, she was british-born. i'm now we have five kids. >> winded politics into the picture? for you? >> when i was in the middle east. i have seen good things about american national security and some steaks -- mistake so i thought this would be a good time to use my efforts had been in the public and private sector and where i felt the most happy is when i am doing something bigger than me.

i felt that when i worked with the jesuits in mozambique and in the state senate and here. >> what other takeaways from your experience in the state senate and how do they translate to a career in congress? >> in washington state we have 10 delegates at 90% of them have come through our state legislature. the idea that if you want to turn an idea into a law you have to build consensus on how to work in a team and bring people with you and in the state legislature there were 49 members of the senate and one governor so i used to say the magic code is 25 plus 50 plus one and hear the magic code is 218 plus 60 plus one so i will be working on that magic code to turn ideas into law. >> now you will hold a seat vacated by cathy mcmorris rodgers, who retired.

what did she tell you, any advice about the job? >> she was a tremendous representative if the eastern washington. i will p here every day fighting for east washington values. she was a tremendous representative of the people and i have big shoes to fill. >> tell us about your big family. >> we have five children. we are doing our part to keep social security solvent here and my oldest is 13 on the youngest is four and the kids are very involved in scouts and we go to church every sunday and sit in the front row at mass like my mother used to make us do and we do a lot of sports and hiking. we are very blessed. >> congressman herb conaway of new jersey as a doctor, has a law degree, served in the new

jersey legislature and as a u.s. air force captain. the democrat is -- one of more than 60 new members of the u.s. house and explains why he made a second run for congress after an unsuccessful bid 20 years ago. >> an opportunity arose to serve , continue lifelong service. i served in the military and have been an internist working in the community and took care of veterans, served on the base and been in the legislature of new jersey for 26 years until a few days ago so i have lived a life of service on this opportunity arose so i can continue to serve as has always been my goal. >> talk more about your background. first, talk about the nearly 30 years at the new jersey state house. what key lessons did you learn that can be applied now? >> always leading with the facts

and letting fact drive policy. working with my colleagues in my caucus on the other caucus. it is about working together for the betterment of the people we serve. whether you are a democrat or republican, that is the goal and i have always worked towards it in my service and i understand that the best things we have done have been done on a bipartisan basis and that is even more so here in washington come my observations as a citizen, the things that last and work generally have broad bipartisan support. those are the main lessons. lead with the facts, treat everyone as you would wish to be treated with cordiality, try to understand where they are coming from so you can figure out where the common ground lies and work from there. >> about the early years, you were born in the area around trenton. tell us more about your early life in new jersey or influences. >> i was born in trenton, my

mother was a nurse. i'm the oldest of four children. i have three younger sisters. i was raised by a father who was a coach and my mother was a nurse and we grew up as the typical american family, with a backyard and safety and access to recreation and good schools and a neighborhood that was supportive. in many ways, the idea of an american life, if there is such a thing. >> you have a medical degree and law degree. internal medicine. why did you pick that field? >> i am a generalist, i am one of these guys that are interested in many things. growing up, i can yield you a closet and run a pipe or electricity, that is what my dad taught me to do. i would hold the flashlight, learning how to do things. i am constantly learning and

have a broad interest. in internal medicine we look at the whole person and deal with the whole body and it is consistent with the way i was raised to do everything, wash dishes, scrubbed the floors, learn how to build stuff and fix things and when you are middle-class with four kids to raise and put through college, you better learn how to manage your house and life in a way that allows you to achieve those goals. >> d you plan to continue practicing medicine? >> i will not be able to practice medicine for money but i will be able to volunteer for a short while, i think. we will see how things goes. it will only get busier from here. >> what kind of law and why did you get into that field? >> i never practiced law. i always say to people if i had gotten married soon or i might not have had time to go to law school night school when i was serving in the air force.

i had time on my hands and i had always wanted to get a second degree and i chose to go to law school and get a law degree at night. >> when did your interest in politics start? was there an event or person? >> i have always been interested in government and politics and leadership. i always knew who the president was and was president of my class everywhere have been, elected as state governor in new jersey and jim saxton, who i ran against for congress lived a couple streets over from us and the realtors sold my parents the house in the neighborhood so i have been in and around politics. i am a history person like my dad. history should inform the present and future, nothing is new on the earth. i often reflect on history as i think about the challenges of the day. i am just one of those kids.

>> what did your parents teach you, especially about public service? >> we were raised in a house where dad would say, what is the fair thing to do, the right thing to do? content of character is what he taught. my mother, as well. he would reflect on his life growing up in a little town and say i remember having to go to the back door of people's homes to play with my neighbors and there were places i could not go . and here in my household, everybody, no matter caller, can come to our house and play together and do whatever else. i understand, he taught us to accept people as they are and treat people fairly. fairness was a big thing in our family and i try to live my life that way. what is fair and what is best. >> other influences? >> my dad has been the driver.

and my mom, in a quiet way. i go to the hospital and run into nurses all the time who say your mother was always calm and leading us and settling things down, what is the plan, how are we going to get this patient taken care of and dad was one of these guys, one of the hardest working people you will ever meet in your life. still at 89, he works part-time, running around after breakfast, cuts his own grass. get up and do it. we bear our burdens lately and try to be a force for good. that is what i was taught to do and what i continue to do. >> tell us about your time in the air force. >> it was a time of growth for me. i learned to fly cessna planes and got a law degree at night and served my country, which was always something i wanted to do. one reason to go to congress in my view is to deal with great

international questions you do not get to deal with at the state level. the enormous challenges on the world stage with a rising china growing in strength and a war like russia who is threatening its neighbors and threatening world peace. so the united states is the essential nation and if not us, who? we must be the leaders of the free world pushing back against tyranny. most people live under tyrannical or authoritarian rule. we have to be a beacon of hope and freedom for all those who struggle for freedom around the world. we have it here and our partners and allies in other places, we have to be leader of the free world and freedom in this world and that is one thing you get to do in congress that you cannot do on the state level. >> when you were in new jersey at the state level you served time in leadership position. what does that experience and leadership means your time in

congress? >> i understand there are a lot of people in this body who know a lot more about things and how they are done here in one thing i have learned, listen more than you talk. listen and be guided by people who know and you will find out pretty quickly, who is helpful and who really is leading in a way and demonstrating leadership. i have been very for -- fortunate in our caucus, we have a great leadership team and i look forward to learning from them and helping them bring forth what counts in terms of the democratic agenda. we know we are in the minority but there will be opportunities to defend what needs to be defended, democratic rights and freedoms, defunding vulnerable people at risk with the upcoming administration, we have to hold fast. one thing jimmy carter said, when the storm comes, ho

>> as i read that before law school, you worked in thailand? >> i was a dive master at a

scuba school on an island called koh samui. i spent some time and work my way to india. after india i worked from calcutta for mother teresa. >> what was the motivation? >> i had gone to visit a friend in hong kong who was in the district who was a chinese language major. i went and visited her. did a little bit of traveling with her and my sister and got the travel bug and decided i was going to explore more of the world while i was single and in my 20's and had the opportunity to do that. but i did want to have a focal point for my travel. i found a book called volunteer vacations and look for different volunteer opportunities and found that you could show up in calcutta. and you want to work for mother teresa? you can. >> what did you do for mother

teresa and what was the overall experience like? >> i worked in her home for the dining. your tasks could be anything from cooking breakfast, cleaning up, bathing and feeding patients , providing comfort, doing the laundry, all kinds of tasks. where there are people willing to work, they will give you something to do. >> for for public office, i practiced law. i did a lot of government policy work. did a lot of -- had a lot of policy conversations and work as it relates to military activities that are expanding in the marianas. separate from that, i practiced family law. as you know, when you see a decline in the economy, family

violence increases and there is an uptick on domestic violence, child abuse and related cases. >> all this week, watch c-span's new members of congress series, where we speak with emigrants and republicans about their early lives, previous careers, and why they decided to run for office. tuesday at 9:30 p.m. eastern, our interviews include montana republican congressman troy downing who paused his career in business to enlist in the air force after the september 11 attacks. >> i was moose hunting in alaska. i was one of the last people on the planet to find out about it. and got stuck there because the borders were closed. i couldn't fly over canada and as varied as i walked -- got home i walked into a repairs license and said hey, i've got a pilot's license, i was research at nyu, what can you do with me? >> watch new members of congress all this week starting at 9:30 p.m. eastern on c-span.