house on c-span, the senate on c-span 2, and all of our ngressional coverage is available on our free video app c-span now and online at c-span.org. announcer: c-span, democracy unfiltered. we are funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers, and we are just getting started, building one 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. announcer: charter communications supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. announcer: here on cpa we have been introducing you toew members of the 119th congrs.

at the talk about their early ves, famie and which are of their interest in running f office. ne, addison mcdowell, julie johnson, john mannion, julie fedorchak and kimberlyn king-hinds. announcer: republican addison mcdowell of north carolina is one of 60 members of the u.s. house. he has congress related work experience, and this is his first time in elected office. the congressman talks about his motivation running for office following the death of his younger brother. >> in 2016 we lost my little brother to a fentanyl overdose. fentanyl that was here and should not have been, so we lost my little brother. he was 21 years old, and it is tragic. i talked to people like it is losing an arm. it drove me to do this at a run

for congress. >> tell us more about how you felt when that happened. >> the hardest part was the shock, the shock of this was very unexpected, and get hurt that way, but having to see my mom and dad and what that did to them. losing a son or daughter is very different than losing a sibling, and as a father i now understand that, but it was shocking and you just have to understand how to move forward. you can either stop or just feel bad for yourself, you can do something about it, and i wanted to do something about it. >> did you decide right then you would run for congress? >> know, i was in college. i did not decide anything. i got to graduate college. four days later i had a spanish final in college, so i was not really thinking about anything,

but it kind of morphed into that over the years, and the lord put me in places i needed to be and did things he needed to do to prepare me for it, and the stars aligned for it to be the right time and for it to work out, so when the opportunity presented itself that was the motivating driver for me. this is exactly why i am doing it. >> what does your brother's death and how he died saying about the country as a whole right now? >> there is a literal poison that is coming into our country. it is manufactured in china and smuggled into our boards or up from the southern border, so there is a need to fix that, and they did not do that in the last four years, so we have to do that now. >> you use the word drive. when you think about your brother's death, how does that drive would you actually want to accomplish? >> in my office, there was a picture of him right as i walk

out the door to go vote, so every time i leave my office he is the last thing i see, and that motivates me to do what i need to do. his story is one that a lot of people feel, and i am carrying those families with meat that have had to go through this, and i think about them every single day. >> you are 30 years old. tell us more about your earlier years growing up in north carolina. what life was like, who helped shape you? >> i was so blessed to have a mom and dad that loved me so much. my dad is a preacher, so i was a preacher's kid. there were a lot of people in the churches that i grew up in that shaped me. it sunday school teachers that were with me through my entire childhood, and a woman named eddie right -- betty wright

comes to mind. football coaches, basketball coaches, teachers that i had. public school was very different back then, and they were teaching us history and how to read and write, so my public school teachers were very influential in shaping me and who i am and two i became. i think of my football coach. something he said that drives me. play like a champion today, and i tried to start every day like that where i wake up, and let's get moving and get to work. >> had you been thinking about politics growing up? were there political discussions in your family? >> my grandfather was a world war ii veteran and was very involved. she was a southern democrat. he was a delegate for carter. he passed the love of the

processing government politics onto my mom, and so she kind of passed it on to me, and there were conversations i did not think normal families have that my family would engage in the stuff. >> give us an example. >> we would talk about any hot button issue like global affairs, any kind of war that was going on, we would talk about that. it got me to like it, so i majored in political science in college and got me to learn and read and write about it. it was not what motivated me to run for office, got me to where i cared about this stuff. >> were you always a republican? >> yes, i was kind of coming up -- i do not remember bill clinton about the biggest presidency, but i remember george bush and 9/11, and that was the first big event that shaped my mindset and mindframe, and it evolved into what the party has become.

i am a movement guy. i am a trump republican. president trump was kind to support us in our primary, but always been a republican. low taxes, get the government out of the way. >> you are not a complete stranger. what kind of work did you do? >> i did a lot of campaign work. it was kind of a multi-prong ed thing. i did work for ted budd when he was in the house. he was in a similar area to whatever percent now, so got to know a lot of people outside of my home county, but never worked on the hill, so people are like you know your way around. no, i do not. i do not know the capitol building as well as staffers were working here. >> tell us about your family currently? >> my wife is just a saint for a

during this. i do not know how she doesn't, but we have two daughters. we have mary margaret and we have eleanor born three weeks before the election. >> congratulations. >> i have got my three girls at home, and being a dad is so much better than any job that i could have, including a congressman, but they are such a big reason why i am doing this, because my kids will inherit this mess, and i think about them a lot and the conversations we are having now regarding reconciliation and the budget and that sort of thing. i think about my kids and what we will give to them someday. >> one last question. back to you being the age of 30. what does a young boy's like that bring to a place like this? >> my life experiences are

unique, but i do not think it matters the age. i have been -- i do not want to say shocked, but my colleagues from the dean of the house treated me with the same respect he would've treated anybody. speaker johnson treats me with respect just like anybody else. i am not the youngest republican in the caucus. there is one that is about three weeks to one month younger than me. everybody has treated me like i am one of them, which i am. >> democrat julie johnson of texas is one of more than 60 members of the new house and the first openly lgbtq member in congress in texas history. representative johnson had a long career as a trial attorney. she talks here about what experience means for her new job in washington. >> i went to to take things i'd been doing at the texas level to the next level.

i focused a lot on health care, but state law health plans govern 18% of injured people, so at the federal level we can make a big impact on issues i care about. >> we read an article that said you successfully worked across the aisle in texas to get at least 30 that you cosponsored passed. how do you do that? >> you have to recognize people and put some partisanship aside and understand that we are here to represent our districts, but take the time to get to know people. figure out areas you have in common, issues that you can work on together and not be so pure that if you cannot agree on 100% that i will not work on anything. an example of that is i passed a bill overhauling the texas medical board, a significant thing get a response to patient safety issues, and my senate sponsor was the most conservative, anti-lgbtq person

in the building, and most people were stunned that we had to build together. he was willing to work with me on the medical board, and i got a senate partner. you have to have a long and short memory. >> take the concept of working across the aisle, bringing it to washington, a place that you know as well as anybody that compromise can be difficult. working together across the aisle can be hard. >> it is what i am used to. congress is not any more partisan than the texas legislature. i have had three terms where a were public and out i have it here, and i have had a lot of my republican colleagues are just like in texas, and most people want government to work. they want to be productive. they went to work. they recognize they have a lot of democrats are in their districts too, and they want to be reasonable. there are exceptions to that. we have extremists on both sides

that do not want to partner and are not willing to collaborate, but in my experience in talking to a lot of the freshman and other members of it reaching out with other members of the texas delegation to say we could work on this farm subsidy bill. we can work on transportation or this health care piece of legislation. people in rural america need health care access just like urban america, and these representatives want to deliver that, and if i have ideas that are good they are willing to talk to me. >> in your first floor speech you give a bit of a profile. tell us more about yourself and your background and how you got here. >> i have a trial attorney. i have been practicing law in texas for 33 years, representing people in times of need. when they have had a problem usually against a corporation or insurance company, and i am married. my wife is a gastroenterologist.

we have a split household on lawyer and dr., which i think is more contentious. i have two sons, and they are 22 and 24 and working their way up through life, and just really excited to be here. >> you are the first openly lgbtq member representing texas ever. what does that mean to you and what do you think it means to others? >> it is a huge honor and a responsibility. texas has a significant lgbtq population, and it is demonstrated that you can win in hard states, and we must win in hard states for equality to be achieved, and put yourself out there. do not shut yourself down because you think you cannot win. i never thought i could win in texas as an lgbtq person. i am the first democrat to hold the seat in 40 years.

now i am a member of congress, and i just think it is awesome. >> as a longtime litigator, how does that inform it you will do here and how you will do it? >> being a lawyer really does prepare you well to be a member of the legislative branch in the state house the united states congress. you understand the language come at the build process, the impact of statutes, out to read them and amend them, so i feel like i have a leg up on make up my colleagues who did not at that background. >> one article i read suggested it is clear you will stick your neck out to be an agent of change. you are here not for stardom, but to work on policy. >> i am a policy wonk. i am here to move the needle. i have plenty of other things i could be doing in my life. this job is hard. the schedule is hard, the commute is hard.

it is not an easy task, so if i am dedicating a significant part of my life to this work i want to be productive, moving the needle on issues i care about for the people i represent. i am here to get it done and work hard to achieve those goals. >> delegate kimberlyn king-hinds is one of 60 new members of the house. she represented the northern mariana islands. the delegate is held many positions at home including work for the lieutenant governor and the public commissions. she tells us more about the northern mariana islands. >> first of all [speaking another language] that is hello. i am pretty sure people are familiar with guam. it happens to be the southern

island, and the rest of the islands are the northern mariana islands. we have a lot in common. we have the same indigenous people. there is another indigenous group who are primarily in the northern marianas islands. and -- >> how many people live there? >> we have close to 50,000 people, but over the last few years we have seen massive migration because of the economy. >> how are the needs of the folks there similar to people on the mainland? >> you know, i think just in talking to other members whether they are republican or democrat, everyone is struggling with the cost of living and finding opportunities for employment.

that is a very big challenge, given the fact that our economy, the primary driver is the tourism industry, and since the pandemic we have not seen the tourism industry recover. so most folks either who live there are working for the government, and given the fact that the tourism industry is seeing such a significant line, as a matter of fact -- i do not know if you know about a plan that just crashed, so one of our primary tourism markets is korea. we are seeing those flights pulled out, which will have a further devastating impact on the economy. so, if you are not working for the government, you were working for a tourism related industry, and given the fact that the tourism industry is not where it

nearly should be free pandemic, folks are just moving to the mainland. >> tell us a little bit about yourself. where you were born growing up, education? >> i am one of the very few people who can clean that i was born on the island of tinian. there are four inhabited islands . i was born in tinian. my stepdad who raised me actually moved out from the mainland. she was a department of trust attorney, auntie was a firm believer in education, so both of my parents were incredibly focused on ensuring that we had the opportunity to go to school. so right after graduating the integrate they ship dust off to

the mainland so we could get an education, and the goal was always to come here, get educated and returned home to help the community. >> what kinds of experiences did you have before public office? >> before public office i practice law. i did a lot of government public policy work. had a lot of policy conversations and work as it relates to military activities that are expanding in the marianas. aside from that i practiced family law and when you see a decline in the economy, family violence increases, and there is an object on domestic violence, family abuse. >> went to the idea of actually running for office come to mind? >> interestingly enough, i think

it was always there. my mother was one of the first of two congresswomen who served in the first legislature when we became partners with the united states through the covenant. i grew up watching my mom in public service, and my dad as well. and i think, it was not necessarily wanting to become an elected official. i was just raised to be community service driven, if that makes sense. >> what is the role of the delegate versus a representative here in washington as you start your work? >> you know, it is different in the sense of we do not have the ability to vote on the floor. we can still participate in committees. we can vote in committees as a

whole, but when it comes to final votes on full legislation we are not able to vote. >> how does that hinder you? >> well, you know, i think it is more of a conversation about many of our citizens are signing up in droves joining the military. there was this one graduating high school year when we saw more than 2/3 of our sons and daughters sign up and enlist, and they get to go to war on behalf of our country, and i think the symbolic nature of being able to vote when it comes to issues like that is very important. >> talk to us about being a thousand miles away -- i believe that is the figure, about 8000 miles away. i was that going to work?

what is your travel like? >> it is going to be crazy. when congress is not in session i get to fly back home to the district. it takes about two days to get there, but when you are heading this way you'll even get here on the same day, but you are traveling for 24 hours. i was out here for the freshman orientation, and the jet lag -- it is real, and i think the older i get the worse of the jet lag gets. i am pretty sure with the consistent going back and forth will develop a new normal, and the body will adjust and i will have to figure out how to come back and hit the ground running. >> how do you set up an office in washington d.c. and at home with the different time zones? >> we are here now. folks back home are sleeping, so by the time it is the end of the

day here the district office is just opening. you are kind of pretty much working you the whole day. you start in the morning and in the afternoon you keep working, and thank god for technology where you can do zoom and do emails and correspond. >> how about current family? >> my family just let this morning, and i think that is the hardest hit -- bit about this whole part is the separation from the people that you love. my husband, my daughter, and knowing that you are out here all by yourself, and you do not have that moral support when you come home at the end of the day, but i signed up for this job because i am deeply committed to advancing the lives of people back home. and, you know, we have a lot of challenges that have not been addressed. we have an agreement with the

united states that is memorialized in what is called the covenant, and some of those agreements need some follow-through to be able to get us in a place where we are economically self sustainable. we are heading down the road we are essentially everybody is going to be relying on food stamps and handouts, and i do not think that is the way to live. i think everybody deserves the dignity of having the opportunity of being able to work. that is why i am here, and that is why it is worth the sacrifice. there are too many people back home who were having to choose between having health insurance or paying their utility bills, because the cost of utilities is too high. we have so many people still living in tents because so many people have not recovered from the typhoon. these are things that we need to

address, and i hope with the new republican majority that we can work swiftly to be able to begin addressing some of those issues. >> democrat john mannion of new york is one of more than 60 members of the new house. he had a long career as a high school biology teacher. later he served four years in the new york senate, and he talks here about his former students and his heritage as irish immigrant. >> on my grandfather side, which is where the irish immigrants left most recently, my grandfather left avoiding conscription and immediately signed up and fought in the u.s. army in world war i. went back, married my grandmother, then came to syracuse, new york where we

built luxury automobiles. that is where my father's side at the family comes from. my mother's side goes way back, very irish. they both passed away. >> what a story. what is it about the northern tier of new york? >> what about it? listen, we survive difficult winters. we are a hearty people. we have a sense of humor. the area as a reputation for technology and innovation, and we continue that today. the largest private investment in the history of the country with micron building technology. >> you had a long career as a teacher? >> i loved it. it is the greatest profession. it is so gratifying. my wife is also a teacher. i was a science teacher. ap biology, but i thought every

science, and i was also a teacher union president, and it was that advocacy for public education, students and teachers, to push back against some top-down policy i can see the negative impact of in the classroom the company more politically engaged, led me to run for a state senate position. i ended up flipping a seat that was held by the other side for 100 years in 2020 and was reelected in 2022, and now i am proud to serve a larger region of the central mohawk valley in d.c. >> was there something specific that sparked your interest? >> there were two things. one from a state policy side was a punitive testing system tied to a teacher evaluation system that just did not accents, and we are in the midst of a teacher shortage because of the negative stigma that came with people not

wanting to go into education as a result of that, but it was a 2016 election for me they got me to run first in 2018. i watch juniors in high school i had already taught for 20 years watch a presidential election like i had never seen before. i did not want them to think it was normal, so now as i represent the region, and when i run for office i pride myself on being civil, because we have to return to that. our kids are in the midst of having a mental health crisis, and when our leadership is in crisis or engaged in juvenile behavior, it will cause stress on everybody, and i think it is to that crisis. >> you mentioned bipartisanship, something washington is not known forward to a great length at least these days. what can congress make work better? >> you have to find common

ground. and my colleagues in the new york delegation and on the republican side, we represent similar communities, so there are things like taxation, the state and local tax deduction cap that is in place is clearly targeted toward states like new york. we represent very large agricultural areas, and i am proud to have heard that i'm going to be a member of the agriculture committee, and i did serve in that capacity in the new york state senate, so you find common ground. also as a former teacher, i feel great responsibility and being a positive role model. in the state legislature, i was the only ever disabilities chair in the state senate, and a lot of that had bipartisan support, in fact unanimous support in committee and on the floor

often, and that is where dealing with issues we can get behind, understanding we can come together to work for good legislation and funding for our most vulnerable, so it is something like that, and when a republican member would come to me on a bill that might create a task force or have appointments, and there were no minority members appointments, i would take the bill back, go back to my leadership, and say we have to do the right thing and make sure the state is represented and members have appointments. >> have you heard from any of them about your political career? >> one of the great blessings of this is i have reconnected with so many of my former students, many of them go and do political work for me, meaning they are at the doors, on the phones and we have reconnected. i have a former student that

swears me and every time i have gotten elected, students that have worked for me, so it is a blessing and something that was unexpected. i probably taught about 3000 students in the classroom and it is that reconnection and seeing them as adults with their own families and careers that is special. >> one of more than 16 new members of the u.s. house is julie of north dakota -- julie fedorchak of north dakota. she talks here about growing up in a big family and the challenges of being an at-large member of the house who represents her entire state. >> the biggest challenge is getting to all parts of the district, which is the entire state, on a regular basis. and i'm a decent ways away so getting back and forth is a

challenge as well. >> you come from a big north dakota family. tell us about what kind of experiences you remember. >> that is a huge advantage to covering a big state because i have siblings living in pretty much all corners of the state, so everywhere i go, i have a place to stay, so that's a huge advantage. i am a product of my state. i was born in western north dakota. my parents were children of the great depression and nearly starved to death in the prairies and that -- and the prairies in the dirty 1930's, a decade with no rain. that was tough to get through but they did. their families persisted and they got through that and got educated and resettled in that area after college. my mom and dad, and the far western part of the state, had their eight kids all in that

part of the state and started to raise them there. i was fairly young. i was five. we moved to the eastern part of the state in fargo and i spent my formative years there and lived there until i got into high school and we moved and planted in the state, so i have covered all parts of the state in growing up, and, you know, being one of eight kids, it is tough to spoil that many kids. we had a lot of expectations for us brought on by my parents, who again, were very conservative minded, believed in hard work, and so we worked our butts off as children. my mom wrote a book. i edited it with her and it was called growing up rich in a poor family and i feel the same way about my childhood growing up as the youngest of eight. it was one of the greatest

blessings i have because i learned how to work really hard, get along with different people, and those are two great qualities to bring to congress. >> quite a journey you just described. were politics part of the picture growing up? rep. fedorchak: they were. my parents were both conservative at nature and my dad was a businessman and he recognized, being a smart guy, that politics and government and public policy would affect his business so he got involved as a young man in republican politics and it was part of the dinner conversation. he ran for the legislature once and lost so he didn't serve but he certainly followed and was active, attended conventions and believed in it and talked about it around the house. >> where you always a republican yourself? rep. fedorchak: maybe in college. they would say if you are not a liberal in college you don't have a heart and if you are not a republican after you don't have a mind, well, i had a few

years in college where i strayed a bit, but i got back in line once i started working. >> you started your career in journalism. what did you do and how did they wind up turning into a position in government? rep. fedorchak: i started -- in my years in college i did some interviews with newspapers and radio stations. i love writing. and so shortly after college, i had a job at the grand forks herald and got offered a different job not in journalism that paid more and so i left and i have never gone back sadly. because i still think it is a fabulous career. i have loved the communications field, however, and finders infinite possibilities and that. i had my own communications business for 10 years and doing that time i wrote a weekly

column in our local newspaper. it was by weekly or every other week. and so that was the closest i came to being officially in the news business after i left shortly after. >> you are perhaps best known as a member of the public service commission in north dakota. what is entailed in that position and what did you learn there that you will bring to washington? >> i learned so much and it's going to be greatly beneficial to my work on the energy and commerce committee, but being a public service commissioner in north dakota is an elected office so i have been elected statewide three times, four now since i got elected to congress, and we are utility regulators and so our first business is regulating utilities for rates and service, so you roll up your sleeves and get to know the ins and outs of what is providing utility service, gas and

electric, to people, to citizens, in a reliable, affordable and environmentally conscious way. the grid operators in north dakota spent a lot of time on that, on regulation, and that's not an area they have a lot of expertise. that is an area i will bring a lot of value to. people have talked about the need of permitting reform. i have permitted $15 billion worth of energy infrastructure so i know it is entailed in permitting a windfarm, pipelines , gas and oil pipelines, power lines, electric transmission lines. wind, processing facilities.

so front-line experience in those sort of processes is i think valuable as we work as republicans to unleash american energy and have the beneficial development of our natural resources for the citizens of our country in the world. >> you mentioned those incredible early experiences with your family. outside of family, other influences, events or people you can tell us about? rep. fedorchak: i am married. my husband is a military veteran. he was a navy veteran. we have three children and so those -- they had a huge influence on me wanting to run for this office. they encouraged me. they are all out of the house so they are coming-of-age and entering this world, and when i looked at the environment they would be coming into as young adults, i was concerned about some of the safety issues in our country, some of the policy issues that i think are not

moving us in the right direction , the opportunities we might face are not as great as they could be because of our potential and also the size of our debt that we are racking up is unsustainable and a big threat to all of us. so those are the influences that kind of drove me into running for this position and trying to make a difference. along my career, i had some early mentors. i worked for the governor of our state at schaefer in the 1990's and he was a businessman who came in the politics and brought that perspective and talked about running government as a business, making it accountable, being in customer -- being customer service oriented, keeping it real and talking about things people care about,

so that was a huge influence on me and how i try to serve people in my state, recognizing what is important to them and being on the same level as them. i actually work for them, not the opposite. >> one of the new members of the house is kristen mcdonald rivet. the democrat has experience in the education field. she served on the bay city commission in her home state and served two terms in the michigan senate. she talks about advice she received, retiring senator dan killed -- dan kildy. >> we are very alike so we tend not to get ruffled. what dan said to me is be yourself, lead with your heart, stay connected to the community. so that is what i do.

i am new to elected partisan politics. i spent my entire career in public policy but never put my name on a sign. i started running for the state senate, and when they asked me to do it, i said noah couple of times. so my state senate district had been redrawn and it was a republican seat and they said we think you can win it. and also, we know that if you win this seat, we will have democratic control of the michigan senate for the first time in 40 years, so a pretty compelling case. we knew there was a danger at the time of roe v. wade being overturned. january 6 had just happened. it was this moment for me of can i stand up here and do something that matters to my state and country? i ran for the state senate.

i did not think i was going to win it but it did. we started doing some amazing things. getting to the end of the first year of my first term, here in washington for a conference, and my phone rings while i am trying to get off that, so i sent it to voicemail. and i get a text message saying dan is trying to reach you and you need to pick up the phone. they said i am retiring tomorrow and you ought to take a look at the seat, because my senate seat is holy inside this seat, and that is the hardest part, and so i took a lot at it, spent a lot of time, you know, we finished a tough campaign, but we knew it was going to be hard seat to win, and i felt like i would be competitive for it, but that i think i was going to win? no. it was a tough campaign.

if you watch these things across the country, the campaign was people starting in may, so it was hard fought all the way through and they knew we were going to fight for our lives, so i was pleased on election day when we not only won but by significant margins. >> and now you are here. let's talk about your life growing up in michigan, family influences. what shaped you in those early years? >> a couple of things. i grew up in a small agricultural town in michigan, portland. 3000 people, very small. my parents raised my sisters and i to have this belief that hard work really means something in terms of your future success. he would get up and work hard. that would mean you have a stable life. my mom always said, because i was raised catholic, every person has been given this gift

from god to make the world a better place, so find out what that is and use it. so went off to give back -- to college and wanted to give back, figure out what my piece of that was going to be, and it ended up being public policy. i worked for a children's foundation, the state department of education, several nonprofits, but before i went into the state senate i worked for a public policy think tank, and here's what is true in michigan. 60% of our jobs pay less than $50,000 a year. in my district, that number is 80%. when you think about what take-home pay looks like at $50,000 a year and think about eggs and milk and gas at all those things, the reality is working hard does not equal stability anymore, so my route into politics and deciding i was going to run for office and try to change some things, goes all

the way back to my dad working construction. dad was at work. with that hard work equall -- what that equaled in the 1970's and 80's does not equal that anymore in michigan. i have an incredible district. we are in the middle of michigan. i have the cities of flint, saginaw, bay city. we are the home to towns built by general motors and the uaw, home to dow chemical, incredibly beautiful place, beautiful farmland but also some communities that have had tough breaks. but mostly we have people who get up every day and work hard and when a fair shot. very down to earth. and for the most part they want government to leave them alone and make sure they can leave a

life -- they can lead a life. >> you invited linda carter, wonder woman from the 1970's. how did that come about and what did she do for your campaign? >> now i'm going to get giddy. i was born in 1970 and my hero growing up was wonder woman but the linda carter wonder woman. i dressed up like her for halloween three years in a row. we are in the middle of this campaign and say if you could have any surrogate, in for you, everyone was saying things like michelle obama. i just said linda carter. please get linda carter here. the last week before the campaign, she came in and she went throughout my district. she did a whole tour with me. we went in front of these groups of people and everybody was excited to see her. the governor came.

at the start of every single one, we started talking about how important it is to protect the country, and i said everybody in your wonder woman stance, and it was the most memorable moment not just of the campaign but it was a big deal to me in my life trajectory. >> what a story. it's also a story we read about your husband, who is in state politics as well. >> he served in the state legislature. >> and he played a bit of payroll in your campaign via a television ad. >> what was important to me during the campaign and still important is that when i'm going to ask people to vote for me, i want them to know who i am and who i am is a mom of six kids with an amazing husband and we have raised our kids in the district and we are the people who could be standing next to you in a grocery store. the biggest accomplishment i had

in the legislature was offering the largest tax cut in history. we wanted to do that and we wanted them to introduce them to me. it's my husband and i getting ready in the morning. we are pouring coffee and get out the door and the whole point of the campaign was he starts saying my wife loves talking about taxes. really, he ends up being so annoyed that all i will do is talk about cutting taxes that he jumped out of a moving car, and it shows him rolling across a neighbor's lawn as we are heading off to work. it was funny, true to who we are as a couple, and it got our message across. i think that tax break -- breaks should go to people who are working hard and still struggling to make ends meet. >> memorable moments from the campaign. you said six kids. tell us about them. >> my children are amazing. our oldest is 31.

she is a -- she is married, doing a postdoc at duke. i have three teachers in the family, when doing special ed, one doing physical education and coaching teams, which is god's work in and of itself. we have one in law school. i have one person who does wetland restoration. and i have a 15-year-old who is a freshman in high school who is still figuring things out. my kids are all generous and kind. sometimes knuckleheads but for the most part generous and kind. >> and what do they think about all of this? >> it's overwhelming. i think it did not hit any of us until we were here last friday, and then you get an idea immediately, it hits you in the face, of what a big deal this is, how important it is, how historic it is, and how serious it is, because the campaign puts you in a different mindset, but

the swearing in day was something entirely different, and the day after, we got a tour of the library of congress, and i think for the first time a couple of my kids thought i was cool, because they got to see some cool things, but they are 100% supportive. always a little bit worried because this is hard but citing. >> the u.s. usreturns on monday at noon easternndater in the wee members are expected to consider the house puicans fiscal year 2025 budget resolution, tir blueprint to pass presiden trump's agenda to cut taxes, reduced stul spending and secure the u.s. border. the u.s. senate gavelsn on monday at 3 p.m. eastern. senators will vote on the nominations of daniel driscoll toer as army secretary and jamison greer, president trump's nomie service trade representative. watch coverage of the u.s. house on c-span, the senate on span2, and on our free video

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