congress met, but washington went in person to the congress, went to the senate chamber, and delivered a speech that had a series of recommendations. a relatively short speech. but in those days before there were standing committees of congress, they actually used to cut the state of the union message up into paragraphs and create ad hoc committees to address each one of the issues that the president suggested. washington and adams, john adams his vice president who became president followed that practice and so they created this sort of idea that from time to time was an annual message and, in fact for years it was known as the annual message. it didn't become known as the state of the union message really until the 1940s. in fact, in 1948 there was a hollywood movie called "state of the union" and that cemented the idea that the annual message was the state of the union message. president washington and adams went in person to congress. thomas jefferson, however, didn't enjoy public speaking. in fact he gave only two public speeches while he was president. his first inaugural address

let's hear it for our new members of congress. the genius was that every two years, new members would bring the spirit of her new and hope for the american people. let us acknowledge your families who made your support and leadership possible today. each of the springs congress their shared values and commitment to the constitution, and our personal experience. my path to congress and the speakership began in baltimore, where my father was the mayor. i was raised in a large family that was devoutly catholic, deeply patriotic, very proud of our italian-american heritage, and staunchly democratic. my parents thomas at that public service was an noble calling. i view them as working on the side of the angels. i am so happy my brother who is also mayor of baltimore, is here leading the della sanjiv family from baltimore. [applause] he is sitting right up there with tony bennett. 43 years ago paul pelosi and i were married. we raised our five children in san francisco where paul was born and raised. i want to thank paul and our five ch

14th congress. joining us from capitol hill from russell rotunda is rachael bade a reporter for politico to talk about tax reform. rachael bade, what are the prospects for the two sides coming together with the president to tackle the tax code? guest: for the next two years we will hear a lot of chatter about tax reform -- could the president worked with republicans and get something passed? at this point i'm skeptical that that will happen in your is why -- think back to the 113th congress. everyone said this would be the year. dave camp and max baucus republican and democrat, had come together and say we would do this bipartisanly, revenue neutral tax reform to lower the rates for individuals and corporations. speaker john boehner at the time said he would designate the very first bill of the congress to be tax reform. that is a very symbolic gesture on his report showing that house republicans would want to pass a tax reform bill. now, this all changed when dave camp actually introduced his bill.

let us join together in the first 100 hours to make this the congress -- the most honest and open congress in history. [applause] 100 hours. this openness requires respect for every voice in the congress . as thomas jefferson said, every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. my colleagues elected me to be speaker of the house. the entire house. respectful of the vision of our founders, the expectation of our people, and the great challenges that we face, we have an obligation to reach beyond partisanship to work for all americans. [applause] let us stand together to move our country forward, seeking common ground for the common good. we have made history. now let us make progress for the american people. may god bless our work and may god bless america. [applause] before we move forward, because there are so many children here, and so many asked if they could touch the gavel, i wanted to invite as many as i could to join the up here. i know my own grandson -- let's hear it for the children. let's hear it for the children. [applause] >> grandma, grandma. >> alexander >>. >

when congress acts badly the government step in and drop what -- and trump what congress is doing to make things, to be able to accomplish his agenda. but in the short moment some have left, i want to think we really want to add to presidential power in our current framework? the president already has amassed far greater powers than the framers ever would've envisioned by a number of circumstances that are just a natural evolution of the office. one is that the president can act expeditiously when congress cannot. that is invested the presidency in power. the second is the media, and the focus of the country is often on the white house and not on the capitol, because it's easier to take a look at one person as the embellishment of the nation as a whole and that has invested the presidency with power. the president has more information at his or her disposal than congress has. the president has enormous resources of the administrative state and all that it can do and after chadha the congress can either put some other kinds of limits on the president's stability to manage that state f

they're menacing members of congress. congress is trying to figure out what to do. he has to appeal to the governor of pennsylvania who tells them it's not my problem, one of the reasons philadelphia lost the capitol and would only get it back for the temporary period. john dickinson wasn't able to help them out. they wore flee like a group of common debtors to prince ton, new jersey and reconvene to the old dorm in prince ton. one of the most important issues madison and monroe had to deal with in their time in the virginia legislature and in congress was the question of the mississippi. the spanish were of the belief because they controlled new orleans that free and peaceful people could move across international boundaries without impunity. why should the american people not at war with spain be more restricted than any other place. the growth of the american west. unimaginable had we given it to spain, we probably wouldn't have gotten it back. a northern confederacy led to john jay, the minister of spain and in this time in the debate, the foreign minister in th

when congress acts badly the government step in and drop what congress is doing to make things, to be able to accomplish his agenda. but in the short moment some have left, i want to think we really want to add to presidential power in her current framework? the president already has amassed far greater powers than the framers ever would've envisioned by a number of circumstances that are just a natural evolution of the office. one is that the president can act expeditiously when congress cannot. that is invested the presidency in power. the second is the media, and the focus of the country is often on the white house and not on the capitol, because it's easier to take a look at one person as the embellishment of the nation as a whole and that has invested the presidency with power. the president has more information at his or her disposal than congress has. the president has enormous resources of the administrative state and all that it can do and after chadha the congress can either put some other kinds of limits on the president's stability to manage that state for the president ow

we have to reauthorize, during this congress, the farm bill. the case of the poor and unemployed is a matter of choice. i want them to know that here in the house, we will try to do all we can to ease their burdens and reduce their numbers over the next two years. the poor in this country come in -- the poor in this country, in my opinion, have already paid their share to reduce the budget. it's time we did our share to give them not only something to live for -- that is a real problem that we have here, giving the poor something to live for. we begin this session of a new congress in a year with a renewed sense of hope that the upcoming discussions with the soviet union will lead to an arms control agreement which will reduce the risk of nuclear conflict and take us a step back from the abyss of nuclear holocaust. i want to make it clear that as speaker, i welcome these discussions and am prepared to be as helpful as i can to the president of the united states and the secretary of state in their quest for an arms control agreement. we begin ou

and the 114th congress mr. clyburn will continue to serve as the third-highest ranking democrat in the house of representatives. and with great dignity and respect. he mentioned that the members were service ranking members and i'm going to name names. judiciary john conyers, financial services maxine waters. veterans affairs science and space and technology and education and work force bobby scott. homeland security bennie thompson and oversight and government reform elijah cummings. aren't we proud? we also welcome the surge of freshmen members and we are so honored that the 100 woman who served in the congress is elma adams, a member of the cdc. and i know that i distinguished the chair and debbie wasserman schultz, takes very special pride in that as well. respect the past confront the future, today john conyers becomes the dean of the house after a half decade of service in the congress. [applause] [applause] >> have a century of service those 50 years have seen historic progress in our nation but it is cl

overall 104 women serve in the 114th congress 20 in the senate 84 in the house. >>> today's congress is more diverse than before. the 114th session begins at a time of heightened racial tensions. protests have hit dozens of cities. demonstrators are speaking out against the deaths of unarmed black men. the protest wept from the streets to capitol hill. several taking part in a hands up don't shoot demonstration on the floor of the house. >>> democratic congressman and a member of the black caucus akeam jeffreys joins us. let me start with mississippi. there has been a lot of discussion about the decision in the ferguson grand jury. and it has to do with raise relations. beyond talk what else can congress do? >> we certainly, as evidenced by the failure of the grand jury to indict in ferguson and the failure of the grand jury to indict in the teeth of eric garner witnessed by everyone because it was captured on video tape. there's a broken justice system relating to prosecutors and groouries to deliver justice when excessive force is used by a law enforcement officer against a civilia

congress. speakers included hudson institute distinguished fellow christopher demuth and former republican senator from oklahoma dog nickles. there is a concentration of power in congress needs to regain its delegated powers. other topics include president obama's immigration executive order, the affordable care act and the keystone excel pipeline. this is an hour and 35 mins. [inaudible conversations] >> well, good afternoon. i am arthur herman, senior fellow at the hudson institute and i want to welcome those of you in the audience here at hudson and also welcome the audience at c-span two what i think is a fascinating and i would venture to say unique event taking place right now in discussion about the president past and future of the u.s. congress. i've almost all of you know in this room, the big buzz has been in the last couple of month and a half has been about the prospect of the gop dominated congress coming in january. everybody who has an office in this town has ideas about what the

track the gop led congress. new congress, best access on c-span. newsmakers his next with ken buck of colorado. we look at public opinion of the congress and white house. at a :00, our conversation with janet madea. >> joining us from denver colorado is congressman ken buck. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> joining after questioning is emma and sean, i appreciate your time as well. i want to begin -- as the freshman republican president. you you expect this funding issue to be a contentious debate? do you foresee any possibility that dhs funding could be forestalled. >> i think it will be a contentious debate. i think what the president did was poorly designed. the republicans in both the house and the senate will react to it. whether it in setup in some sort of agency shutdown down as opposed to government shutdown, i help not. i hope we can work through the issue and make sure we can be find defund the parts of the executive order that the present has issued. and move on, and make sure the other functions of the government are funded

congress has sent the bill to congress triggering the 30-day review period.ew budget, congress can't spend the money. >> fortunately it isn't law. i believe the loophole i found will stand. chairman chaffetz says there will not be a bill to overturn it because he thinks it isn't law. that means probably nothing will happen. and 30 days after this, it will go into law. andy harris the culprit, if you will forgive me whose amendment this was says he thinks therefore, the house ought to sue them. i doubt that the house will sue the district of columbia. first of all, marijuana reform is sweeping the country. secondly, i don't think -- i don't want to be technical about this, but i don't believe the house has standing to sue. therefore, i believe after 30 legislative days, the district of columbia will be able to enforce a very modest marijuana reform law, two ounces in your own possession no selling, we will be able to do that and have that in the district of columbia remembering that pot is de facto legal anyway. so why should our african-american citizens who

the fritz pollard alliance and senators and congress men. we're standing with religious leaders and journalists and form former nfl stars and calling on all fair-minded americans to stand with us. [ applause ] to sustain our progress and build on it, we must rid ourselves of the old ways of thinking about our relationship. we must modernize our trust relationship. the next step in strengthening that relationship is for the federal government to trust tribes to determine their own future. this is about more than tribes having a seat at the table where decisions are made. this is about having policies and procedures that treat tribal nations as partners in governing. while we have a unique relationship with the federal government that will never end, it is time that our relationship reflects the true meaning of the word trust. the federal government needs to recognize tribal governments as true partners supporting the citizens of our nations. it needs to update its laws and regulations to reflect that 21st century partnership. in fact, i got a

and now, here's tip o'neill from 1985, on the opening day of the 99th congress. >> the 114th congress gavels in mr. doorkeeper. the house of representatives, speaker tip o'neill. [applause] >> the speaker, my colleagues, and guest of the house, it has been traditional with a few notable exceptions since the founding of this institution for the vanquished to present to the victor and i consider it a high privilege to condition in that privilege. may i make a few observations of my own? [laughter] may i express my profound thanks and appreciation to our republican congress for again honoring me and my family with their nomination for speaker of the house of representatives. [applause] unfortunately, mr. speaker as your presidential nominee well knows, it's one thing to be nominated, it's another thing to get elected. [laughter] obviously in this race, i was overwhelmed again by the numbers. since this is the only time that i shall be in this lofty position during this congress with the possible exception of the day we adjourned this covers, let me say at the very outset, how pleased i a

host: you talked about comparing the last congress to this congress. jamie is up next in summerville, south carolina. republican line. caller: good morning. i have been listening to you and i have a follow-up question to what he just spoke about. congress being unpopular. i thought the shutdown of the government helped them because they stood up to obama and they picked up all those more seats this time from two years ago. they took the senate. that shows me that people are tired. they might have reelected him on the platform that he ran and then he changed his mind and decided, i am going to go my way and ignore congress altogether. that has made more people mad and that is where they picked up more seats in congress and now they have taken the senate. they need to piecemeal this. i think through the affordable care act, i think it is great that people got insurance and the subsidies. but i think one of the things that they need to go back and look at when they take these things through the courts they need to take it out because i think it is unconst

i call on the congress to act by april 1st. if you do, and i hope you will, the treasury can send the first check for half the rebate in may and the second by september. the other one-fourth of the cut, about $4 billion will go to business including farms to proceed moss expansion and to create more jobs. the one-year reduction for businesses would be in the form of a liberalized investment tax credit. increasing the rate to 12% for all business. this tax cut does not include the more fundamental reforms needed in our tax system but it points us in the right direction. allowing taxpayers rather than the government to spend their pay. cutting taxes now is essential if we are to turn the economy around. a tax cut offers the best hope of creating more jobs. unfortunately, it will increase the size of the budget deficit. therefore, it is more important than ever that we take steps to control the growth of federal expenditures. part of our trouble is that we have been self-indulgent. for decades we have been voting ever increasing l

host: you talked about comparing the last congress to this congress. jamie is up next in summerville, south carolina. republican line. caller: good morning. i have been listening to you and i have a follow-up question to what he just spoke about. congress being unpopular. i thought the shutdown of the government helped them because they stood up to obama and they picked up all those more seats this time from two years ago. they took the senate. that shows me that people are tired. they might have reelected him on the platform that he ran and then he changed his mind and decided, i am going to go my way and ignore congress altogether. that has made more people mad and that is where they picked up more seats in congress and now they have taken the senate. they need to piecemeal this. i think through the affordable care act, i think it is great that people got insurance and the subsidies. but i think one of the things that they need to go back and look at when they take these things through the courts they need to take it out because i think it is unconst

this has not been the issue in the 97th and 98 congress. there were many legislative fights, but almost always a decisive outcome. consequently, i will continue to do all i can to expedite the nation's business for the next two years. the members of this house are elected every two years. we put a premium on action and results. we expect conflict, but i hope we will reject any obstructions. i am prepared to work with the leadership of the other party. the president of the united states, bob michael, and the republican members of this house. try to reduce the deficit, reduce the unemployment rate, and the threat of a nuclear war. as we meet today, there are many ambitious proposals to change the way that we raise revenue for the federal government, as well as to reduce the deficit. these proposals, i promise you, will receive a full and fair hearing in this house. it is clear that something must be done to restore confidence in our tax system. in addition, american confidence in the future is being enshrined in an annual $200 billion budget

-- he doesn't have that congress. is facing people like howard smith of the rules committee kind of lanky democrat from virginia who was victorious for bottling up -- notorious for bottling up legislation. almost every measure was not he could talk to them all day. they weren't going to change the vote. one place kennedy really starts when domestic policy is super rights, and he moves, you can do a timeline with the civil rights movement accelerating with the birmingham projects and the march on washington. as that happens johnson to send i mean kennedy does send the bill. it does get through the rules committee. is looking pretty good in the house. he doesn't know what's going to happen in the senate but that's the place where movement pressure actually changes the dynamic for kennedy. again the book is that johnson was a good in kennedy is great but there are limits how far that can get you. the question i get is, if kennedy has a majority that johnson had in 1965 and 66 would medicare probably have moved? again i c

they focus on congress.he identify shortcomings in our the executive as well but focusing on congress, they argue that congress has been losing it constitutional identity. you have those three sets of readings. i am hopeful you will see over the course of the week how all of those topics, public opinion, public attitudes, political parties, president and congress influence the political and policy debate that will be looking at this week. i have to put in a quick word about the simulation. i'm very excited about the roles that all of you will be playing this week. we started with -- we created the groups last year, but we have really taken it to a new level this year with the assignment. i know i was speaking with a few of you today and a little yesterday about how you take on a role. you don't have to take on the personality of someone but reflecting their views positions in congress, i think is very significant because we are all restricted to a certain degree by our organization. by the people we represen

focusing on congress, they argue congress is losing its institutional identity and needs to regain it. so you have those three sets of scholarly readings and i'm hopeful you'll see over the course of the how all of those things, public opinions, political parties and president and congress influence the political and policy debates we are looking at this week. and a quick word on the simulation, i'm excited about the roles you will all be playing this week. we started with -- we created these diff solution groups last year but we've taken it to a new level this year with the assignments. and i was speaking with a few of you today and a little bit yesterday on how you take on a role. you don't have to take on the personality of someone. but reflecting their views, their position in congress, their state interest i think is very significant because we are all hemmed in and restricted to a certain degree by our organization, by the people we represent, by what our role is. whether it is in the classroom whether it is in a student organization an internship or a job. we are all restricted

y's opening of the 114th congress. we will talk to capitol hill members and incoming freshmen members. we will figure calls, plus your favorite -- facebook comments and tweets. "washington journal" is next. host: it's tuesday, january 6 2015, and it's opening day of the 114 the congress. this morning, on a five-hour addition of the "washington journal" we will be talking to capitol hill reporters and, of course, taking your calls and comments right up until the 114th congress gavels in at noon eastern. you can watch the election of the new house speaker ceremony here on c-span and in the senate on c-span2. the first, we want to your what you have to say. give us a call. the numbers are on the screen. a very good morning on a snowy tuesday morning. headlines about the congress in papers here in washington and around the country. here in the "washington times" "mcconnell letting to take the helm of the senate" is the headline there. the star-ledger, what to expect from a new congress, including health care, invigoration

in the congress? another awkward thing is when you are working side by side with someone that you don't really appreciate the courage the work, and the contribution they are making because you see them as part of a bigger force. i never had this difficulty with john conyers because while we were looking at adam clayton powell, looking at the civil rights legislation while we were looking at many sellers i was looking at john conyers. throughout all of this, the person has survived and excelled in the congress, i have never seen john conyers thrgrab a mic. for those of us in this business, that is hard to understand. he has never been addicted to press conferences. he has never and able to say -- he has never been able to say, why not me and i did the work for that. as we see the legislation passed, including a bill passed when i was chairman of the ways and means long before there was an obama john conyers was pushing for national health insurance and was the leader in this nationally. and of course,

by what congress has already ne. if he did see politically unthinkable and unilaterally raise taxes and cannot do it beyond what was minimally necessary to pay the tab. the constitution creates priorities. judicial salaries cannot be cut. payments required to be made good on takings cannot be cut. beyond that congress has issued contradictory instructions. the only inference you could draw is, is, you have to figure this out. and the last thing -- and i am probably going over my time. when you are dealing with this it simultaneously resides in all three at the same time. when congress gives the president a command, a command, by definition carries with it all authority necessary. well, in an appropriation statute how can that not include lawful access of the funds necessary to appropriate ad paid bill. in the sense congress has implicitly authorized the president to access funds to pay for these things but they have also negated the act. it occurs simultaneously. you know i think the answer to that, the problem, the

congress. when he arrived in congress he found a ruinous state of affairs. nothing like you could imagine today. [laughter] the congress had taken an enormous crippling national debt when congress had exhausted revenue, and they started printing money and giving it out to people. [laughter] thank goodness our leaders today are too wise to do this. [laughter] i think it is telling that he serves on the board of admiralty. this is a committee that ran the naval affairs during the war. one of the first things they do is to deny a three-month-old request for a sea captain for bread and flour. it was simply that they had no bread or flour or means to accurate. they sent him a note saying that he should keep up the good work. a gunboat was sitting in the dock instead of fighting the british. the trumbull was ready to go to sea. worst of all, the board of admiralty had to deal with the issue of several common criminals breaking into a warehouse and stealing all but a few bolts of the supply of canvas. one christmas night they broke in to most all the campus, congre

this 114 congress, what can we expect of them? especially with citizens united, all the politicians who are they representing? us? the keystone pipeline is an issue of. >> frankly the american people are prepared to get past the polished language and the false promises and we need you to understand the work for us and we have seen nothing but foreclosures, people in the street and frankly we are tired of the silly games being played and we don't believe anything that we are hearing any longer to it create jobs that is still over one out. >> continue to let us know what you think about the programs you're watching. cost that (202)626-3400. send us a tweet like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. >> next the debate on the balance of power and president obama's executive action on immigration. we examined whether obama's actions are consistent with the role of executive ranch this is an hour and 15 minutes. >> good afternoon. [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon. good afternoon, everyone, thank you for joining us on this

and then of course you've got members who are veterans in this congress congress.o word war ii veterans but more veterans from the more recent conflicts in iraq and afghanistan. it's interesting to see who congress is. over time we'll see how they perform. >> all right. nbc's kelly o'donnell. kelly, we're focusing on the house today. of course, it's not over. it's not official until vice president joe biden says watch out now. i think once he said that, we're on. thanks very much. really appreciate it. you can stay with "the reid report" for more on the first day of the 114th congress as republicans and democrats lay out their conflicting governing agendas. we'll talk with congressman dan can kilde of michigan and we'll talk about the big move jeb bush made today which means this political legacy is ready to run. ♪ mmm mmm mmm mm mmm mm mmmmmm ♪ here we go, here we go here we go. ♪ fifty omaha set hut ♪ ♪ losing feeling in my toes ♪ ♪ nothing beats that new car smell ♪ ♪ chicken parm you taste so good ♪ ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ ♪ mmm mmm mmm mm mmm mm mmmmmm

new congress congress, best access, on c-span. coming up tonight on c-span -- french president francois hollande addresses today's situation in paris. that is followed by president obama unveiling a new proposal that would provide free community college education to students. and later, the keystone xl oil pipeline. >> the two brothers suspected of wednesday's deadly attacks on the "charlie hebdo" offices were killed today by police. police shot at the suspects after they reportedly emerged from the building and opened fire. their hostage was not harmed. that was one of two hostage situations french police were dealing with today. the other, and incident at a jewish supermarket. people were held hostage by a man believed to be part of the same group with the brothers. that confrontation ended with the deaths of four hostages and the hostage taker. and president francois hollande addressed the nation shortly after those events. >> here, the president speaking after those double sieges in paris. >> france has been under attack for t

with both the executive branch and congress to take action. congress at that time was very vibrant with grass-roots activist with force politicians to do what they often did have the courage to do at that moment. part of that were interest groups like the afl-cio, a huge force at the time representing organized labor that none of them -- mobilize members but also washington to lobby behind the bills when the house would vote on a measure was a period when things were not recorded. back when they voted on an issue so organized labor would put their people in the gallery was civil rights activist to literally watch over to see what they we're doing. and what was amazing word liberal organizations who didn't have just cop but access on capitol hill. there was an ecosystem of liberalism which doesn't exist today that a 1964. there is a lot of examples this is a very important example. and fully in favor of voting rights negotiating with the senate but not prepared to send the bill to congress. and part of what the movement did what though legislat

day of the 114 congress.

the 114th congress. -- is about to gavel in the 114th congress.

congress creates classes of service and defines them. it defines what a telecom service is and it defines what an information service is. when broadband first emerged, and i was privileged to see it come on to the scene when i was at the commission, there was an open question as to whether the nature of that new integrated internet service was either a telecommunication service or an information service under our precedent. it was our judgment that the factual characteristics, the nature of the service, the way that it was used was much more faithful to the definition that congress set out for information services than the one they set out for telephone services. that went all the way to the united states supreme court. who agree with the commission's judgment. the commission now is proposing to try to reinterpret the facts and apply it to the other definition. certainly the prerogative to try, but the facts are fundamentally the same as they were in 2002. and that will be a very serious source of litigation risk for the commission when

that's what congress is about. that's what congress is about.ot a legislative branch that silences half of this nation by bypassing the committee process, bringing to the rule emergency bills that silence the representatives of half the people in the united states. it is my fervent hope that the new congress will bring about an era of willingness to tackle the big problems facing our nation. a renewed call for true bipartisanship and a culture of enliveren -- enlivened debate and i promise that our side will be a willing partner. in describing how the bill of rights came to be, the former supreme court justice, the late harry blackman, said, that the founding fathers survived, quote, a crucible of disagreement. to give us a more perfect union. in forging through that chris crews billion is not only good for the legislative branch but good for the nation. truly, it is a debate that makes us stronger and time and time again debate in the house has been stalled strangling policies and solutions that could have benefited the nation. sadly, this is t

the expectation of a new republican congress. so this is precisely the time to advance a positive pro-growth agenda. some of the measures the new congress passes may seem significant. others may seem modest. that's okay. as we have seen in recent years a bigger bill doesn't always mean a better bill and while we are always going to search for areas where we can agree the president may not be enamored of every bill we passed. that's okay too. it's not our job to protect the president from good ideas. a little creative tension between the executive in the legislature can be a pretty healthy thing in a democracy like ours. presidents and congress have disagreed before. they have confronted challenges that it clips the ones we see today. what is important to remember is that the senate has always endured, always. and we have a duty to restore it now so that we can meet the mandates of the people who sent us here. former majority leader howard baker once noted making the senate work is like trying to make 99 independent souls act in c

our special report, the new congress. mexican migrants with tighter security in the u.s., the growing immigration crisis across the border. deep impact. immigration again workers losing jobs, and pay to play. high-tech in your home. and in your pocket. the real cost of your privacy. >> we begin with a new day on capitol hill. for the first time in eight years, republicans have control of both houses of congress. the biggest gop house majority since the great depression. republicans will set the agenda for the next two years but they're up against a president looking to put his final stamp on his own lel see. libby casey is live on capitol hill. >> the first congress is a big event, lots of celebration and pageantry and colleagues coming together for a fresh start. blue this year, they jumped into the thick of the fight revealing tensions that we're likely to see in the year ahead. familiar faces but with new power. senate majority leader following on his promise to make the keystone pipeline the first order of business. >

that's what congress is about. that's what congress is about. not a legislative branch that silences half of this nation by bypassing the committee process, bringing to the rule emergency bills that silence the representatives of half the people in the united states. it is my fervent hope that the new congress will bring about an era of willingness to tackle the big problems facing our nation. a renewed call for true bipartisanship and a culture of enliveren -- enlivened debate and i promise that our side will be a willing partner. in describing how the bill of rights came to be, the former supreme court justice, the late harry blackman, said, that the founding fathers survived, quote, a crucible of disagreement. to give us a more perfect union. in forging through that chris crews billion is not only good for the legislative branch but good for the nation. truly, it is a debate that makes us stronger and time and time again debate in the house has been stalled strangling policies and solutions that could have benefited the nation. sadly, this is

instead of agencies reacting to congress, we now see congress reacting to agencies. and they're doing it in a variety of ways trying to catch up, trying to maintain some degree of control over the bills they think they wrote. and rules are established through authorizing legislation. but appropriations bills can be used in effect to accelerate or decelerate rulemaking by removing funding on the one hand for a rule or increasing funding to move the thing along quicker, you know, for research or for staffing. and then, as we saw, by the way, you know, in the bill that kept the government going for another eight months or so, we saw writers attach to that, you know, fundamental budget bill what was designed to affect derivatives risk. so congress is in it, they're in with both feet, they're in it at the front end, they're in it in the middle, and they're in it in the back. there is something, and let me get to this one on the next slide -- yeah. >> a guest speaker said derivatives were defined three different ways in dodd/frank on purpose to give the agency more power t

they focus on congress. the identify shortcomings in our the executive as well but focusing on congress, they argue that congress has been losing it constitutional identity. you have those three sets of readings. i am hopeful you will see over the course of the week how all of those topics, public opinion, public attitudes, political parties, president and congress influence the political and policy debate that will be looking at this week. i have to put in a quick word about the simulation. i'm very excited about the roles that all of you will be playing this week. we started with -- we created the groups last year, but we have really taken it to a new level this year with the assignment. i know i was speaking with a few of you today and a little yesterday about how you take on a role. you don't have to take on the personality of someone, but reflecting their views positions in congress, i think is very significant because we are all restricted to a certain degree by our organization. by the people we repre

for congress not to have a role is totally enappropriate. the banking committee will take up one asuspect the foreign relations committee will take up another. through regular order we'll see what will happen. i don't think there's any question for those in iran or around the world, if this falls apart, certainly there will be additional sanctions. the question is, whether do you do that? when do you signal that? we're paying a lot of attention to what's happening in the negotiations. we're talking to people all around the world. we'll see as we move ahead. >> we're in a lightning round here, so quick answers/quick answers. >> gain tan more, i know you have shared authority but the president transferred 28 detainees out of gitmo this last year. can you block him if he decides to try to close gitmo on his own? >> well again, the 0-1 authorization for the use of military force is an sure that's still open. part of that relation to what you can do with gitmo. you know, the fact is all of us have been open to major changes at gitmo, but we're wa

not to this congress. i was well aware that bill passed in the last congress and that is what i thought i said. if i didn't i was correcting the record that it has been made often that this bill had passed the senate and sent to the house. was my understanding it was never received in the house. ... it had a further -- the language of this amendment is slightly different than the version that passed the senate. if we were to pass this it would goo to the senate and they would need 60 votes for cloture. >> roll call vote is requested. miss foxx. >> mr. hayings. mr. -- mr. chairman. >> no. >> mr. chairman, no. clerk report, three yays seven nays. >> the gentleman from colorado. >> move the committee make an order and give the necessaryfires the amendment to hr-37 bit representative allison, issa, and myself number 8, which would strike title 7 of the bill. this is a move towards transparent say, provides an amendment that improves the bill. u.s. regulators are lagging behind with regard to implementing new t

but congress itself and how it works is broken. i am of the theory that leadership is too powerful and committee chairs are too weak. that is a giant change from 20 years ago when you guys were working. >> we went ahead and did steroids and a lot of other things. we dissolved the parliamentary system, when you think about it even though it was a balance of structure where the president's structure is independent of the president. it's not an independent body any more. if you want to move that work product through, you have to stop the committees in leadership. >> i gave a speech at my alma mater at university of missouri right after nancy pelosi became speaker. the topic of my speech was "pelosi and gingrich two peas in a pod." they both believe in strong leadership coming out of the speaker's office and not necessarily strong committees. >> and the senate is being run this way as well. committee chairs don't have -- and i wonder does that drive people away from even wanting to be in congress? >> oh absolutely. you look at who the

should want to work on congress with things they can be working together on.t means it is everything he was elect on but there should be areas to fine meaningful things put together. on immigration, on infrastructure, there are areas where the republican party in the past has had a position close to obama, including comprehensive immigration reform and infrastructure investment. >> part of the republican party was for comprehensive immigration reform and a lot has been against it. >> we got a lost republicans who are in the senate now who vote if a bill just a few years ago. >> it died in the house of representatives. >> now we are in an era of bipartisan feeling. >> does that mean the president will go over to the president side? >> we can see if we can get together. it cannot just one side gives, republicans ask for things and the president takes. it is the deal they offer. >> we all gray that country is hurting but we all say we are unstable but we fight for what we agree. the american people doesn't want to fight be they want the progress. i significant wh