tribal without further ado, senator jon tester. [applause] you.ank thank you very much. thank you, jackie, for that kind introduction, and thank you, brian, for the great delivery of the speech. it is a pleasure to be here today, and i want to tell you all it is an incredible honor for me to give the congressional response. living in montana, you are never too far from indian country. but i live closer than most. right down the road from my farm is rocky boys reservation, home to about 3500 members of the chippewa tribe. i grew up playing sports against andative neighbors i work with them in the senate. i probably represents indian country in the united states senate today. -- i probably represent indian country in the united states senate today. [applause] before i go further, i want to thank native americans for serving our military at incredibly high rates. native americans serving our nation's military -- [applause] at a higher rate than any other ethnic group, and for that, and many other reasons, you have my everlasting respect. standing up for indian country is a

that same year, jon tester was on the ballot in montana. he was outspoken in favor of raising the minimum wage. montana voters liked raising the minimum wage by a 46-point margin and liked jon tester. in ohio, that same year, conservatives fought like heck to kill the minimum wage ballot initiative in ohio but it still won by double digits and so did ohio's brand new democratic senator sherrod brown. and that's part of why a year like that in 2006 was such a good year for democrats. even in a really bad year for democrats like, say, the worst possible year for democrats, like 2010, the first obama midterm, where the republicans just ran the table. they won everything. you know where they didn't win? republicans did not win that year where they won everywhere else, but they did not win in west virginia. >> should there be minimum wage or not? >> absolutely not because minimum wage is something that franklin delano roosevelt put in during the depression. >> john raese, republican candidate for senate in west virginia in the very republican ye

now from capitol hill, senator jon tester. you've been hearing about all of this talk.w to find that space in the senate where you get votes and conservative and progressive people and figure out a way like governors all have to do in all 50 states how to get things done. why doesn't that happen in washington? >> i think there is probably many reasons for it but one of the reasons that i think just coming off of a very expensive election in 2012 is the amount of dark money coming in and you might not think that has anything to do with civil discourse in washington but it does. when you come off a race that is very brutal and very difficult and very pointed and you come back here and now you need to and we need to work with some of the same folks who are advocating for the dark money add to these lexs i think it adds to the lack of being able to talk about the issues that are important for move this country forward. what do we need to do to get through that? i applaud patty ryan and patty murray and paul ryan for getting the budget deal and what just passed we had a few

among those joining us will be senator jon tester of montana.what you got, craig? >> richard, thank you so much, sir. when we come back on the other side of this break, as new jersey democrats decide whether and which subpoenas to issue, more of governor chris christie's aides. we're going to talk with his former challenger about the latest revelations in the investigation. >>> also, is the traffic scandal hurting christie in early primary states? we're on the ground with reaction from outside the garden state. >>> and on the road with president obama in north carolina. we're going to get a preview of his speech on the economy. just about an hour from now. all that and lots more. there's a live look at north carolina state university where that speech is going to happen. we've got a lot coming up in about 180 seconds. >>> it's time for the your business entrepreneur of the week. jim and his daughter megan grow top grade fruits and vegetables on their california family farm. but getting national name brand recognition was tough. they broke throug

i want to thank my colleague, jon tester. we're lucky to have such a good colleague and friend. he's in amazing man. i like to introduce my wife, melody and daughter-in-law, stephanie. guys, please stand so we can to you. melanie and stephanie. stephanie is my daughter-in-law. stephanie baucus, wonderful, wonderful family, means so much to me. >> welcome to the committee and thank you for your willingness as well. we understand that when our ambassadors go abroad, it is also a commitment of their families, so we appreciate that. >> mr. chairman, ranking member corker, members of the committee, it is number two peer before u.s. president obama's nomination service the next united states ambassador to the people's republic of china. i think the president for his support and trust. he's a true friend you might've been nice to get to work with closely over the years. i also appreciate the support and confidence of vice president biden and senator kerry with them i served here in the senate for many years. i'm also grateful to ambassador jim sasser, john hunt, gary locke or their fri