the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess reserves, and the gentleman from texas, mr. green, is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, we have no other speakers, and i'll reserve my time in case someone shows up. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, at this time i'm pleased to yield to the gentleman from georgia, a new member of the energy and commerce committee, mr. carter, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. carter: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 1192, the national diabetes clinical care commission act, which establishes within the department of health and human services the national diabetes clinical care commission. the commission will look into dissemination of information and resources to clinicians on best practices for delivering high-quality care and how best to effectively deploy new and emerging treatments and technologies. as a pharmacist, i play an important role in diabetes care by scre

and a founder of the texas state conference of the naacp. and later the texas council voters. she was one of the four cochairs of the coalition. and he got up on stage and gave a thunderous address. in which he pointed out the demographics, much as people try to do today. saying how many at the time negro voters were in texas, how many latin american voters. a huge labor vote and a pack of a lot of white citizens. held them on election day and each of us will remember our governor. he talked about how connolly and made the various campaign promises but then hadn't followed through on them. he had set behind ideas of gradual or voluntary integration and he played into each of his various arguments. finally during concluded, the day is over when the governor can separate negroes except those few who are conservative and have gotten super rich. you see the conflicts at work. they will never separate the latin american and negroes again in politics. they will never separate the independent white man and negro again, never separate labor in the negro again, we're going to march on t

programs, first is the 1115 waiver. texashe distinction of having the highest approved amount waiver, had $29.1 billion approve offered a five-year period that ended september 30 of 2016. broken up into two pools. one is a delivery system or form incentive pool used to transform the care provided to the medicaid recipient and the uninsured recipient through about 1400 different transformational projects that are coordinated and run within 20 regions by various entities. texas also relies heavily on uc funding. uc funding replaced what was formerly upl funding. you will see there in 2016. both of those programs were at about $3.1 million each. the state also receives a fairly sizeable dish allegation of 1.88 billion provided by the it high medicaid and safety net facility on that. when the long-term care side of the state implemented a, what's called an impact program or incentive payment program, there was really meant to try to bring additional funding to the nursing homes as matt indicated in nursing home funding. it is one

the naacp. later that texas council he is one of the four cochairs of the democratic coalition. he got up on stage and gave an address. much like people try to do today saying how many at the time negro voters were in texas and how many latin american voters. a huge labor vote and other independent white citizens. tell them on election day that when they come around each of us will remember governor. he talked about how they make campaign promises but then had not followed through on them. he had hidden behind ideas of gradual or voluntary immigration and he laid into each of the various arguments. finally he concluded it's over when the governor can separate negroes except those few are conservators and have gone super rich. they'll never separate the latin america again in politics he said. they'll never separate though were unified at the battle box and in the courts. and i believe that's less message i got for my governor. and someone someone gets up and gives a speech. it becomes this broad effort and then transitions back to the daily work which they been doing throughout.

truman needed texas to win the white house. he campaigned very well in texas and throughout the country. sam rayburn said he was one of the folks very good from the back platform, a crowd of 10,000 people showed up to greet truman at the train station at 6:50 in the morning, and the high point was a breakfast garner have for truman served on the back porch of garner's home and the crowd cheered. they could not care so much about truman's civil rights agenda, but a friend of john garner and that is all that mattered to them and he did indeed carry texas. truman came back to visit garner one more time in 1958 for a celebration of garner's 90th birthday. truman's airplane was delayed with mechanical problems in dallas so he did not get there until late in the evening passed garner's bed time of 8:00, so they agreed to talk the next morning after agreeing that they were a sight for sore eyes. i think that sums up nicely the garner-truman relationship and i will turn it over to my wiser and more learned colleagues. [applause] >> you

and mexico is president trump's plan to build a wall, this is the texas tribune and a poll of the texas delegation, texans in congress offer scant support for full border wall, none of the 38 texans in congress offer a full throated endorsement of a wall, a position popular with donald trump supporters according to a texas tribune survey. ,e will have mike pence shortly the vice president and theresa may, the british prime minister but up next we show you the news conference with house speaker paul ryan from earlier today joined by the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell who were asked about the border plans and we will show you as much as we can until the speeches get underway in philadelphia.

cash heads the texas fair trade coalition, an advocacy group for workers rights and fair trade deals. >> trade agreements and the way they've always been sold to us is that it's going to be a win- win situation. and the fact is that they have turned... they are win-win agreements, but they pretty much win-win for the economic elite, and working class folks have really got the short end. >> reporter: cash says nafta needs new rules for fairer wages and better labor standards to make sure that american workers aren't left behind. >> only a trade deal that's really based on increasing living standards, not profits necessarily, or super profits of corporations, but based on increasing living standards in all three countries has really the chance of delivering the promises that nafta made and never delivered. >> reporter: cesar mendez is a casualty of nafta. he was one of 500 employees who lost their jobs at a wheel manufacturing plant in arkansas when the company moved its operation to chihuahua, mexico, in 2014. >> i mean, you're losing your job. i was with the company for about seven to

for 14 years, the governor of the state of texas. during my three and a half terms as governor a state that created 2.2 million jobs we added more people to the population than any other state in the period of time. if it were a standalone country come it would b,it would be thet economy in the world. also we're th we had the nationg energy producing states not just in terms of legal and gas but also wind energy. i firsthand experienced the energy boom that revolutionized the statewide cleanup efforts to improve our environment as well. as governor i also learned that the management skills that you gain as the senator mentioned he and yoyet you certainly know ths well of being a governor. i have the executive experience necessary for leading an organization as large as the department of energy. from this experience i learned how important it is to the american economy and the great responsibility that we have to take care of what we have been given to protect our citizens. i'm alsi am also if so fortunate confirmed this experience wil

i'll let him tell you about the growth they had in texas. he cultivated wind energy in the state of texas now the leader and also solar coming on so strong. when we talk about an energy policy we use everything we can to have dependable reliable affordable energy and do it as clean as possible so hopefully the rest of the world will take the lead. i believe he possesses and all of the above energy policy that will find the balance between the economy and environment which is so important. i don't need to tell any of you working with you everyday fi finding that balance is very difficult but we try. i believe rick will be someone to work with you. we enjoyed very much secretary ernie muniz, a great man and worked across the aisle very well and i think you will find that with rick perry. i look forward to rick serving. i think he will do a great job not only for the department of energy but all of us in america. with that, i'm proud to support my friend, my colleague, rick perry. >> thank you, senator manchin. we appreciate the comments of both

i saw that as the governor of texas. we helped create a fund, and again i don't get confused about the difference between federal government and state government. you and i are both strong supporters of federalism, but my life experiences are going to affect the way that i operate as the sector energy, if i am confirmed. and one of those happens to be about investing in the technology they can be commercialized to improve peoples quality of life here at one of the things that senator sanders and i talked about in his office was someday i hope that he and i, and then host of other individuals, can stand up together with technology backing out of the department of energy that we are able to sell to the chinese to start making the environment in china better. i mean, that's the potential that they are. my home state and your home state where virtually changed in a life-changing way with hydraulic fracturing. that technology had its genesis at the department of energy. so the concept of using agency, whether it's on cybersecu

all, the fifth circuit court of appeals which governs texas legislation as shown on record that the state of texas when it attempted to implement voter id rules was not simply trying to implement voter id to ensure the integrity of the ballot box, evidence was brought to the court and the court said very clearly in its opinion that the state of texas was attempting to pinpoint and focus on certain portions of the texas community namely african-americans and latinos, and they were trying to make it harder with the use of voter id for those particular groups to vote. again, that is the inherent problem with voter id. if either id is something that a state like texas is going to implement, they're going to ensure that is free and acceptable for all people, and that there are not going to be encumbrances in place to make it harder for some people to access that voter id, then we can start a different conversation. right now what the court in texas has shown is that texas is not implementing voter id in a free and fair way. as regards to the investigation, because the evidence is overwhelming

the brennan center. frank is next on their public in line from texas. good morning. -- on the republican line from texas. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. hillary, if you are so concerned with floating and that everything is done right, i don't understand why cannot state ofd that in the texas, and that is where i live, so the only per second speed about, you have to have identification to get on the affordable care act, to get medicaid, to get a drivers license, to get insurance, why is it when it only comes to the boat, that the democrats are afraid that somehow, voting rights would be suppressed? i just do not understand that. if you're really concerned, let's do it thorough investigation. let's don't just have some people picking and choosing because of the side they are on, whether democrat or republican. let's really do an investigation once and for all. that way, it there is no voter suppression, if there is no illegal voting, then we will know it and we can move on. thank you. host: thank you, frank. guest: i appr

wh would that do for the state of texas? >> well, i think it would obviously hurt the economy in some ways but when you talk about politics it would further deepen the schism that we're seeing between parts of the republican party in texas and the business community. the business community in texas, at least certain corners of it, have been alarmed by donald trump's proposals when it comes to trade. the texas association to business put out a statement making clear they believe this proposed import tax would hurt the texas economy so i think you would see a further distancing in the political realm between hearts of the republican party that have been pro-business and the business community in texas. >> patrick svitek, the texas tribune, thank you very much, appreciate it. >>> still to come, president trump has signed a flurry of executive orders since his first day in office but there are new questions if they were proproperly vetted to make sure they are even legal. plus tonight's thing 1 thing 2. i say this every night but

the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. conaway: thank you, mr. chairman. i now recognize or yield three minutes to mr. crawford of arkansas who is the subcommittee chairman for the general farm commodities and risk management subcommittee. the chair: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for three minutes. mr. crawford: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the distinguished chairman for the opportunity to speak today. five years of bipartisan committee work has contributed to the drafting of h.r. 238, the commodity end user relief act. the time we passed it for the sake of businesses across the united states who need greater certainty in managing their risk. in advance of writing this legislation to re-authorize the cfpb, the house committee on agriculture held 22 hearings on the future of the commission and the state of the drisktives industry. i mention the number 22 to highlight how extensive data collection and deliberation has been, to make this re-authorization as complete and thorough as possible. those 22 hearings co

the gentleman from texas has 30 seconds. mr. huizenga: at this point, i'll reserve and ready to close. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. green: in closing, let me say this. people who are viewing this at home should become very much concerned about the direction we are headed in. this is a new congress. and here we are currently trying emasculate in a position that it cannot protect investors by requiring it to know the unnoticeable and the rule you are putting in place to prevent fraud has a quantifiable amount that you can produce so you can measure that against the cost of producing a rule. mr. chairman, this amendment that i propose would benefit the s.e.c. and investors. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: i would like to point out to my colleagues and the american people that currently the s.e.c. is under a court order how they are doing their rulemaking and th

the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, in the final days of the obama administration's second term, with all eyes focused on the president-elect, the temptation to try to take a dramatic action to seal a cherished policy legacy must have been almost irresistible. so it proved for president obama on december 23, 2016, when he betrayed decades of robust bipartisan american support for israel at the united nations. by abstaining from a completely biased resolution that condemns our close friend and ally israel and condemns all the so-called settlement activity defined as any construction and any territory won by israel in the six-day war. u.s. policy for decades has been to stand up for israel at the united nations. a hotbed of anti-semitism that discriminately condemns israel more than any country in the world, particularly when resolutions are being offered up that are outrageously biased, that attempt to predetermine the outcome of negotiations, that prejudge the basis for negotiations or that try to dictate term

the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: if i could ask how much time remains on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas has 12 1/2 minutes remaining this gentlelady from new york has 24 minutes remaining. mr. sessions: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time is reserved. the gentlelady from new york. . ms. slaughter: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for two minutes. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentlelady. again, i want to thank the gentleman from texas for being generous with his time. mr. speaker, i'meepl d concerned by a number of controversial provisions included by the majority in the rules they have proposed for the 115th congress. first, reinstating the rule would make it easier for the majority to circumvent the current legislative process in order to fire or cut the pay of federal employees. it undermines civil service protections. it goes back to the 19th century.

one of them is on a roll, the other brother is a little too wild, the texas ranger is always a step ahead mid—19705 or early 1980s, like midnight run, where you come away from it thinking, you will look through the tv listings and think, hell or high water is on tonight, unmissable, fantastic! it has slotted into that classic film territory already, jeff bridges has been nominated for a golden globes for his best supporting actor and he does the most fantastic thing towards the end of the movie. there is a death scene and just in a couple of seconds you see everything that jeff bridges can offer as an actor, the way that he absorbs the shock, it is a magical moment, such a terrific film. thank you very much the joining us. that is it for this week, thank you so much for watching, goodbye. hello there. once again, murky conditions overnight and quite foggy for some into the start of sunday. that mightjust cause a few issues on the road, mainly on the hills but even to lower levels we could see some of that fog. generally grey, misty, murky and damp to sunday. brighter skies to the north—ea

hell or high water, ben foster and chris pine, bank robber brothers, and jeff bridges is the texas rangermiliar, that kind of plot, and features a great deal in cinema. one of them is on a roll, the other brother is a little too wild, the texas ranger is always a step ahead of them. but it feels like a movie of the mid—1970s or early 1980s, one of those fantastic films like midnight run, where you come away from it thinking, you will look through the tv listings and think, hell or high water is on tonight, unmissable, fantastic! it has slotted into that classic film territory already, and jeff bridges has been nominated for a golden globes for his best supporting actor and he does the most fantastic thing towards the end of the movie. there is a death scene, and just in a couple of seconds you see everything thatjeff bridges can offer as an actor, the way that he absorbs the shock — it is a really magical moment, such a terrific film. antonia, thank you very much thejoining us. that is it for this week, thank you so much for watching, goodbye. good evening. we have seen bright weather but

. >> the gentlewoman from texas, miss jackson lee. >> thank you. i'll now read from article 1, section 2. the house of representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states and the electors in each state shall have the qualification, requisite of electors of the state legislature. >> the gentleman from maine, mr. poliqin. >> no person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the age of 25 years and been seven years a citizen of the united states and shall snot be an inhabitant of the state which he a shall be chosen. the numeration shall be made after the first meeting of the congress of the united states and within every subsequent term of ten years in such manner as they shall by law direct. >> the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walls. >> the number of representative shall not exceed one for every 30,000. and until such enumeration shall be made massachusetts 8, rhode island and providence plantations 1, connecticut 5, new york 6, new jersey 4, pennsylvania 8, delaware 1, maryland 6,

the gentleman from texas. mr. thornberry: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. hunter. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hunter: i rise in strong support of s. 84. here's what i think this is about. we feel slighted. we in congress feel slighted that the trump administration did not dane to have general mattis come and speak to us, the house, which is not required by any law or any statute. we feel slighted. i would feel -- i do feel the same way the ranking member feels in terms of what the administration, how they're treating the house of representatives and this body. but it's times like this where we need to rise above the slights from this trump administration. the future trump administration. i think there's going to be a few more. i think the -- this future administration does not hold this body in the highest regard. that's going to become evident over the next four years. and i think we're going to have to take things like this as a body and do what's best for t

the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: if i could ask how much time remains on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas has 12 1/2 minutes remaining this gentlelady from new york has 24 minutes remaining. mr. sessions: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's times reserved. the gentlelady from new york. . ms. slaughter: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for two minutes. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentlelady. again, i want to thank the gentleman from texas for being generous with his time. mr. speaker, i'm deeply concerned by a number of controversial provisions included by the majority in the rules they have proposed for the 115th congress. first, reinstating the rule would make it easier for the majority to circumvent the current legislative process in order to fire or cut the pay of federal employees. it undermines civil service protections. it goes back to the 19th century. r

ron paul of the state of texas has received one vote. bernie sanders of the state of vermont has received one vote. faith spotted eagle of the state of south dakota has received one vote. the state of the vote for vice president of the united states as delivered to the president of the senate is as follows -- the whole number of the electors appointed to vote for vice president of the united states is 538 of which 270 is the majority. michael r. pence of the state of indiana has received for vice president of the united states 305 votes. tim kaine of the commonwealth of -- tim kaine of the commonwealth of virginia has received 227 -- there will be order. the sergeant at arms will the sergeant at arms will remove persons in the gallery. the house will be in order. commonwealth of virginia has 227 votes. elizabeth warren of the commonwealth of massachusetts has received two. maria cantwell of the state of washington has received one. susan collins of the state of maine has received one. carley fiorina of the commonwealth of virginia has rec

welcome to the 21st annual texas book festival. ank you for coming out today in support of our authors, the festival and celebrating great literature. as you know, the texas book festival is a nonprofit organization that works year-round to strengthen literacy by a warning library ly grants with reading rock stars program sending nationally recognized authors and autho illustrators and into title i schools and donating books to those students. by being here today, and by biting the books, we are funding these important initiatives. thank you very much. please, silence your cell phones. there is no flash photography allowed.as the author will be signing books after the session, including alberto gonzales. books are available in the tent. my name is clay johnson iii, and it is an honor to be the t moderator this session today. we are here to hear from alberto gonzales, the author of his newh book, "true faith and allegiance" a story of service and sacrifice in war and peace. he served our country and our state as attorney general, as

. >> the republican from texas representing the 19th district why did you decide to run for office but. >> file was very frustrated with the "state of the union" and i felt washington was broken and is functional and not solving the problems the racing. i have three young kids of five, three comity year-old and wanted to major they grow up in a strong and free america. to have experience serving with president bush i thought that would bode well for my district so uh combination of those seen to be bright and i prayed about it and i needed to do my part in service to country i am honored that i can. >> what redoing before quick spirit president of health care innovation company that owns a health system that was starting and growing telemedicine to bring specialty care to the up population center to their world communities through the partnerships like community hospitals. >> talk about your experience working for george w. bush. a great friend and mentor and a strong leader who has made a tremendous impression upon me as a young staffer who grew with 10 years of service with him as go

and the federal justice department sued texas to stop it. d the judge in that case found in favor of the justice department. found against the state of texas in this blistering blunt comprehensive ruling that said, yeah, when the legislature passed this law it was deliberately designed to keep minorities from being able to vote even though they were legally entitled to vote. and then after that ruling, two other three-judge panels, six more judges, also found the law to be unconstitutional and then this past summer the most conservative appeals court in the country also found that the law had a discriminatory affect. but the court said that they weren't convinced necessarily that the lawmakers had discriminatory intent, that they meant it to be discriminatory even though it definitely was. so that part of it they sent it back to the original judge who had written that blistering opinion condemning the law as racially motivated. and lawyers from the justice department, lawyers from the voting rights division of the justice department, were due

the gentleman from texas, mr. green is recognized. mr. green: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. green: the affordable care act works. the majority of republicans want to make americans sick again. republicans have voted more than 60 times to roll back the historic progress to expand health care to 20 million plus americans. to improve coverage for those who already have it. at every turn they've undermined the law at the expense of american families and are setting the path for repeal. 2.2 million texans stand to lose health care coverage, including 20,000 in our district. 50,000 of my constituents gained coverage with expanded medicaid, along with more than a million texans. texas stands to lose $52 billion in federal fundering for me cade, chip, and other funding if the new president repeals the affordable care act. making america sick again is not the solution. let's not have a repeal until we have a replacement. i yield back my time. . the speaker pro tempore: t

and the federal justice department sued texas to stop it. d the judge in that case found in favor of the justice department. found against the state of texas in this blistering blunt comprehensive ruling that said, yeah, when the legislature passed this law it was deliberately designed to keep minorities from being able to vote even though they were legally entitled to vote. and then after that ruling, two other three-judge panels, six more judges, also found the law to be unconstitutional and then this past summer the most conservative appeals court in the country also found that the law had a discriminatory affect. but the court said that they weren't convinced necessarily that the lawmakers had discriminatory intent, that they meant it to be discriminatory even though it definitely was. so that part of it they sent it back to the original judge who had written that blistering opinion condemning the law as racially motivated. and lawyers from the justice department, lawyers from the voting rights division of the justice department, were due

she sought on the caller id and picked it up. i went back to texas to the houston district attorney's off with this evidence. all the recantation that i've gotten and i said the da and i said my guys innocent. and she said this. all yankee lawyers from fancy law forms come down here to texas say these guys are ins innocent, this this is texas, we know better, good luck. i didn't like that very much and i said to her, you don't know me. but i will be back like arnold's fortune maker, and i walked out. but i still wasn't sure i was was going to be able to walk this man out. and then i remember a phone call he kept telling me i made that phone call from his house so i subpoenaed the phone company and they said we don't have it. i subpoenaed the cop know, the da, no they don't have it. i was at the brink of depression, so angry and sad. i would go and see him and i would be crying and cursing. and i base and i can't find that phone record. and he would tell me, it's okay. i believe in you. thank you for standing up for me. like that guy with the bike. a

goodlatte: the gentleman from texas, mr. green. section 3, the senate of the united states shall be composed of two senators from each state for six years and each senator shall have one vote. immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election. they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. mr. goodlatte: the gentleman from illinois, mr. bost. mr. bost: the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacant at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second ear. mr. goodlatte: the gentleman from california, mr. cardenas. mr. cardenas: thank you very much. no person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the age of 30 years and have been nine years a citizen of the united states and who shall not when elected be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be hosen. mr. goodlatte: the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert. mr. gohm

goodlatte: the gentleman from texas, mr. green. section 3, the senate of the united states shall be composed of two senators from each state for six years and each senator shall have one vote. immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election. they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. mr. goodlatte: the gentleman from illinois, mr. bost. mr. bost: the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacant at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second ear. mr. goodlatte: the gentleman from california, mr. cardenas. mr. cardenas: thank you very much. no person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the age of 30 years and have been nine years a citizen of the united states and who shall not when elected be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be hosen. mr. goodlatte: the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert. mr. gohm

the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. chairman, i yield myself 10 seconds just to say that hearings have been held and a markup in the last congress on this bill, and the 10 new republican members are anxious to vote on this. i am unaware of any new democratic members having been appointed to our committee as of yet. i am happy to yield three minutes to the co-author of the halos act, a champion for small business because he's indeed the distinguished chairman of the small business committee, mr. chabot of ohio for three minutes. mr. chabot: i thank the gentleman for yielding and i want to thank chairman hensarling for his leadership on this issue and i rise in strong support of h.r. 79, the bipartisan halos act. as chairman of the house small business committee, i have the honor and pleasure of hearing and speaking with many of america's small business owners and their employees almost every day. i hear case after case of small business owners working days and nights and weekends. i hear stories of sacrifi

, are looking at banning transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice. texas' lieutenant governor unveiled a proposal saying it will be a top proposal for the state legislature in texas. tonight, casey stegall reports from texas on their proposal that critics argue could cost millions of dollars. >> protests at the state capital following newly proposed legislation that would mandate which public restrooms a person must use in texas. >> it is going to be a tough fight. speaker senate bill 6, better known as the privacy act, will be introduced next tuesday. if passed, the law would require residents to use public bathrooms or locker rooms based on the gender listed on their birth certificate. republican lieutenant governor dan patrick claims its intent is to protect citizens. >> the privacy and safety of texans is our first priority, not political correctness. >> however critics argue this goes far beyond just being pc, flat up calling the proposed measure discriminatory. >> if we are seriously interested in protecting people and trying to stop predatory behavi

. >>> the hotly contested bathroom bill has been filed at the texas state capital. the texas privacy act prohibits local places of having buildings regulating bathrooms. it would relegating bathroom use based on a person's sex at birth. supporters say the bill is about protecting privacy. opponents say it discriminates against transgender people. >>> and protest groups against that issue and any other will have their say during the inauguration. >> the national park agency faced a lawsuit if it didn't allow demonstrators access. house. about 30 groups have applied. >>> some folks are taking a mel -- mellow approach to inauguration day. i'd say so. a marijuana advocacy group plans to hand out free joints before marching to the national mall. >> the group's leader is not encourage people to smoke them which would be against the dc law, but he called lighting up a great act of civil disobedience due to donald trump's silence on marijuana reform. >>> hot dog vendors are taking up business in d.c. as we speak. >> it's going to be the slowest march on washington we've eve

we welcome you here, and we have the distinguished senator cornyn from texas, and the distinguished senator cruz from texas, and the distinguished sam nunn from georgia who we miss but thank him for his service, and the distinguished secretary gates who served eight presidents and i am actually surprised he is not serving a ninth, but we thank you for being here. each of you, if you would, please give your comments and then we will move to opening statements. thank you for being here. >> chairman corker and ranking member carter and members of the committee, i am proud to be here today with my colleague, senator cruz, to introduce a fellow texan, rex tillerson, as the nominee to be the next secretary of state. without a doubt rex tillerson is an inspired choice by president-elect trump for this critical position. the depth and breath of his experience as an accomplished and successful business leader and skilled negotiator give him a solid understanding of the current geopolitical and current economic challenges and making him uniquely qualified to serve in the important office. after gradu