north carolina senator thom tillis is among 71 new members of the congress who will take the oath of office today. >> regulatory reform it one of the single most important things we can do to get it back on track. >> reporter: tennessee representative martha blackburn outlined some of the toughest issues. >> immigration, health care. >> reporter: the enhanced republican majority the largest since the great depression promises to greenlight the long-stalled keystone xl pipeline. kentucky senator mitch mcconnell who will take over as senate majority leader could try to move the bill to the floor as early as thursday. it's unclear if president obama would agree to it. >> where republicans don't adisagree, you'll seat president take disease sizive action where he can. >> reporter: conservatives with their defense of house majority w.h.i.p. steve scalise. the louisiana republican came under fire following reports he spoke at a white supremacist group in 2002. >> who they choose to seek in their leadership says a lot about who they are. >> reporter: john boehner, house speaker is expected

thom tillis was the speaker of the north carolina house of representatives before he was elected to the he defeated kay hagan in one of the highest profile races in november, and senator-elect ben sasse was a college president in nebraska before he announced his run. he also served in the bush administration. great to have all of you with us this morning. and i guess i have to refer to you as senators-elect, congresswoman-elect. let's start with an interview the new senate majority leader mitch mcconnell gave. he said what the speaker and i are bound and determined to do is to demonstrate to the american people that the congress is no longer dysfunctional. is that possible? he may be determined but i want to ask each of you what you'll do towards that. >> well, i mean first we have to pass a budget. there's only been one budget passed in the last six years so obviously we need to demonstrate an ability to govern but we also need to admit that the big challenges facing this country aren't going to be solved in the next 24 months. we need to set the stage for a 2016 presidential election

. >> thom tillis makes an interesting point. you can turn that point a few degrees and you can say the environmental community doesn't trust the republican party. it seems to me, that is not all on them. >> going back to what arthur brooks said, is a fifth-generation montanan, i had a fly rod in my hand before brad pitt discovered flyfishing. i am an avid backpacker. i am a passionate sportsman, as are most montanans. i think there's been a false choice created. there is either protecting the environment or developing energy resources. i am always a little fearful of labels. i think environmental groups, that is a wide spectrum. i look at some of these extreme environmental activists that would seek to stop old of element in this country, and oftentimes through the courts, that is what we have to fight every day. in montana, our environment is our economic asset, whether it is tourism, and why we want to live there. we want to work, but we also like to play. skiing, yellowstone park is an hour from my house. one moment you can b

bill: thom tillis from north carolina. the swearing in is around noon. be watching it from here. martha: it's getting chilly outside. they are calling it the polar vortex part two. dangerously cold weather roaring in with temperatures 30 degree below average in some parts of the country. we'll tell you how cold it's going to get where you are. bill: a wreck that killed everyone on board a mane except a 7-year-old girl. >> the plane was upside down. her family was unresponsive. she utilizing her non-injured hand and arm to free herself from the aircraft. hello... i'm an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about america's favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal. martha: very sad and very amazing story of a 7-year-old girl who was the only survivor

thom tillis, dan sullivan. doug ducci. mia love. my governor of massachusetts charlie baker. [applause] how about joni ernst? isn't she an amazing person? just something else. there is some people that not only impressed me but also inspire me. martha, arizona, you know her story. a fighter pilot, air force fighter pilot. she comes and runs for congress and believe she wins. they send her to washington to meet the other members in 2012. only to find out by recount she did not win. she has to go home having thought she had been elected. she decides to go at it again. she has been an extraordinary person. a rising star. some people who have served in the military, who have gone out and fought for our nation, despite having extraordinaire academic credentials and career opportunities, they went to the military and have come back to serve in the senate. it is quite a story. i want to congratulate you on the work you have done to improve the primary process, to change the date of the convention, to limit the debates and reign them in. i think you ought to be proud for doing that w

the associated press reports that thom tillis beet senator kay hayingen. when 90 million vote it's like a country a third as large as the united states joins. i'm not talking size. in this smaller country the politics are different, because when i say another country, i'm serious, it's like another country. for one thing it's a wider country, made up of richer, older people and they decide the fate of a diverse core group who do not vote. our country would be very different if everyone that could cast a ballot did so. >> the rallying cry for republicans. >> the bill has passed. >> this country will do what it should have done for years. >> after years of delay and a decisive midterm election congress puts the keystone pipeline on a fast-track. how much will it cost. who will bay pay. >> you have to ask what will happen if you don't do it. >> the facts, the science and politics fuelling the fight. >> on a sacred site in the black hills of south dakota tribe members burn sage and pray to mother earth. >> we stand in the footsteps of our ancestors, to make of

she is question of why north carolina senator thom tillis. -- questioned by north carolina senator thom tillis. >> just as soon as the room quiets, i'm going to recognize the senator. i think it's quite enough. would you proceed? >> thank you, mr. chair. and ms. lynch congratulations. it's quite an honor to be in the place that you are today. i want to compliment you on your distinguished career and i've also noted over the course of your testimony just how much pride is in the eyes of your friends and supporters here. congratulations. i had a question for you and it stems from -- oh i also want to thank you for dealing with last week when we had to move the venue and the time around for the meeting. i appreciate your graciousness and spending some time with me last week. i really want to maybe start where we left off, with some of the discussions. and i think that senator flake and senator lee and senator schumer have also echoed the concerns about the limited resources and how you would prioritize things within the -- within your future perspective new responsibilities. -- prospective

thom tillis, dan sullivan. doug ducci. mia love. my governor of massachusetts a republican governor charlie baker. [applause] how about joni ernst? isn't she an amazing person? [applause] just something else. there is some people that not only impressed me but also inspire me. martha mcsally, you know her story. a fighter pilot, air force fighter pilot. she comes back and runs for congress and believe she wins. they send her to washington to meet the other members in 2012. only to find out by recount she did not win. she has to go home having thought she had been elected. she decides to go at it again. she has been an extraordinary person. a rising star. some people who have served in the military, who have gone out and fought for our nation, despite having extraordinaire academic credentials and career opportunities, they went to the military and have come back to serve in the senate. it is quite a story. i want to congratulate you on the work you have done to improve the primary process, to change the date of the convention, to li

senator tom cotton, senator joni ernst, thom tillis, mike sullivan, mike rounds and senator martin heinrich. for the benefit of our new members and all this commit kbli has a long fashion of which we're proud. i've had the opportunity of working with senator reed for many years, despite his lack of quality education he has done an outstanding job here as a ranking member of the committee and for those who are political trivia experts my staff tells me it is the first time that we've had chairman ranking members from the two service -- oldest service academies and so i welcome the opportunity of working closely as i have for many years with the senator from rhode island. today the armed services committee considers global challenges to the national securities committee and today i'm here with general brent snowcroft and zbigniew brzezinski each serving as advisors to the president of the united states, laying foundations for the u.s.-china relationship, confronting the ayatollahs in iran and moscow and the middle east have clear assailants today and we're thankful for you to allow us to draw

. >> i wondered about this, so i asked one of my colleagues on this committee with me, senator thom tillis, who at the time she gave this speech was the speaker of the house in north carolina. i asked him what she was referring to. these are pre-bold statements, and if someone is going to accuse a state legislative body of moving to undo the legacy of dr. martin luther king and trying deliberately to diminish voting rights in this country, i feel like we need to know what that is. he suggested to me that it might have been directed towards a voter id law passed by the state of north carolina at the time to senator tillis was the speaker of the north carolina house of representatives. i asked him about this law and he told me that when it came forward, there was concern about voter fraud, the risk of voter fraud in north carolina. he said, i want to find the most fair statute that there is on the books anywhere in this country, and i want to make it that much fairer. i want to put the belt and suspenders and another belt and another set of suspenders on it, make sure no one's voting rights

in north carolina, thom tillis fought off a neo-isolationist challenge in the republican primary ande his democratic opponent's lack of attention to islamist terrorism a key issue and he won. martha mcsally in arizona's second congressional district the first female air force combat squadron leader, was able to go from a significant deficit and win a very closely contested seat in the house. she's going to be a great leader as well. even in those races, like scott brown in new hampshire, where the republican candidate did not win, national security brought scott brown to the brink of victory. when you put this together, it shows that foreign and defense policy will be even more important in 2016. certainly the foreign threats and challenges the united states faces are not going to diminish over the next two years. in fact, our adversaries all around the world are calibrating their own policies to take advantage of the remaining two years of the obama administration. they understand they have a precious opportunity against a weak and ineffective president to advance their agenda. befo

thom tillis, dan sullivan. doug do see. me aia love. my governor of massachusetts charlie baker. [applause] how about joni ernst? isn't she an amazing person? just something else. there is some people that not only impressed me but also inspire me. martha arizona, you know her story. a fighter pilot, air force fired fighter pilot. she comes and runs for congress and believe she wins. they center to washington to meet the other members in 2012. only to find out by recount she did not win. she has to go home having thought she had been elected. she decides to go at it again. she has been an extraordinary person. some people who have served in the military, who have gone out and fought for our nation, despite having extraordinaire academic credentials and career opportunities, they went to the military and have come back to serve in the senate. it is quite a story. i want to congratulate you on the work you have done to improve the primary process, to change the date of the convention, to limit the debates and rain the men. these are-- rain the m in. and thank you for 2012. you were

call us at 202-646-3400, e-mail us or send us a tweet @thom tillis c-span. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >>> with with live coverage of the u.s. house on c-span and the senate on c-span 2, here on c-span 3 we compliment that coverage by show inging the most relevant hearings and public affairs events. then on weekends, c-span 3 is the home to "american history tv" with programs that tell our nation's story including six unique series. the civil war's anniversary vitting battlefields, american artifacts touring museums and historic sites to discover what they reveal about america's past history book shelf, the presidency, looking at the policy policies and legacies of our nation's commanders in chief, lectures in history with top college professors delving into mesh's past, and reel america featuring educational films from the 1930s through '70s. c-span 3 created by the cable tv industry and funded by your local cable or satellite provider. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. >>> up next former agriculture secretary and congressman dan

senator-elect thom tillis is here and senator hayes will be here to tell us what's really going to happenon a man's door for help. her story. and gas under two bucks? happy new year. we'll see you at the top of the hour have you heard of the new dialing procedure for for the 415 and 628 area codes? no what is it? starting february 21, 2015 if you have a 415 or 628 number you'll need to dial... 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. okay, but what if i have a 415 number, and i'm calling a 415 number? you'll still need to dial... 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out! >>> talk about hitting a low note. sportscaster jim rome is now apologizing after offensing members of the military and musicians just about everywhere with his insensitive tweet during the rose bowl on thursday. is there anyone, he writes, not in a marching band who thinks those dorks running around with their instruments are cool? >> the u.s. army field band is among those firing back posting posting this on twit. just running around with our instruments and serving our

two newest republicans are senator david perdue, who won his first term in georgia, and senator thom tillisrepublican from north carolina, the former speaker of the house of north carolina who beat kay hagan in the last election. the ranking democrat is patrick leahy. dianne feinstein stitt ♪ sits on the committee along with senator al franken from minnesota and senator kunz from delaware. and senator blumenthal democrat of connecticut. those are the democrats on that committee. some faces and the voices you will here today on day two of the combination -- of the confirmation hearings of loretta lynch for attorney general. live coverage will get underway on c-span in 15 minutes. wilma, mount vernon, new york, a democratic caller. caller: thank you for taking my call. i call because i agree with ms. lynch in reference to immigration. i am an immigrant myself. i believe that if people work and pay the taxes and they are good abiding citizens, they should get a chance. the only thing i did not like about ms. lynch is when she said she agreed with the -- oh, man -- the death penalty. i did not

also, another senator elect thom tillis, republican of north carolina. kay hagan in that contest. -- a beat kay hagan in that contest. elected to the north carolina state house in 2006. served as their speaker in 2011. some of the new faces you will see in the senate when a gavel in at noon. -- when they gavel in at noon. host: 58 new freshmen in the house and senate. 13 makers -- 13 new lawmakers. we will be talking to a few of them this morning. we will be talking with veteran reporters about the hot button policy issues as well. we talked about the issue of immigration. for a look at the transportation issues on the horizon for the 114th congress, we turn now to cq roll call's transportation writer. thank you for joining us. what can we expect from him when it comes to transportation issues on the senate side? we will come back to tom curry in a second. we're taking your thoughts all morning on the opening day of the 114th congress. jim is up in roswell, georgia. good morning. outline for republicans. -- our line for republicans. caller: i am more ind