(applause) - this is a change of command ceremony, and that i need to do the best i can for the country. the gentleman from georgia, newt gingrich. (applause) - i m very much shaped by my stepfather, who d spent 27 years in the infantry. so i was very much shaped by the army s sense of duty, honor, country. and that was a very touching moment. (applause) (gavel pounds) - we d probably had the longest opening day in congressional history, been making sure all the laws applied equally to congress. - (pounds gavel) the house will be in order. - we knew it was gonna be hard. we had no idea how hard it was actually going to be. - this was not just an everyday congress. we had taken over. - i should ve recognized that when we used this 100-day mantra, that we were not calculating in how much time it takes to take a bill into committee, to have it in subcommittee, to take it to the full committee. - (pounds gavel) on this vote, the yeas are 238, the nays are 192.
the bill is passed. - there were celebrations every time we passed a plank. - i am now going to have a hole punched in the card. - newt would go to the floor and pull out his insert of the tv guide. and we got the first one done, we got nine to go. we got three done, we have seven to go. we were trying to make sure people understood we were doing what we had promised. - (hits gavel) the bill is passed. (applause) - one of the smart things that dick armey s people did in scheduling the floor was we started with the easier planks of the contract. - the yeas are 300 and the nays are 132. two-thirds of those present haven t voted in the affirmative. the joint resolution is passed without objection. a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. (cheers) - as time went on, that s when they got more difficult, more complicated. - i voted with many republicans for a balanced budget amendment, but i did not do that to see this kind of irresponsible spending take place in this chamber.
absolutely. i was there the day of the final vote. i was sitting in the gallows, and it was incredibly emotional. more emotional than i thought it would be to hear all those yeas counted. but it s absolutely part of my father s legacy and something i m incredibly proud of. what, in conversations you had with your father and just what you knew of him from his character, what do you think he would hope that you could contribute in his legacy to this world. you and your two brothers? my two brothers tyler and ben, he would just tell us to take care of each other. that was one of his final messages to all of us really before passing was just take care of each other. take care of those around you. take care of your family, your friends. and just do the best we can. i think jim and i both know personal loss well, and i can say there are no words that
able to come to an agreement to help protect the sanctity of life in the health care reform. it s never easy to get people from a variety of ideological backgrounds inside your own tent to cooperate. she s good at giving away enough candy to keep people in the tent. on march 21st came the final vote. with the future of health care reform resting on the speaker s shoulders. there were no republicans who were supporting it at all. it was something where liberals demanded a public option, which was a more progressive piece of it. conservatives said, it s almost like socialism. pelosi kept them all together. watched closely from the white house, the vote was a cliffhanger years in the making. and the ultimate test of nancy pelosi s political mastery. she basically said, if we don t stick together, it s not going to pass. on this vote the yeas are 220. the nays are 211. the bill is passed. two days later, president obama signed the health care reform bill into law.
risked their lives on september 11th. cheering from above the senate floor. expression of approval is not permitted in the gallery. reporter: as the bill passes to permanently pay for the 9/11 victim compensation fund. the yeas are 97, the nays are 2. the bill is passed. reporter: the two senators voting no, republicans mike lee and rand paul. both introducing measures to cap pay outs, which failed. this should never have been a fight. reporter: the compensation fund had been running short on money. recently gaining nationwide attention following passionate pleas for support fro first responders and comedian jon stewart. your indifference costs these men and women their most valuable commodity, time. reporter: stewart back on capitol hill today. we ll spend some time today thinking about the friends that we ve lost, who gave their last