the clerk of the house: the reading clerk will now call the names of the representatives-elect who did not answer the first call of the roll. the clerk: aguilar, pelosi. amodei, mccarthy. mccarthy. arrington, mccarthy. mccarthy. baird, mccarthy. barragan, pelosi. beatty, pelosi. beyer, pelosi. . ce of oklahoma, mccarthy bishop of georgia, pelosi. brendon boyle of pennsylvania, elosi. . sh, pelosi car ba hole -- car ball hall, pelosi. carden as, pelosi. , mccarthy.exas ase, pelosi. lark of massachusetts, pelosi. cuellar, pelosi. . vidson, mccarthy , pelosi. . saulnier esaulnier. eshoo, pelosi. arter of california, pelosi. hastings. astings. ssa, mccarthy. kim of california, mccarthy. uster, pelosi. larson of connecticut, pelosi. lee of california, pelosi. matsui, pelosi. , pelosi. eal, pelosi. , pelosi. ocasio-cortez, pelosi. rogers of alabama, mccarthy. salazar. salazar. chakowsky, pelosi. stin scott of georgia, mccarthy. essions, mccarthy. walwell, pelosi. hompson of california, pelosi. valadao.' -- valadao. zeldin. mccarthy. the clerk of the house: representatives-elect who did not answer to the call of the roll, they may come and vote at this time. , clerk: mr. desaulnier pelosi. >> the vote is ongoing here on the opening day of 117th congress but it appears that nancy pelosi has secured her fourth nonconsecutive term as speaker of the house, leading the democratic majority in this new congress. it was noted, 216 goats is below .18 normal magic number she is the third speaker in the last 25 years to win with less than 218 votes. that was newt gingrich and john boehner. they had larger majorities and faced more defections. the clerk of the house: the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the honorable nancy pelosiate o -- ornia has received 216 the honorable kevin mccarthy of the state of california has received 209. the honorable tammy duckworth of the state of illinois has received one vote. the honorable that keem jeffries of the state of new york has received one vote. therefore, the honorable nancy pelosi of the state of california having received a majority of the votes cast is dual elected speaker of the house of representatives for the 117th congress. the clerk of the house: the clerk follows the following committee to escort the speaker-elect to the chair. the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, the gentlewoman from massachusetts, ms. clark, the gentlewoman from wyoming, ms. cheney, the gentleman from new york, mr. jeffies, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. emmer, the gentleman from california, mr. aguilar, the gentleman from alabama, mr. palmer, the gentleman from new york, mr. sean patrick maloney, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. mike johnson, the gentlewoman from ohio, mrs. beatty, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. hudson, the gentlewoman from california, ms. jacobs, the gentlewoman from oklahoma ms. bice and members of the california delegation. the members of the committee, the majority and minority leadership will retire from the chamber to escort the speaker-elect to the chair. without objection, the house will stand in recess subject to of the r -- to the call chair. let's talk about who voted against nancy pelosi. jim cooper, kurt schrader. two years ago they voted against nancy pelosi. today they voted for her when their names were called. golden, ad jared democrat of maine who voted for senator tammy duckworth instead of pelosi. -- you also had abigail spanberger, voting present. then you had conor lamb of pennsylvania who voted for hakeem jeffries, some speculate could take over as the democratic leader for house democrats after leader pelosi steps down. that is what has happened so far. is the speaker designate will address lawmakers in the chamber. after they are done with this break, what they are doing right now is cleaning the chamber. part of covid-19 protocols. it also has included voting in groups of 72, that is why these proceedings have taken hours. they don't normally take this long, but they had to call members because of the pandemic in groups of 72 to the floor. that is what they did today, and they will do that as well when they move into the swearing in. democratic leader nancy pelosi addresses the lawmakers. she is then sworn into office by the dean of the house, which is the longest member of the house. that is representative don young, a republican first elected to congress in 1973. in, shece she is sworn the first group of representative lx, and that will be the freshman members of congress. these freshman members were the only ones that received an extra ticket for a family member, or our friends to join them in the house chamber to watch them being sworn in. incoming all of the members of congress get to bring family and friends with them for this moment. but not during a pandemic. that is not what will happen today. speaker address the lawmakers after getting this boat? we talked with a former parliamentarian back in 2019 about what to expect in the speaker elect's remarks. congress, the speakers addressed to the house have been almost entirely political. programmatic. focused onessarily institutional process. speakers would take a lot of time promising fairness from the chair. it's not that fairness from the chair is any less a concern of modern speakers, it's just that, one they are not in the chair ,ery often themselves, and two people they do appoint as presiding officers are expected and instructed by the speaker to be fair, and to follow the advice of the party. >> what have we seen in change of speakers address? >> it was not totally abrupt. we called nancy pelosi's first stint as speaker, which was very programmatic. it was after 12 years of republican speaker ships -- speakerships. if you compare that with newt gingrich a speech in january 1995, i am guessing that he made passing reference to his determination to be fair as presiding officer. but it almost a given, always bears repeating. >> how long to those speeches usually take? >> anywhere from five to 10 minutes. as anot an overly lengthy, rule, it's not overly lengthy. >> the speaker elect's remarks coming up here on the opening day of the 170th congress. there are 59 freshman. one is marjorie taylor greene, a republican of georgia. she sent out this week earlier. i'm here to fight for might go to the future and the next generations american dream. it is time to save america and stop socialism. and also, a congressman from illinois, i democrats weeding out saying, this congress has more women and more women of color than any time in american history. shout out to all of the other amazing women i have the honor of calling my colleagues, today. the opening day of the one 70th congress in both the house and the senate began with a prayer. prayer was ledhe by representative emanuel cleaver, the democrat of missouri. that is because the new admiral, retired rear is expected to be sworn in tomorrow. she was not in place today to deliver the prayer. she will be the first women chaplain to serve in congress. she will beat the house members in daily opening prayer, according to npr. the chaplain also provides counseling to house members, arranges memory services for house members and staff. she was elected by a bipartisan committee of house members, whose recommendation was accepted by both democratic leader speaker pelosi and kevin mccarthy. reverendou may know pat conroy who start in that role, a roman catholic priest, he served as chaplain since 2011 and he retired. let's go to the beginning of today's proceedings. we begin with the house prayer by methodist minister emanuel cleaver, followed by the senate chaplain reverend barry black. >> we bow before you as we leave behind the politically and socially challenging year of 2020. we gathered out in this consequential chamber, to inaugurate another chapter in our roller coaster representative government. the members of this body acknowledge your sacred supremacy, and therefore, confess that without your favor and forbearance, we enter this new year relying dangerously on our own fallible nature. god, and a moment when many believe that the bright light of democracy is beginning to dim, empower us with an extra dose of commitment to its principles. congress, the 117 reveal the lamp of liberty, so generations unborn will witness its undying flame. and may we model community healing, control our tribal tendencies, and quicken our peacefulhat we lay presence even in heightened disagreement. mate we so feel your presence that our service here may not be soiled by any utterances or acts unworthy of this office. bright, that we could see ourselves, and our politics as we are soiled by selfishness. the god who created the world as everything in it, bless us and keep us. may the lord shine upon us and be gracious onto us. may the lord lift up the light of his consonants on us and give us peace. peace in our family, based on this land. peace even in this chamber. now and evermore. we ask in the name of the a got known byd, many games -- names by many different faiths. mm and a woman. lord, peace in this chamber. we ask this in the nam >> let us pray. eternal god who wraps the ocean in a cloak. places smoothough and the crooked places straight. this 1/17 congress, provide our and senators with your wisdom and direction. them, to transform dark yesterday's into bright tomorrow's. legislators with your intervening love. pursue them, with such goodness and mercy, that they will be inspired to tell of your unbornlness, so that generations will know, and love you. shield, ande our you give us victory. name.y in your marvelous amen. >> the opening prayer from earlier today in the house and the senate on this new day here in washington. 17th congress gaveling in. we are in a break right now, when they return you will hear from the speaker elect nancy pelosi. she will address members of congress, she will then be sworn in, and then she will swear in all of the representative elects, starting with the freshman. let's show you a little bit more from this freshman class. representative nicole maria coccus who was a republican from new york. toding this week, excited have my carrots and peanut with me today. time to get to work. troy, republican of texas, sent out a picture of his family saying they came with some friends. we have been talking to many representative elects on c-span to try and get to know them a little bit better. one of them is cori bush. the black lives matter movement had a big turnout on -- cori bush is one of those. we spoke to her about her background, and her decision to run for congress. here's what she had to say. >> i never had a desire to run for public office. i would say, i would never run. 18, i wouldround say i've never running for office. person -- sow this much corruption and greed. murdered,el brown was i was working as a nurse. -- thehe director of nursing manager of a mental health clinic. i was also pastoring at the time. i could take my skills to the street. i went to the streets as a medic, i went to the streets as a clergy. --o regular people livelihoods on the line. lives on the line. but i did not see enough of, representatives standing up for those areas. many of them weren't. it was photo ops for some. i realized, when someone asked me to run for office, i said no at first. but then i realize this is the only way to get change we are seeking. the people out here on the ground, risking themselves, but keep coming back after all of these things. how do we get that into federal office? we have to run. i thought about my son, i thought about my daughter. i did about my son to be the next #. i cannot bear that. i decided to run. >> you would go on to challenge a representative. did you have reservations taking on a longtime politician? >>. . absolutely for several reasons, growing up, i canvass for him back when i was a child. he and my dad know each other. my dad is in his father's book as being someone who help them. ofhave a family history helping his family. also, i am a black woman running against a black man. just think about that, i was already being called a traitor to the democrats. all of those things were going through my head. when i thought about it, the incumbent, but i thought about how he could have stood in between the police and the people, how he could have stopped the teargas, the rubber bullets. how he could have stopped all of that, when i think about that -- and, the ideas that just two months before michael brown was murdered, when he could have voted against a police militarization. but instead he voted to support it. i personally was realized by that, and so many others. i knew i had to do it. >> when you say personally blurred lies what is that experience? >> yes. that night that we were waiting goingd out if there was to be an indictment, before kelly mike brown. -- before killing mike brown. we know people from around the world would be coming to ferguson. i decided to be a medic that night. there was a lot of teargas, a lot was happening. a woman collapsed. nurse,to help her, as a i went to help her, and her family says she was having a heart attack. i am trying to get her to safety, trying to help her. the paramedics were behind the police lineup. when i got her to the police lineup, the police did not like that i was helping her. stomped by the police that night. >> when it comes to the message you were delivering during your campaign, what was that message and why do you think it resonated with voters? >> because it was the same message. i have been saying the same thing since 2015 when i announced for the first run, talking about medicare for all, talking about criminal justice reform. i had been -- the community knows. closing the racial wage cap, the gender wage gap. $15 an hour federal minimum wage. people saw, even though they did not understand it, they did not understand why i was always out protesting for black lives. they did not understand. why i do not understand kept saying that your job status should not be connected to your health care. as a nurse i am watching my patients died. people do not understand it. but in 2020, when coronavirus hit our community, people saw. this is what she has been talking about. we are losing our jobs, we are losing our homes. we never thought we would be in this position. she was trying to save us then. with the protests, covid-19 was rough on me. i was sick, hospitalized twice. i was out on the streets protesting for george floyd and breonna taylor. people saw me from not being able to breathe to being out on the street. it, were saying, now i get this is why she was protesting. now we are making the connection. gs running for office as a congressional candidate, and she is still adhere leading, organizing protests. >> freshman democrat cori bush. she will be the first like to represent missouri in congress. ae sent out a tweet today, picture of her and her freshman colleague jamaal bowman, a democrat of new york. squad.t -- the the caption, squad up. the daily caller notes on twitter that every single progressive in that picture voted for speaker elect nancy pelosi. the republican of michigan sent out this tweet. ready to get to work on behalf of the people of west michigan. i am humbled and honored for the opportunity to serve once more. another freshman face is andrew clyde. as we mentioned, there will be 15 freshman in the house of representatives who are veteran. navy,ves 28 years in the including three deployments to kuwait and iraq. we spoke to him about his combat experience, and his family as long history of military service. >> my family has a very long history of military service. as a matter of fact, it goes back to colonel samuel clyde, who served under general george washington in the continental army. i am very proud of that tradition in our family. father was a world war ii veteran and a korean war veteran. my brother was a navy officer before me. i was a navy officer, too. for 28 years. we have a long and proud tradition of military service. i believe in protecting and defending our country. military service is part of that. >> what did your father tell you about military service? >> it's an honor to serve. it's an honor to serve our country. whether overseas or here at home, it is an honor to serve. i believe -- it's one of the reasons why i want to be on the armed services committee in congress. i think my background as a navy officer, as a combat veteran. i have served three tours of combat in iraq and kuwait. being a logistics officer, a naval supply officer, and aviation warfare specialty supply officer, has given me a great and extensive background in knowledge of how our military operates both in peacetime and wartime. i think being on the armed services committee would be a benefit for our country, and the state of georgia. >> what insights you think you have gained to serve in congress -- given your experience in combat? we need to make sure our military has the right equipment. i will tell you, there is a significant difference between the equipment we deployed with in 2003 and my first combat tour, and then again in 2005. we need to make sure our buttary is fully funded, also that our military uses its funds wisely, and appropriately, with good oversight. our military needs to have the finest equipment we can give our military. we have the greatest people, and they should have the greatest equipment. that will make us second to none in the world. that will help keep the peace, and help make sure that our nation stays secure. and peaceful. >> you grew your firearms business, at a $12 million company. why did you decide to run to for office? giving to our country is just part of our family. i love my business, i love clyde armory. i think we are a constitutional business. the motto of the business is we enable individual participation in the preservation of liberty. i think especially with that knowledge of the second amendment of the constitution, which is currently under attack, with that knowledge, i think i can take that to congress and help defend that before our country. i think it is very important we keep the second amendment intact, we take back some of the areas where we have lost on the second amendment. and i am happy to do that. i am eager to do that, i am excited to be able to add that experience i have, protecting and defending the second amendment and taking it to congress. >> freshman elect andrew clyde, he will represent georgia's ninth district. he replaces doug collins. clyde joins 59 freshman members of this house that are waiting to get sworn into office any moment now. here is the balance of power for the 1/17 congress. there will be 222 democrats. 211 republicans. are two vacancies. are only separated by 29 votes at this point. open is also the seat left by the death of representative who recentlytlow died from covid-19 complications. that was the louisiana's fifth congressional district. speakerp on the floor, elect will be leading a moment of silence to mark the passing of representative elect letlow. alsoover in the senate, opening day for that chamber today. let's go over there and talk about the balance of power. there are going to be 51 republicans serving in the senate for the 1/17 congress -- 117th congress. there is one open seat, because of david perdue who is up for reelection. he is facing a runoff on january 5. kelly loeffler, also facing a runoff, but her election is a special election because she was appointed to the seat of sender johnny isakson resigned in 2019 before the end of his term. that is where things stand. two georgiahese races are going to determine who controls the chamber in the senate. if democrats were to pick up those two, it would give incoming vice president kamala harris the tie-breaking vote as president of the senate. here over on c-span, we are covering the house proceedings. they are taking all day because of covid-19 precautions. they have been voting in groups of 72. seven groups of 72. it began with a quorum call to determine who was present, because they needed a majority before they moved onto the speaker election. once they did that, you saw lawmakers come in their groups and vote for speaker by name. democratic leader nancy pelosi 216 votes- securing to become the next speaker. she will address lawmakers, she will be sworn in herself, then she will be swearing in these 1/17 --akers for the 117th congress. that could take a while as well. then they have more business to do, and the schedule, as it was laid out by the democratic leaders office. they are back. let's go to the floor. le as well. to they have more business do, and the schedule as it was democratic the leaders' office -- they are back. let's go to the floor. mr. mccarthy: friends and fellow americans. it's my honor to welcome you to the first day of the 117th congress. we're here with the >> there were no filing cabinets. no servers in the cloud or offices. their desk was their office. members rarely went anywhere without physically bringing their constituents concerns with them. timelessll tasks are a reminder to every american, that the house is made to represent you, the people. it is the responsibility i welcome and embrace everyday. ever to is easier than neglect or ignore this responsibility. from social media, to special interest groups, to the culture police. there are endless temptations to distract from why we are here, and who is truly important. congresse last suffered from this the correct -- neglect. in this chamber two years ago, the speaker spoke of a new dawn for the middle class. thefor the next two years, majority was consumed with everything else. during some of the most challenging time for our country, i felt congress was on the sidelines. when the need for more pandemic relief was obvious, did we deliver in a timely lifeline america needed? betterwe say nothing was than something until politics dictated our action. when unrest spilled into cities across the country, did we deliver safety that americans wanted? or do we let calls to defund the police intimidate us from protecting life, liberty, and property. when americans relied on essential workers to keep our country moving, did we serve the people's house and await americans deserved? and rewardhrink, members who stayed home, skipped work, and so got paid. the unfortunate answers to these questions underscore y the last congress with the least productive congress in 60 years. it has been said that a house divided cannot stand. well if there is any lessons america has learned in the last two years it is this. house distracted cannot govern. that thecould say majority in congress is committed to changing for the common good, and focusing on what really matters. but i am concerned about the early actions pointing in the wrong direction. tomorrow, this majority of the new 117th congress plans to adopt new rules that would silence our constituents voices in congress. those rules thrown away from more than 100 years of representation in our nations capital, by effectively killing a key opportunity to amend legislation. worse, they would penalize any thatr who shares views allies in the media deem fake. they also make it an ethics violation, which is usually reserved for such unbecoming conduct like bribery or corruption. under these rules, all members are equal, but some are more equal than others. for our constituents, that means freedom of speech is silenced. good ideas are stifled and dissent is punished. why would an american political party use this as your first action in congress? you feel an urgency to protect the political careers. given the message that the american people sent to washington, the grip is slim, and the majority is slimmer. two months ago to this very day, the american people set enough. enough with politicians who dictate what you can say, where you can eat, or whether you can go to church. politicians who ignore the stay-at-home lockdowns they impose on the rest of us. enough with arrogance and hypocrisy. americans are fed up with it, and we republicans are to. lincoln,rty of republicans understand what it means to carry our constituents concerns with us at all times. working-classng coalition of proud americans, more energetic, united incompetent than ever before. we believe in the exceptional mess of this nation and are not afraid to say. we have listened to our constituents. we have heard how things need to change, and we made a commitment to america. to restore a way of life. rebuild the economy, and renew the american dream. that is what we campaigned on, that is will be offered in every district, and if the voices of the people matter, that is how we plan to govern. the response of the american people to our commitment was resounding. even though we were outspent, district by district, no republican incumbent was defeated, none. [applause] all across this country, voters endorsed common sense, not conflict. it was a referendum against a radical agenda to defund the police and punish hard work. it was a wake-up call. the question i ask of this congress, were you listening? i we enter the new congress, ask every member step out of your office. go to the tunnel, look at that small desk, and ask yourself, what is in your desk? here is what is in mind. -- mine. as a son of a fireman, i know how our first responders put everything on the line to keep us safe. never voter, never, to defund them. [applause] can we make that same commitment to america? as a former small business owner, i understand how topics can be even in the best of times. as we battle the coronavirus, our small businesses are battling lockdowns. they are destroying livelihoods, and making it impossible to beat the odds, so i will not hike their taxes. can we make that same commitment to americans? [applause] as a fourth-generation central valley member from california, i represent farmers, and oil fields workers who rise at the dawn to go to work. who pray to god and raise the next generation of good, decent citizens. i will respect their individuality and their freedom, and i will not forget them. can we keep that commitment to america? [applause] no more misplaced priorities. the american people deserve better. america is worth fighting for. for,s are worth fighting their voices are worth fighting for. most importantly, their voices are worth being heard on this floor. during the darkest days of the civil war, when this nation was burning with the vision, abraham lincoln advised to maintain the government, and institution of our fathers. to enjoy them ourselves, and to transmit them to our children, and our children's children forever. he was right then, he is right now, and for the sake of the many generations to come, we need to succeed now. with that, i want to congratulate the speaker. i do not have the gavel. [laughter] as i hand you this gavel, i just ask that you keep in mind of all of the voices in america to have a voice on this floor. [applause] r. the speaker: thank you, my friends. mens of congress, -- members of congress, families, friends, welcome all. as speaker of the house, it is my great honor to preside over this sacred ritual of renewal, as we gather under the dome of this temple of democracy to egin the 117th congress. thank you, thank you, leader mccarthy. congratulations on your election as leader. i look forward to working with the needs ftd -- needs of the american people uring this great moment of challenge. as the leader knows, usually on of our , the day swearing in, there is a that isan church service attend for america. until that is possible, again, personally, pray that let there be peace on earth it begin with us. that is our recurring theme. we all know,rs, as are very needed now. in today, we n accept a responsibility as demanding as any previous generation of has ever faced. we begin this new congress of extraordinary difficulty. each of our communities has been drastically, drastically affected by the pandemic and its crisis. tragic deaths. e sadly carry them in our hearts. over 20 million infections. jobs.ns without a toll beyond comprehension. new members -- and we to swear them soon them in, welcome and congratulations on your election to the united states house of representatives. intended, our emocracy will be reinvigorated by the vibrancy and dynamism of he communities that you represent. nd to our returning members, congratulations to you and your your re-election. as we open the new congress, we rieve the passing of congressman-elect luke letlow. we send our deepest sympathy to wife, julia, and to their children, and we are praying for this sad time. we carry the symbol of louisiana way in his san honor. suffered ss also another sad loss this week with he passing of jamie and sarah raskin's son, tommy. broken.ts are and we hope that it's a comfort hat so many, many mourn their loss. each of us comes to this chamber, of course, strengthened our constituents but with the love of our families. ourk you to the families of members for sharing your loved ones with the congress and with country. it is a sacrifice. we know. ersonally, i want to thank my husband, paul, our five corrine, nancy, christine, jacqueline, alexandria. and nine grandchildren. my d'alesandro family from baltimore, maryland. mother andspirit, my father, my brother, tommy, my parents taught us through their that public service is a noble calling and that we all responsibility to help others. roud of our italian heritage, fiercely patriotic americans, staunchlyatholic, and democratic. we saw that as connected. spirit, i thank my francisco, in san san francisco, california, who have entrusted me to represent of st. the spirit francis, the patron saint of our whose anthem, the song of panthom of is our our city. of thy ke me a channel peace of i thank my democratic olleagues in the congress for the confidence in me by electing me speaker and will endeavor to it with unit, dignity, and grace. and thank the distinguished chair of the caucus, mr. jeffries, chairman jeffries, for his very generous nomination. thank you, mr. jeffries. it gives me great pride to serve speaker of the most diverse house of representatives in the country.f our 122 a record shattering women. women. we can applaud that. 122 women. 100 years after women won the to vote. moment to take a give thanks to our courageous service members in uniform, our their families and caregivers whose service makes s the land of the free and the home of the brave. our promise to them is that work ss will continue to n a bipartisan way to build a future worthy of their sacrifice. to the new orward congress, let us take a moment to remember three champions of during the lost 116th congress. in statered by a lying ceremony in the united states capitol. we said ll last year oodbye to mr. chairman, elijah cummings. our north star who said, when angels, aing with the question will be asked -- what id you do to be sure we kept our democracy intact? dancing with the angels now. this past spring we said goodbye colleague, john lewis. congress, nce of the who would say, when you see something that is not right, not you must speak up. to make goodind us trouble. good trouble. we memorialized oneice ruth bader ginsburg, of the brilliant legal minds in history and a champion of said in the nce capitol, perhaps you were there once statuary hall, who said about women, once the door is no stopping us. each of their memories is a and e of strength inspiration to us as we approach the challenges ahead. tells us that to everything there is a time, a every purpose for under the heavens, a time to sew, a time to heal. our s certainly a time for nation to heal. our ost urgent priority -- most urgent priority will be defeating the oronavirus and defeat it we will. and defeat it we will. two weeks ago we passed an emergency relief package to put money inus and the pockets of workers and now the law.ch is but we must do more to recognize heroes. let us thank our heroes, our health care workers, our first and fire , our police whom we have denied support by enying help to state and local government. our transportation, sanitation, food and social workers, and our teachers, our teachers, our teachers. they make our lives possible at local level and will facilitate the distribution in a fair and equity manner -- equitable manner. we owe them more. any of our essential workers are from communities of color wealth. they have been devastatingly and isproportionately affected by the coronavirus. they have been there for us. we must be there for them. with president-elect biden and harris, whont-elect fromelected two months ago the house will continue our work to save lives and ivelihoods, to build back better in a way that advances in america. indeed, the pandemic has pulled and has shown n even worse disparities in our economy and society. pursue justice, economic justice, justice in health, environmental and climate justice, the list goes on. this chamber we take a pledge, one nation, under od, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. for all.nd justice every day the congress must live pledge.at to advance justice i'm selectshing a bipartisan committee on economic disparity and fairness and growth. disparities of income wealth that undermine faith in america's promise for a future for our children. working with the committees of the select , committee, we'll recommend power fair at economic growth to make our for everyone. us be fort we do, let the people, recognizing the america diversity of so that no one is left out and behind.s left we do so divided by division of sacrifice of the our military, and their aspirations the the we all have for children. blessing.e need god's may god bless all of us. god bless all of you. in bless our men and women uniform and their families, service members and their veterans, and may god bless america. thank you, all, very much. it's my honor. thank you. now speaker, i am you a ready -- i'm now ready to take the oath of office. by ually do so surrounded children but, of course, covid has presented that. our purpose. for the children. i ask the dean of the house of epresentatives, the honorable don young of alaska, to oath of office. mr. dean. madam speaker, before i issue the oath, i'd like to take privilege of the floor as dean. i've been in this house longer than anybody else. i've served with you longer than anybody else that served with you. i love this institution. honest, i do not like what i see. and talk we hold hands to one another. and madam speaker, i say this with all sincerity. the speaker of the house. not of a party. some of you. the job of our nation is for the to e of representatives govern this nation. be the ever meant to executive branch. the s never meant to be judicial branch. it's this house that raises the and dedicates how it shall spent and we are representing the people as we are elected. nd i say this with all sincerity, madam speaker, that when you do have a problem or if here's something so contentious, let's sit down and ave a drink. and solve those problems for the good of this nation, for this institution, and, as you said, for the future children of this great nation. we can do it as a body. i ask you that, as the dean to the new speaker. i ask to you try to attempt to do that with our leader. we can do it together. with that, i'll yield back the balance of my time. now i'm going swear you in. if the gentlewoman from california would please raise her right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and that nce to the same, you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which you are about to enter, so help you god? the speaker: i do. renita young madam speaker, congratulations -- mr. young: madam speaker, congratulations. the speaker: thank you, thank you, dean. i'm honored to be sworn in by you, my friend of many years. thank you for your guidance and, again, i don't drink, but i'm happy to have ice cream ith anybody, any time. yeah, ice cream. thank you. and now we will -- the chair will first swear in the gentleman from alaska, mr. young. the gentleman from alaska will ise. mr. young, dean, do you solemnly swear or affirm that will you support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that i take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? renita young i -- mr. young: i do. the speaker: congratulations. you are now a member of the 117th congress. [inaudible] the speaker: the house will come to order. before we swear in the members elect present in the chamber, the new members elect president in the -- present in the chamber, the chair would ask all members-elect present in the chamber as well as those and staff throughout the capitol to rise for a moment of silence in remembrance of the late onorable lute letko, the member-elect from the state of louisiana. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i challenge the seating of members elect from the states of arizona, georgia, michigan, nevada, pennsylvania and wisconsin. the speaker: under the precedent, the chair will ask the members-elect of those states and delegations to refrain from taking the oath with the other members present. >> madam speaker. the speaker: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? mr. hoyer: i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for igs immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: resolved that the speaker is hereby authorized to administer the oath of office to all representatives-elect. mr. hoyer: i urge adoption of the resolution and i yield back. the speaker: without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the resolution is adopted. >> i would like a recorded vote. the speaker: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. and members-elect can vote on this. members-elect -- this is a vote that you may take before being sworn in. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] >> the chief of staff>> of senator ted cruz asked that the members elect not be sworn in today. unclear why he made the request. it was then steny hoyer, the number two in democratic leadership under the speaker of the house requesting a vote on a privileged revolution that would give speaker pelosi the authority to swear in all members of congress. that is the vote that is taking place right now. as you heard, they tried to do this by voice vote. now they will call vote. >> once the catheter vote, the vote ends up on a tally board at the back of the chamber. you can see the members of the press and the press gallery before the board. if you are in the chamber, you can look up and see each member and how they vote on a piece of legislation. in this case, they are voting on the resolution to give the speaker the authority to swear in lawmakers. sarah ferris tweeting out of the entire house now voting, interrupting the swearing in process about to start, representative royce arguing the six states where trump is claiming victory should not be seating house members today. he put forth that objection and then steny hoyer, the number two democratic leader, put forth this privilege resolution, giving the speaker the authority to swear in the members of congress. voiceoy rejected to a vote, that's why they are in a roll call vote. they will be voting in blocks for this roll call vote, which takes quite a bit of time. they started with the freshman ct,bers, representatives-ele already in the room getting ready to be sworn in by the speaker. you heard a speaker say you can vote on this resolution before you are sworn in. then they will go on to the first group after that. 72 members in each group. we will continue to watch here on c-span. >> on your screen, the tally board of worthy vote stands, as you can see, only one no vote, from morgan griffith, republican from virginia. earlier, we showed the tally board, a republican in mississippi voted against this resolution but changed it to yes. for to aone no vote so resolution put forward by steny hoyer giving the speaker the authority to swear in new members. representative chip roy, republican from texas, he made a move to not swear in members of congress from six states, the states where the wonident is claiming he the general election. andent to a voice vote, chip roy objected to the voice vote, and that's why you see members of congress on the floor with masks on gingerly usually recording their vote. we don't normally get to show you that tally board you saw earlier because the cameras in the house of representatives are controlled by the house of representatives, by the speaker's office, not by c-span, however, during the speaker's remarks, the minority members remarks, and during the vote, we've been able to have a camera moree chamber to bring you sights and sounds of what a vote vote on the they house floor. we are waiting for them to finish up this boat. they are doing it in groups as they have been all along. they are at group three, there are seven groups. it will be a while before they dispense with this boat. the 117thening day of congress, there are covid-19 protocols in place. masks are required on the floor. be -- notot to supposed to be any congregating on the floor.