I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve. I promise you and im going to keep serving and fighting in the same way that you have seen in the past. Thank you. [applause] and i can tell you that one of the things as i travel across the country, everyone always wants to know how in the world we got the best federal delegation in the country. All i tell them is that South Carolina is blessed. We have a great group of legislators that fight every day, that get what we want and they fight for it. They just dont go along with the pack. They fight for it. I am so thankful that so many members came to be supportive of tim. I want to make sure that we have our senior senator speak who i often, who i enjoy working with and who has been there every time i have called him, senator lindsey graham. [applause] thank you, thank you very much. Well, tim, if you add up all of the courses that we flew together, people will begin to understand how the government works. Here is the good news. I made 80 on s. A. T. And im one of the smarter ones over there. Dont worry, youre going to do really well. As to jim, i think we have been doing this for almost 20 years and if there is ever a contest for marrying over your head, jim might win that for sure. Debbie is, i really enjoy your family. You got four great kids and grandkids coming almost every month, it seems like, but debbie has been a great partner to you and a great friend to me. I want to acknowledge her and i know, i think her life is going to have some stability it hasnt had before. You started your career as a very much excited, motivated strong but quiet voice and some people ask me, what happened to jim . Let me tell you what happened to jim. Jim felt that the country is not going to change without somebody making it change. So out of a sense of frustration that you had to do things sometimes almost by yourself. Im here to tell you you change things and we appreciate the hell out of it. Youre leaving the senate is going to be tough. Together we were able to put South Carolina on the map sometimes whether we wanted to or not, but i have really enjoyed the experience of taking the issues of our day, whether it be at home or in washington and try to push the envelope. So when you leave, jim, i want you to realize that all of us understand, particularly over the last four years, you took the road less traveled in washington. It is not your nature to be the only voice and the fact that you were willing to do it shows me how much you care about our country, our state, and you will be someone who will be listened to because of what you have done for the last four years. Were better off for it. I will miss you. Governor haley, its like picking a judge. You make one ingreats and 100 people mad at you. Filling the seat must have been tough. Look at the people she could have chosen from. We have a deep bench in South Carolina, people in government and out of government. You chose wisely. If these walls could talk, what would they say . Just think of the conversations that have happened in this building during the history of our state. I cant help but say the obvious. Yes, you did earn everything that comes your way, tim, but this is a day thats been long in the making in South Carolina. Im very proud to see it come. Now, about tim, the pay is the same. [laughter] miss scott, i can only imagine how you feel today. All of that work and effort and apparently some whipping, i was so good, i never got whipped. Thats not true either. But miss scott, i just want to say that we acknowledge what you have done and there are so many people like you in this state, in this nation. Im sure that tim counts his blessings every day to have the family and friends that he has had as to our delegation. If you dont have a key chain, you will by the end of the day. Joe is the dean of the house delegation. I have never met anyone who enjoys his job more. I mean, you cant go anywhere without being joe and going everywhere with a smile on his face, he and roxanne have raised four boys all in the military. The military has no stronger friend than joe wilson and we know and we appreciate it. Nick, youre going to be the next paul ryan, just keep being the guy who you are. He is wicked smart. He is a problemsolver. He is going to advance the conservative cause on the fiscal side and watch this guy, he will be the next paul ryan. Trey, youre home bred as much as i am, which is pretty impressivement trey comes from the most conservative part of the state. He can throw a punch, but he does it in a way that his colleagues on both sides of the aisle respect him. There is no stronger voice in the house of representatives on legal issues fast and furious, benghazi, the way you conducted yourself in front of the nation makes us all proud. Jeff couldnt be here. He has passed legislation that would make this Nation Energy independent. That is pretty impressive for somebody that has been in the house for one term and newly elected. Tom, you bring to the table problem solving. Youre chairman of the county council. You understand your district has got a lot of opportunity. Youre the cash cow for the state. All of us are going to myrtle beach one day. Thats the American Dream to go to myrtle beach and he brings height to the delegation. So welcome. Tim, the only advice i can give you is that you got here by being tim scott, not lindsey graham, not jim demint, just keep being tim scott and that will be good for our state. You have a unique opportunity for the conservative cause. You have unique burdens. I want to help you where i can. Anything my office can do to help you get started we will do. The only advice i can give you is just keep being the good person you are. The thing about tim, not only is he good at being a congressman, hell be a great senator. He is a better person than he is a politician. [applause] i think just being you, you can inspire kids in a way unique and you can do more good in many ways than any piece of legislation. So i just cant wait to work with you. Jim, i will miss you. Governor, youre tough. Youre one tough lady. You put up with more crap than anybody i know in politics. I just want to be that blunt about it. I want to help you because youre very enthusiastic about selling this state. I have been around for a while now. I have never seen anybody work harder to put our state on the map in terms of business. Youre recruiting some of the most important Business Enterprises and this nation is now looking at South Carolina. So the whole delegation stands behind you and what we can do to seal the deal, we will do. As to our nation, these are tough times. 2013 is going to be one heck of a challenge. How do you get the revenue and the spending right . The one thing i can tell you about tim, he understands math. If you spend a lot more than you make over a long period of time, youre going to destroy the American Dream. Thats whats at risk here. Jim, help us outside the body save the American Dream. I dont see how young people in the future can do as well as all of us unless we make some changes and we make them now. So were here at a tough time for the country with a terrible tragedy in connecticut. We got our back against the wall financially. The world is more dangerous than anytime i have seen since i have been in government, but i would want to end this optimistic. There is nothing we cant do as a people and a state if we continue to Work Together. Remember were a blessed nation. There is no substitute for American Leadership and when it comes to trying to explain what america is all about, i could not tell a better story than the story tim scott. Tim is what america is all about. [applause] as you can tell, im one proud governor. We are one proud state today. I want to thank everybody here. I know you have questions and we can open it up to anyone here on what you have. Governor with the appointment on the republican effort [inaudible] the one thing that the Republican Party needs to understand is the answer to winning elections is never about the messenger. Its never about what the messenger looks like. It is about the message. And that is what needs to be understood by our party is that the message of what we believe in and letting the market work and the fact that we need to be fiscally conservative, and the fact that you cant continue to raise the debt over and over again and think something is going to fix it. The fact that you have to make sure that youre creating pro business environments. Its the reason that this place and this time, you are seeing South Carolina be successful because of results, not because of what the governor looks like. Youre going to see the u. S. Senate become stronger because of the results of tim scott, not because of what he looks like. So this is not thats why i said he earned this spot. I understand that we made History Today and i am proud that we made History Today. I also believe in the people of South Carolina and the people of this country. As the daughter of indian immigrants that saw early on that you can be anything you want to be and nothing can get in your way, i want to remind everybody that is not the messenger, it will always be the message. Tim scott has the right message. [inaudible] from my perspective, if you get the message right and you market it well, people listen. America is still a center right nation. The fact is that the better we get at marketing our message, the more it will resonate. I think fresh faces and authenticity goes a long way in the political process. You dont have to save the best, but you have to go there. Well go to new places and New Territories and new lands in many ways. This message of conservatism will reach the ends of the nation in a positive way. I look forward in the future to take the message as we have been to the rest of the nation. [inaudible] senator jim or senator lindsay . You. I was thinking senator elect still. Remember this humble moment. [laughter] say that question again . What does it mean to you personally . I think what it means to me personally is that 18 years ago, the citizens of Charleston County gave me the right to represent them based on values and issues. A couple years later, the folks in state house seat 117 gave me the opportunity to represent their issues and values. A few years ago, the First District gave me an opportunity to represent their issues and values. I have never really heard on the campaign trail, beside the fact that youre black or because youre black, here is what we want to do. They have asked me questions about values and issues. That is an amazing thing. It speaks to the evolution of South Carolina and of our nation. It speaks to the heart of the good people in our nation and specifically of our state. I would say this, more importantly than the complexion that i have, i think back to growing up in a singleparent household. I would love to speak to the single moms out there and say dont give up on your kids. It may get tough. It may be challenging. All things are truly possible in this nation. I was speaking with jim cliburn, another part of the family here. I was speaking to him on thursday. What do you think . I dont know what to think. We sat there for a few minutes and just chatted. I will tell you that when it comes to things that are specific to South Carolina, our delegation works incredibly well as a team. Senator scott, you received a lot of support publicly. [inaudible] not if im smart. [inaudible] if you are elected to the senate, is there someone i havent had enough time to think about senator term limits. I do believe in term limits still. I worked in the statehouse. I guaranteed it in the u. S. House. I will certainly have a certain number of terms. If you start in the middle, where do you go from there. I think 12 to 14 years from this point is a good place, a good number, two full terms would be fantastic. I better win the first one or the second one doesnt really matter much. [inaudible] any understanding is january 3. You have some experience in washington. Is there any kind of change . What do you think you can accomplish now that youre a senator . I think the first thing that ill realize is that South Carolina becomes the tire capital of the country. Im glad. I will be putting more miles on my tires going across this state. I have two years to represent the entire state and being reelected in 2014. We work on in the senate the same as in the house. When you look at the problems in our country, they are simply spending problems primarily. We cannot address from Congress Many of the issues and challenges that really affect americans. Thats something that starts at home. The things that we can affect in congress and the congress being the senate is a spending trajectory. Where are we going as a nation . When youre borrowing 42 cents on the dollar to spend it, youre probably on the wrong track. When you have a 16 trillion debt, youre probably on the wrong track. Your entitlement reform is so far removed from the conversation and spending reform is so far removed from the conversation, youre definitively, definitely on the wrong track. If we are going to continue to grow our economy, we have look at pro growth principals and make sure that is what undergirards the undergirds the history of america. Overnight in the first 12 months, you eliminate about 700,000 new jobs. You tack that on top of the regulatory reform, youre talking another 800,000 jobs lost in america. That is 1. 5 million more americans out of work on top of 23 million americans. Thats not the right direction. My direction would start with the conversation of tax reform and spending control. [inaudible] i would think that most americans are members of the tea party principally. We believe in limited government. You believe in lower taxes. You believe in keeping the government out of your pockets. You believe in free markets. Those with the basic tenets of the tea party, i hope we all believe in that. Is that a yes . That would be a decisive yes. [inaudible] look at the scorecard with heritage action, he was a 98 and i was closing in on a 09. There were a couple of votes that separated us. The bank may have been one of the more well known votes. Other than that, im not quite sure where we disagree. I would think philosophically we would be on the same page and we Work Together. I look forward to hearing from the senator as president of the heritage action. Last question. [inaudible] great question. I think if john was here with me, he would say, tim, dont forget its not about going up in life. Its about moving forward. We define that differently. Some see the senate as a move up and i certainly do as well in a way. Im hoping that the message that the good lord has placed in my heart gives it a shot and a leap forward, that well have the opportunity to let the message of real hope and opportunity resonate in places where it hasnt been before. So i hope what john would say to me is celebrate for about 24 hours and get back to work. Thank you all very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2012] the house of representatives is in recess until 6 30 eastern tonight when the house comes back, were expecting a vote on legislation that would allow natural gas pipeline permitting in Glacier National park. Thats live on espn. Off the floor, negotiations continue on avoiding the tax increases an spending cuts scheduled to take effect in january. And on thursday, two congressional hearings, the attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi, libya, at 9 00 they hear from deputy secretary of state William Burns and the deputy of secretary of state for management and resources. They testify again thursday afternoon before the House Foreign Affairs committee at 1 30 p. M. Eastern. Both are live on cspan 3. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton was scheduled to testify but she cancelled after falling in her home and suffering a concussion. If we turn away from the needs of others, we align ourselves with those forces which are bringing about less suffering. The white house is a bully pulpit and you ought to take advantage of it. Obesity in this country is nothing short of a Public Health crisis. I think i just had little antennas that went up and told me when somebody had their own agenda. So much influence in that office. It would be just a shame to waste it. I think they serve as a window on the past to what was going on with american women. She becomes the chief confidant. She is really in the way the only one in the world he can trust. Many of the women who were first ladies, they were writers, a lot of them were writers, journalists. They wrote books. They are in many cases quite frankly more interesting as human beings than their husbands. If only because they are not first and foremost defined and consequently limited by political ambition. Dolly was both socially adept and politically savvy. Dolly madison loved every minute of it. Mrs. Monroe mated it, absolutely hated it. She warned her husband, you couldnt move without including what women want and what women have to contribute. During this statement, you are a little breathless and it was too much looking down and i think it was a little too fast, not enough change of pace. Yes, maam. He is probably the most tragic of all of our first ladies. They never should have married. She later wrote in her memoir that she said, i, myself, never made any decisions. I only decided what was important and when to present it to my husband. Now, you stop and think about how much power that is, its a lot of power. Prior to the battle against cancer is to fight the fear that accompanies the disease. She transformed the way we look at these bugaboos and made it possible for countless people to survive and to flourish as a result. I dont know how many president s realistically have that kind of impact on the way we live our lives. Just Walking Around