January 6, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H5 

And I thank my caucus. Thank you, 

Mr. HOYER, Mr. CLYBURN; thank you, 

Mr. LARSON, for your nomination this 

morning. Thank you to the Members of 

the caucus for granting me the historic 

opportunity of breaking the marble 

ceiling and to serve, once again, as the 

first woman Speaker of the House. 

Leader BOEHNER, thank you for your 

generous words and for your commitment to put country ahead of party. 

Without reservation, let us stand together, not just today, but in the days 

ahead to live up to that resolve. 

Few Congresses and few Presidents in 

history have been given the responsibility and the privilege of serving the 

Nation in a time of such profound challenge. We do so renewed and refreshed 

by the new Members who join our 

ranks today. Again, welcome to our 

new Members. 

It is in that spirit that I pledge to 

you—let us all pledge to the American 

people that we will look forward, not 

backward; we will join hands, not point 

fingers; we will rise to the challenge, 

recognizing that our love of country is 

stronger than any issue which may divide us. 

This is the lesson and the legacy of 

the last election: The American people 

demanded a new era of change and accountability. Yes, we have problems as 

grave as our country has faced in generations. But now we enter a new Congress with a new era with a powerful 

sense of hope and pride in our great 

country. 

Two weeks from today, as Mr. 

BOEHNER indicated, on the steps of this 

Capitol, we will inaugurate the 44th 

President of the United States. From 

the inaugural platform, he will walk 

down the long stretch of the National 

Mall and see the steps of the Lincoln 

Memorial from which Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., called us to the deepest 

truth of our founding dream. 

When Barack Obama raises his right 

hand and takes the oath of office, we 

will know—and the world will witness—how far America has come. We 

will celebrate that moment, but recognize it as only a beginning. 

Together, with our new President, 

we, as a Congress and a country, must 

fulfill the rest of America’s promise. 

All of that promise will not be redeemed quickly or easily, but it must 

be pursued urgently with spirited debate and without partisan deadlock or 

delay. 

Hardworking and still hopeful Americans who are losing their jobs, their 

businesses, their retirement savings, 

their homes that are facing foreclosure, cannot wait any longer for us 

to move from the depths of a recession 

to the solid ground of an honest and 

fair prosperity for the many, not just 

the few. 

We need action, and we need action 

now. 

Families and children without health 

care, and millions more who fear losing 

coverage or who are facing rising costs, 

cannot afford to wait any longer. 

We need action, and we need action 

now. 

States facing financial crises, which 

are threatening the education and the 

health of our children, the well-being 

of our seniors, and the public safety of 

our communities, cannot afford to wait 

any longer. 

We need action, and we need action 

now. 

Our country is challenged by the climate crisis, by the need for energy security, and the need for 21st-century 

infrastructure. On all of these issues 

and many more, we cannot afford to 

wait. 

Our Nation needs action, and we need 

action now. 

America’s crises at home are 

matched by conflicts abroad—a terrorist threat that could strike there or 

here. We cannot afford to wait to renew 

our alliances, our leadership, and our 

respect in the world. We cannot afford 

to wait to deploy the power of our 

ideals. For the sake of our security, for 

the courageous Americans who serve 

on the front lines, and for our veterans 

who have bravely served our country, 

we cannot afford to wait to modernize 

and rebuild our military. 

Every chance we get we must express 

our appreciation to our heroic men and 

women in uniform and their families 

for their service and their sacrifice to 

our country. 

Let us show America and the world 

that we are equal to every test of a turbulent and unprecedented time. Let us 

listen to each other. Let us respect 

every voice and every view, and then 

together, let us act. 

b 1415 

As we in Congress pledge to reach 

across the aisle, we recognize that history will measure this decisive moment not just by what we do here in 

Washington, but how we reflect and respect how all Americans work together 

for the common good to strengthen 

America’s future and faith in itself. 

As we take the oath of office today, 

we accept a level of responsibility as 

daunting and demanding as any that 

previous generations of leadership have 

faced. With the help of God, the light of 

our values, the strength of the American people, and the hopes that we have 

for our children and their future, God 

will bless us so that America will continue to be as our Founders predicted 

more than 200 years ago, ‘‘a rising not 

a setting sun.’’ 

Today, Cardinal McCarrick honored 

us by asking God’s blessing on our 

work. May God bless our work, and 

may God continue to bless America. 

Thank you all. 

I am now ready to take the oath of 

office as Speaker. Before I call the 

Dean of the Congress forward, I want to 

invite my grandchildren and any other 

children in the Congress—they’ve 

asked me can we come up again this 

year. They certainly can. 

Now, it is my privilege to ask the 

Dean of the House of Representatives, 

the Honorable JOHN DINGELL of Michigan, to administer the oath of office. 

Mr. DINGELL then administered the 

oath of office to Ms. PELOSI of California, as follows: 

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 allegiance to the 

same; that 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 on which you are about to 

enter, so help you God. 

(Applause, the Members rising.) 

Mr. DINGELL. Congratulations, 

Madam Speaker. 

The SPEAKER. I want to thank the 

children for joining me at the podium 

so that, as we called the House to order 

earlier today, it will be clear that the 

House will be called to order for all of 

America’s children. And now I am 

going to administer the oath of office 

to your parents. You are welcome to 

stay here, or you may wish to join your 

parents as they take the oath of office. 

f 

SWEARING IN OF MEMBERS 

The SPEAKER. According to precedent, the Chair will swear in the Members-elect en masse. 

The Members-elect and Delegateselect and the Resident Commissionerelect rose, and the Speaker administered the oath of office to them as follows: 

Do you solemnly swear or affirm 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 allegiance 

to the same; that 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 on which 

you are about to enter, so help you 

God. 

The SPEAKER. Congratulations. You 

are now Members of the 111th Congress. 

f 

MAJORITY LEADER 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam 

Speaker, as chairman of the Democratic Caucus, I have been directed to 

report to the House that the Democratic Members have selected as majority leader the gentleman from Maryland, master of the procedures of this 

floor, the Honorable S

f 

TENY H. HOYER. 

MINORITY LEADER 

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, as 

chairman of the Republican Conference, I am directed by that conference to notify the House of Representatives officially that the Republican Members have selected as minority leader the gentleman from Ohio, 

the Honorable JOHN A. BOEHNER. 


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