the democrats. anyone else? any other questions? >> do you think i should do that? do you think i should do that, chuck? watch your one-sided reporting. do you think i should do that? chuck, seriously, do you think i should just signed? no, tell me. john, should i just signed? >> you would do that if you were in my position? >> i am not in a position like that. i am asking you. >> i am asking you if you are in my position. if you would do that you should never be in my position because you would never get anything done. thank you, everybody. >> thank you. >> live coverage as the newly elected hispanic members of congress participate in the

national hispanic cost -- baucus , house speaker nancy pelosi and senator charles schumer are expected to take part and you will watch the exclusive coverage with the congressional hispanic caucus right now here on beta18. >> i have to turn my tv down. -- cspan4 - cspan3 . >> they keep coming. there are so many of them right now. look at this. [ applause ] . >> how are you doing?

okay, stay standing, if you would please for the presentation by the u. s. military district of washington.

now, we on our nation. oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.

o say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? [ applause ]. are thanks again to the u. s.

military army of washington. [ applause ] you can take a seat. >> now, it is my honor to introduce the president and ceo, she joined chci year ago. here is domenika lynch. please give her all warm welcome. [ applause ]. >> on behalf of of the congressional hispanic caucus swearing-in ceremonly we welcome a new generation of latino leaders on capitol hill. [ applause ]. two years ago when we introduced the new members of the 11 5 congress i

was so honored the group, most ever thinking history, in our nation's history, testaments to the power of the latino community and the power of our oh. i get to say the same thing again, the 116th congress, the largest number of hispanic members of congress in our nations history. >> [ applause ] >> this incoming class represents class made by latino americans in congress there are 42 of latino members and congress. up from 32 that we had with the last legislative session, this class we have the first latino assistant democratic leader. the two, sylvia garcia.

the first ecuadorian, debbie powell the representative with the first latino member of congress representing upstate new york, and the youngest member elected to congress in our nations history, alexandra cortez. we celebrate the largest number of women, it is the year of the woman. we have two native americans congressional women's and two muslim congressional women.

it is important to celebrate how far we have come, it is worth remembering the roots of our rose. the reason why we are here, tonight. 42 years ago, five visionary leaders of our latino community came together to create the congressional hispanic caucus to have a voice so we latinos will be represented at the federal level. we would not be here if it wasn't for their vision and their foresight. let's honor them. congress member congress member from puerto rico, henry gonzales, let's give them a round of applause. their vision and leadership signed today, it is because of

their dedication to uplifting our community and the foresight to create that pipeline of latino leaders that we are here celebrating this historic moment and celebrating their legacy to the work of chci. today, i am proud to share with you that we have 3800 chci alumni , that have gone through our leadership program. we celebrated 20 years of the alumni celebration of chci and we are proud to boast that 50% is made up of chci alumni. [ applause ]. i stand here this evening with my last swearing in ceremony i cannot help but just be sewing this make just to be -- just to be so inspired to be here. as i leave inside the beltway

and returned to los angeles in civilian life i feel great comfort that the latino village here in dc is getting stronger. we have celebrated latino staff and more latinos rising up the way. let's give our community a round of applause. in these moments it is important to remember those who take the mission at chci personally and by example. i want to recognize leaders we lost last year. congressman ed pastore from arizona he was a chci 1995 to 1996, his leadership was felt

by many of us. if we can collis take a moment of silence to remember him. think you. we are in the midst of trying times. our nations place in the world and the latino community , of the nation is an front we will persevere because it is what we have done as americans. the america that we all love is a nation of immigrants, strivers and believers and safe keepers of the american dream. tonight, we celebrate these outstanding elected leaders but we celebrate each other with our constitutional right. i will quote something that resonates and i think it is appropriate in this moment. we, the people, told the government what to do. it doesn't tell us. we the people are the driver and the government is the car

and we decide where to go and which route and how fast. and almost all the worlds constitutions are documents that tell the world with the privileges are our constitution is a document that we, the people, tell the government what it is allowed to do, we the people are free those were the words of the late president ronald reagan. i think we feel it so deeply. we, the people, congratulate you, latino members of the 116th congress may your victories be the best and the best of all americans. now, i would like to take a moment to think mission partners of chci to make this event possible. thank you to our cohost, bank of america, target, thank you for your commitment and with investing in our future leaders, i want to take a

moment to recognize the 25, i will not put you through that, i want to share the screen and you will have a list of all the generous individuals and companies that support the chci mission. it is supposed to come soon. thank you so much. >> [ applause ] finally, i want to recognize our outgoing chair who will be cheering the congressional hispanic caucus in the 116th congress , the last two years would not have been possible without his steadfast mission and without his support i would not have been able to -- done the work, it is so meaningful for me and for the chci staff and all of you. your legacy here at chci has

been reflected with the successes of our young leaders and your leadership has allowed the institution to flourish. i am so proud and so thankful thank you so much congressman castro. , joaquin castro. >> thank you, good evening, first, i want to say that all of us should give a moment of gratitude she has done in incredible job, to domenika lynch. thank you, domenika lynch. she is with us until march. thank you for taking the time to join us, this evening. this is a exciting time in the united states congress in particular for the chci and the latino community, 39 members

of congress, the most that we have ever had. and, i want to make a little bit of a prediction for you, that when we do this again in two years, we will crack 40, next time. >> [ applause ]. >> for over 40 years chci has brought the most talented, brightest young people latino people to washington to help them be part of the government of the united states government it has been an effort to make sure that the capital in watch it looks more like the face of america. that the diversity of this country is represented in the halls of canada, longworth, rayburn, and in the capital itself. more and more we are succeeding at that. you see more chief of staff or legislative directors or members of congress who are

latino and latina. and around the country not just the big states like new york, and texas, where the latino community flourishes. but also other places that we never thought would have latino community . georgia, south carolina and many other wonderful places. that is something that we could all be proud of. also, a big congratulations to all the members of congress, some of them, of course, returning but others are new who joined us at an important time in our nations history. the work that we will do over the next two years will be critical to the country into our community. there is no secret that the last two years that the latino community has been a target of a lot of miss communication and slander. i want to thank each and everyone of you who've stood up and major way to this office standing up against that miss

information about our community, for telling the truth about a community that is sincere, hard-working, authentic, that is fundamentally part of the country, and most of all, not going anywhere. thank you. >> [ applause ]. i am also excited in a second he will come up here after the -- after the judge swears him on. it used to be that the chair of the congressional hispanic caucus was the chair of chci, a few years ago those in chc, we would separate them out, the vice chair of chc -- chc would become the vice chair for chci. michelle lujan grisham the chair of the chc and vice chair

for chci, we will have marine, a congressman from arizona from the phoenix area who i know will do a great job, ruben gallego . i will pass off the gavel to him in a second. >> thank you, chairman. we have some important guests waiting in the wings. and before that we will get to official business. judge lopez is a chci fellowship alumni. with the superior court 2012, you can come up your. she has the important next job she currently serves in the family court here in dc. >> [ applause ] ? before being

swearing in, a bilingual attorney for the domestic violence leader of the court and she joins us to swear in members of the chci. >> good evening, everyone as a proud chci alum i am proud to be here to swear in the 116th congress members of congress . please raise your right hand. repeat after me. i solemnly doswear affirm that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that i 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 i will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which i am about to enter, so help me god. >> congratulations and welcome to the 116th congress. >> [ applause ] >> thank you, judge. >> yes.

>> now for the 2019, 2020 offices of the congressional hispanic caucus, joaquin castro, of texas, ruben gallego , chc representative freshman representative, veronica escobar , raise your right hand and repeat after me. >>i solemnly swear affirm that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that i 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 i will well and faithfully

discharge the duties of the office on which i am about to enter, so help me god. congratulations, ladies and gentlemen, please join me with recognizing the leaders of the congressional hispanic caucus. i want to welcome the outgoing, joaquin castro .? all right, it is my honor now to turn over the responsibility of chci to a great friend and great congressman, a marine from arizona and it is ruben gallego . >> first again i would like to say thanks to joaquin castro

for the leadership that he has shown in the last years and it started with linda sanchez and other people before her and we are standing on the shoulders of great men and women i am a marine so i usually cut to the chase. let's get to some when you want to hear from. this is our first guest speaker this regard -- this is our first guest speaker, i would like to give a warm welcome to house speaker nancy pelosi . >> hello, guys. thank you, very much mr. chairman, i was interested with, former chair, now chair of the caucus, i was referring to him as a congressman from arizona and a marine and a father of,

michael. where did he go? a father avenue -- of father of michael. following a boy around the capital isn't that what this family is all about? family values. thank you for the opportunity to see a few words, congratulations to this spectacular and largest ever congressional hispanic caucus and congratulations to the new leadership , good luck to you and i look forward to working with you. it is standing room only, last year, some were packed with joining the spark of the swearing in as the congressional hispanic caucus it is something very special about it. the leadership and at this time we have an assistant speaker the house, in the mix. beta29. thank you for your

leadership, ruben gallego . veronica escobar out the new members, to welcome them and say how important it is that they are going to be serving with three chairs of the congress. juan vargas and congresswoman, her father was a cochair, cofounder and she is in appropriations of homeland security. it is exciting that texas is sending not one but two latinos to congress. veronica escobar i mentioned

the founder, not only of the congressional hispanic caucus but a founder of so many things in california. important with the farmworkers, and the rest, that is what you are all about. family, it is about community, it is about faith. it is about making america more american with more latino coming to our country. when i look at joaquin castro i think of his mother, rose, and his grandmother coming to this country and how proud they must be. they must be of the castro brothers and we are of our chairman of the chc. it reminds me of the president that i've quoted most in this

political campaign, it would surprise you to know it was ronald reagan. ronald reagan. ronald reagan said this is the last speech i will ever make as president of the united states. i want to deliver a message to the country that i love. talking about the statue of liberty and what it meant to people coming to our country and people looking at it what it means. and with the beacon of hope and indication to come here from wherever people came from, california, we see angel island as our ellis island, and all over the country, all over the world, people coming to our country, he goes on to say, he talks about the statue of liberty, with the force of preeminent in the world, every generation of immigrants that come to our the country. when america fails, failing to recognize that, america will

fail to be preeminent in the world. ronald reagan. i keep telling that to the president and i am sure itzhak -- sunk in. i actually said in my speech, and i look to the republicans and i say, you do not apply to ronald reagan? in any event george w. bush, ronald reagan, barack obama, all presidents of this modern time recognize, as i said before, that our newcomers with their hope, optimism, determination and making the future better for all the newcomers weather of few hundred years ago for your family or couple years ago or if you months ago. and they all make america all-

american. that is why we have to live up to the promise of that american dream. the family of joaquin castro is the story of the american dream. probably every family here is a story of the american dream. we have to make that dream come true for so many families. i look forward to working with the caucuses, not only with inspiration but as an intellectual resource and a message of resource to us to make sure that the public knows, what is at stay, right now, what is at steak is the fate of our dreamers. and that is high-priority. >> [ applause ] >> so, i know we have some series celebrating to do to celebrate the new members, and re-celebrating the returning members, but i wanted to thank all of you for making this invigoration of the congress so possible by your support by

everyone that we see before us here. it is pretty exciting. it will get more so, thank you, all. congratulations, good luck to you in your work. good luck to all of you who made this possible. thank you so much. >> [ applause ] >> deke you so much for joining us. >> thank you speaker pelosi. i want to introduce our second guest speaker, senator chuck schumer, he is the youngest member elected to the new york state assembly then theodore roosevelt. he was a congressman at 29

years old representing new york's ninth district he has been a champion for the latino community and he works on important issues with our community. he make sure's that our loved ones have coverage for pre- existing conditions. without his hard work and leadership the senate would not have been able to pass the bipartisan see our april, he is leading the fight to protect dreamers and allow them to live their american dream without fear of deportation. please join me in welcoming senator chuck schumer. >> [ applause ] ? thank you, everybody. thank you very much. we have quite of few days.

it is great to be here. i will talk a little bit more about, i'm sure, speaker pelosi it's nice to day -- nice to say speaker then leader. we sat through the temper trench room if you hours ago -- temper tantrum if you hours ago. it is nice to be here with joaquin castro and also domenika lynch you are great leaders i want to thank members of chc, you are part of the largest group of hispanics elected into the congress. i know this personally, as many of the members here no you hold our feet to the fire. that is a very important job to do, i want to acknowledge one

day, maybe in our dreams, the senate hispanic caucus will be as large as the senate house of hispanic caucus, right now, we have senator menendez who is our raking member on farm relations. you call it foreign affairs we call it foreign relations. those who know it know why i should not say at. our new head of the democratic campaign committee, the great katherine cortez castro. i want to honor our five new yorkers, who are in the caucus, i got to the new york state assembly at 23 years old with cement that has been my dear

friend for decades, i look older he looks the same, my dear friend from my neighboring borough of brooklyn house speaker nancy pelosi eight . someone -- house speaker nancy pelosi eight s nydia velazquez . you know who knocked on doors for me? you tell them, adriano, but our great writer, author, in hamilton, one rivero and two

new great members we expect amazing things from two new members, antonio delgado, is he here? i will go to his swearing in, in the hudson valley on saturday if you see him tell him i am coming. i didn't tell him yet but i cleared my schedule. and our new dynamo from queens, alexandria ocasio-cortez. >> [ applause ] >> i want to thank all of you for all the great work you have done in so many different areas and we will make progress because we did win the election. we will do great things for the hispanic community for working families, middle-class families. the halls of power for far too

long have been walk by men and women that did not represent the country that they serve. in 19 -- 1789 we praised the constitution but you know who could vote, white, male protestant property owners. raise your hand in this audience if you could vote. there are five or six. that is how the country was for far too long. now, of course, we are getting more, and more to look like the america we love. the record number of people here on this platform, it is testament to that, it makes me proud, proud to be in american because i love immigrants. i am proud of the nickname that the resident must -- that the

president gave me cry in chuck schumer. i was on stage, my sunday press conference with a group of muslim immigrants. the stories got to meet a beautiful mother with children, a man, a young man who did risk is life in afghanistan. anyway, i started to get teary and trump said, that is crying chuck schumer those are fake tears i know he is not a choir but i am. i have cried almost at everything when i took my daughters to see, free willy. when free willy escaped over the wall i started to cry and my daughters, ran out of the theater because they were so embarrassed. but i am proud to work hard and

care and have real sympathy for our immigrant communities and i will continue to fight for them. actually, my middle name is, ellis, for ellis island and my daughter's middle name is emma and that is from the poet that wrote the poem on the statue of liberty. i care a lot about immigrants and we will keep making the fight until america knows, we know how great immigrants are for america. i said it last night in the speech, that nancy and i made, the great speech. did you see what they showed of us? here is my pitchfork.

after a time at the white house, you know, who knows? but i said there, i believe that the symbol of america should continue to be the statue of liberty not some 30 foot wall. that is what america is. >> [ applause ] >> we will continue to make that fight. two other points and i will get off of the stage here. i wanted to thank chci for the great work that you do with bringing in interns, veronica durand is the best health and education legislative assistant on the whole. she started out as a chci

fellow. in what year? >> 2008 when i was a young man. two other staff assistance came as chci follows, he moved up, lorenzo olivera who is with the center initiative. your program is great. it does something that i truly believe that our staff has to look more like america too. i instituted when i became leader this was the world, and the senate focused on, the program was set up by the owner of the pittsburgh steelers. what it says, any top job, the top of, the top three people

you interview one has to be a person of color, it has done remarkable things in the senate. it has opened doors and the talent the people became and it has benefited my office, amazingly and so many others. the other thing that we did, it wasn't just verbal we actually, do every year, a survey, we actually see the percentage of people of color, black, hispanic, islanders who are on each staff which helps everybody reach a little higher, each year because people want to be that way. it has worked very well. and you, in the chci has helped us achieve that goal and we have greater goals to achieve. so i think you for that, as well. in conclusion i tell you, these are difficult times. we have never seen a president like this. unfortunately. but the fact that you are all

here. the fact that there are so many people including some new bright stars on this platform, give me true faith and even confidence that we will take america back and we will get america to start once again living up to the ideals that we all believe in. thank you, have a great evening. >> thank you so much. >> [ applause ]. >> again, i want to thank all my colleagues to join me this evening. others had to go to previous events. i'm grateful to work with all of you. we will move our community and nation forward. with the congressional hispanic caucus it is an enormous

privilege and an opportunity, one that i thought i would never have, i am the proud son of a working immigrant. and a hard-working immigrant mother who struggled to raise four kids on her own. our family never had enough money, my mother gave us all she had to make to make sure that her kids had an education and in opportunities to succeed in this country. it is things to her and the two of us, her and the two of us in the family went to harvard and earned scholarships and my sister went on to become a doctor. i am excited to serve as a chair of chci and follow in the footsteps of joaquin castro and the great chairs that were before us. i want to serve as many young people as possible in continue the growth of chci like my sisters, and kids like us had

every opportunity to succeed, we have to give them a door of opportunity to get in. chci has been that door and it will be that door we will increase more visibility to bring the program to them. week right opportunities for young people to grow and flourish in the nation's capital and beyond building future latino leaders and allow them to explore and expand their horizons. it is emerging talent that will lead business, businesses, they will lead government agencies, nonprofits and other industries. all well, with the workforce of our country. to all my colleagues here, chci has nurtured thousands of

leaders things to the commitment and dedication to the members of congress who are engaged in present with carrying out this critical mission. i ask you to renew your commitment, remain involved. speak at the ready to leave organizations and continue to give back to the next generation that they are our future we know they are and let's make it happen. thank you. >> who is the guess that you have with you, joaquin sanchez. >>, that's walking. i just have one question . >> who is a chci alumni ?

>> who here is a current congressional staffer? >>, who are congressional staffers and latino, raise your hand. [ applause ] back how many of you, making sure the black and brown people are being promoted through the ranks of the congressional staff. [ applause ] >> some of them are very good sources but i would think that

the advancement of latino political power extends to the staffing as well and we see how well you do in hiring and promoting. thank you for being here. my name is ed o'keefe, you can find me on cbs. check your local listings. thanks to all of you and thanks to chci and the work you continue to do. have a great night everyone. [ applause ]

texas tech nine new members to congress in the 2018 elections including four democrats. : l red now represents the state 32nd district as a former linebacker for the tennessee titans. he left the nfl for law school after which he worked as an attorney in the obama administration's department of housing and urban development.

earlier in her career, congresswoman escobar taught english at the university of texas at el paso as well as chicano literature at the county community college. she is one of the first latina congresswomen elected by texas voters. the other is sylvia garcia now represents the 29th district. she previously served in the state senate before that she held a number of elected and appointed positions including terms on the harris county commission and is used in city controller. finally voters from the seventh district sent lindsay fletcher to the house, this is the first time the seventh has elected a democrat since it was constituted in 1967 on the west side of houston. the first member to hold the seat was future president george hw bush. a new congress new leaders, watch it all on c-span . 90 members of congress were

elected during the midterms and five were republicans. a former navy seal who lost an eye to an aed in afghanistan was born in scotland and spent some childhood time in south america where his father worked in the oil industry. voters in the fifth district elected lance goodman who also served in the state legislature as an insurance broker for energy companies prior to the election. trip roy is a former u.s. senate staffer and as the firth chief of staff for said senator ted cruz. he worked for rick perry, ghostwriting a book for the governor. mr. roy has also been a federal prosecutor. taylor now represents the third district and was previously a member of the texas state legislature serving terms in the state house and the senate, before his political career, taylor saw combat in iraq as a member of the u.s. marine corps . and, in the sixth