NOT WASTING TIME GOP lawmakers plan quick approval of Keystone bill
After a Republican wave election that boosted the party's House majority to historic levels and handed them control of the Senate, dozens of new lawmakers are arriving in WashingtonTuesday for the 114th Congress -- including several fresh political faces poised to make waves.
A total of 71 new members, of both parties, arrive in Washington this week. As the new Congress prepares to tackle weighty issues ranging from immigration to the budget to the Keystone pipeline, these freshmen stand to have a big impact on the legislative debate and direction of their respective parties.
"When the American people voted for Republican majorities in November, they really voted for people who are going to go up there and start working again," Thom Tillis, the incoming Republican senator from North Carolina, told Fox News. "Start sending legislation to the president's desk and get the economy back to a sustained recovery versus this limping along that we've been doing for the past several years."
Tillis is one of 13 new senators, all but one of them Republican, being sworn in as the GOP takes a 54-seat majority in the chamber. The lone incoming Democrat is Michigan Rep. Gary Peters.
Among the new House members are incoming Republican Rep. Martha McSally, who after several tries finally wrestled her southern Arizona House seat away from Democrats.
McSally touted her conservative credentials this past weekend, telling Fox News Sunday that her focus will be on creating jobs and securing the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, she also pointed out that her home district is full of non-Republicans whom she also must serve in Congress.
My district is very diverse, said McSally, a retired Air Force colonel and the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat.
I think it does represent America, but 50 percent of the people didn't vote for me," she said, pointing to areas of shared concern. "Democrats [and] business owners can agree that they want to grow their small business. Kids graduating from college want to have job opportunities. So, those are not politically charged issues.
The need to help boost good-paying, full-time jobs has indeed emerged again as a goal for congressional Democrats and Republicans, with leaders from both parties and chambers putting the economy at the top of their agendas.
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NOT WASTING TIME GOP lawmakers plan quick approval of Keystone bill