And family. [cheers and applause] congratulations. The gentleman from colonial heights, mr. Cox. Mr. President , i have the honor to present the Lieutenant Governorelect, the honorable ralph northam. [cheers and applause] the gentleman from colonial heights, mr. Cox. Mr. President , on behalf of the inaugural committee, i have the honor to present the governorelect, the honorable terence r. Mcauliffe and family. [cheers and applause] the joint assembly will come to order. God bless america will now be performed by the Virginia State university gospel chorale under the direction of mr. James holden, jr. And under the choreographry of mr. Perry a. Evans ii. While the storm clouds gather far across the sea while the storm clouds gather far across the sea let us swear allegiance to a land thats free let us all be grateful for a land so fair as we raise our voices in a solemn prayer God Bless America, land that i love stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam God Bless America my Home Sweet HomeGod Bless America my Home Sweet Home [all] God Bless America land that i love stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam God Bless America my Home Sweet HomeGod Bless America my Home Sweet Home [cheers and applause] reverend everly ashburn, pastor at friendship that just Church Baptist church. Ok, how about this . Ok, stay right there. Let us pray. Most gracious god our father, we come thanking you for this day you created, and we rejoice in thanking you, lord, for allowing us to be witnesses to this it inaugural ceremony of the 72nd governor elect of virginia, terry mcauliffe, Lieutenant Governor elect, ralph northam, and the attorney general elect. We pray, lord, as we celebrate the swearingin of our elected officials that you will grant to them your divine wisdom as a governorelect terry mcauliffe, other elected officials, and the General Assembly embark on this new journey, lead and guide them as governor elect terry mcauliffe. When they are faced with difficult circumstances, remind them as david did to look to be hills, from which cometh thy help. Help them, lord, to remember you are the source that is dependable. You are the advocate that is understanding. You are the counselor that is wise. We pray, lord, that you would bless and protect our first family dorothy mcauliffe, peter, sally, mary, jack, and dori. Along with the families of all of our elected officials. Lord, we ask your blessings and guidance upon governor elect mcauliffes cabinet, elected and appointed leaders, and the General Assembly that they may work in harmony for the common good of the citizens of this great commonwealth of for genia virginia. As i close this prayer, may the lord less and keep you bless and keep you. May the lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the lord lift up his continence upon thee and give you peace. Amen. Please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and the singing of the National Anthem, the starspangled banner. The pledge of allegiance will be led by United StatesNaval Academy midshipman john f mcauliffe, george r jamison, and collin a. Jefferson. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The National Anthem will now be performed by sophia nader of midlothian. O, say, can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there o, say, does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave [cheers and applause] the joint assembly and guests will please be seated. America the beautiful will now be performed by the world childrens choir falls church under the direction of its artistic director. O beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain for Purple Mountain majesties above the fruited plain America America god shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea o beautiful for pilgrim feet whose stern impassioned stress a thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness America America god mend thine evry flaw confirm thy soul in selfcontrol thy liberty in law o beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life America America may god thy gold refine till all success be nobleness and evry gain divine o beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears America America god shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea [cheers and applause] [applause] [laughter] the oath of office will now be administered to the attorney general by a retired judge for the 25th judicial circuit of virginia. If you would repeat after me. If you would repeat after me. I, mark r herring, do solemnly swear that i will uphold and defend the constitution of the United States of the United States the constitution of the United States and the constitution of virginia and that i will faithfully, impartially discharge the duties incumbent upon me as attorney general of the commonwealth of virginia to the best of my ability, so help me god. Congratulations. [applause] the oath of office will now be administered to the Lieutenant Governor elect by the honorable glenn a tyler, retired judge of the second judicial circuit of virginia. [applause] are you prepared to take the oath . Yes, sir, i am. Would you raise your right hand, placed your left hand on the bible, help held by your wifes hand, acquired by the Virginia Military economy, and repeat after me i, ralph s northam, do solemnly swear that i will uphold the constitution of the United States of america and the constitution of the commonwealth of virginia and that i will faithfully and impartially discharge all of the duties incumbent upon me as Lieutenant Governor of the commonwealth of virginia according to the best of my ability, so help me god. Congratulations. [applause] the oath of office will now be administered to the governor elect, the honorable Terence R Mcauliffe. [applause] by the honorable cynthia kinzer, chief justice of the Supreme Court of virginia. [applause] are you ready to take the oath of office . I am. Raise your right hand and place your left hand on the bible and repeat after me. I, Terence R Mcauliffe, do solemnly swear that i will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the commonwealth of virginia, and that i will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me as the governor of the commonwealth of virginia according to the best of my ability, so help me god. [cheers and applause] [applause] i have the honor [cheers and applause] i have the honor to present to the sovereign people of virginia the new governor of the commonwealth, his excellency, Terence R Mcauliffe terence [cheers and applause] thank you. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, Lieutenant Governor, attorney general, members of the General Assembly, justices of the Supreme Court, guests from across our commonwealth and nation, my fellow virginians, it is humbling and the highest honor of my life to stand before you today. It is humbling because of the responsibility you have given me and because of the history and tradition of where we stand. While makeshift, the Virginia State capitol first came to richmond in 1780 at the urging of Thomas Jefferson during the height of the american revolution. Through the courage and sacrifice of so many who came before us, our commonwealth survived the revolution. Freedom was born. Tyranny was defeated, and a permanent capital was constructed here in richmond. This capital, where i stand today, reminds us not only of the are ability of virginia, but of what virginia overcame not only of the durability of virginia, but of what virginia overcame. We overcame the evils of slavery, civil war, and segregation. Now, what is 200 years later, virginia has grown even stronger. [applause] relative to the nation, we have emerged from the Great Recession with an economy more resilient than many of our sister states. We are a stronger commonwealth because of our leaders wisely investing in superior public schools. We are one of the best states to do business because we have worked together to minimize regulation and to keep taxes low. There is bipartisan consensus in richmond that Higher Education drive longterm innovative growth. And virginia is the National Model for fiscal discipline. Because our leaders decided long ago to put the common good ahead of shortterm politics. [cheers and applause] that is the virginia way. It is a tradition that we should be so proud of, but it is also a tradition that must be sustained through constant work by leaders who choose progress over ideology. Common ground does not move towards us. We move toward it. [cheers and applause] on behalf of all virginians, i want to thank governor Bob Mcdonnell for his leadership during the last four years. [cheers and applause] governor mcdonnell provided for the smoothest transition imaginable, and i am so grateful to him for that. He and the Lieutenant Governor will long be remembered for their leadership on transportation, not just for the policy accomplishments, but for the manner in which it was achieved. It was an approach that built consensus worthy of the virginia way. It is the same approach taken by governor warner to save our aaa bond rating while investing in education, and by governor cain who prudently guided our commonwealth through the recession, but as we celebrate our past, the truth is that we still face serious economic headwinds over the course of the next four years, and, like four years ago, the skeptics are predicting divided government, driven to gridlock bipartisanship. Together, we will prove them wrong again. [cheers and applause] and, virginians, the spirit of service is built into the fabric of our community. We are home to so many of the founders who sacrificed their lives to build a nation based on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and now, today, virginia is home to so many who serve to protect those everlasting rights. Join me in recognizing them and their families. [cheers and applause] i remember growing up hearing stories of sacrifice from my father, who served in world war ii. These are the same stories that virginians hear every single night from their parents and grandparents and from brothers and sisters returning home now. We will honor their sacrifice by ensuring that they have access to the education and health care and Career Opportunities that they deserve. [cheers and applause] our servicemen and women have the Technical Training our innovative industry demands, and they embody that strong sense of teamwork, leadership, and drive that makes them valuable asset to our workforce. That is why we need to make it easier for them to get good jobs when they come back home from serving abroad. Our Community Colleges have and will continue to play a major part in this effort. They are our Workforce Development engine, and over the past year, i am proud to say, i visited each and every Community College in the commonwealth of virginia. [cheers and applause] they are preparing our students for the Jobs Available today and equipping them with the knowledge and skills the emerging industries of tomorrow. With a Community College within 30 miles of every single virginia and virginian, they are key to attracting and keeping the future industries across the commonwealth, but in order to do that, we must work and achieve adequate funding. [cheers and applause] we must also recognize that virginians expect transparency, and we need to make sure that the decisions we are making, we avoid any improper context, and thats why i will sign an executive order later today imposing a strict limit on gifts on myself and the members of my administration. [cheers and applause] i commend the members of the General Assembly from both parties who are making significant steps toward this issue, and i will ask the entire general a simile to enact the strongest possible new ethics rules to hold all virginia elected officials to the highest of standards i will ask the entire General Assembly. While there is fierce debate on health care and washington, d. C. , the choice we face here in virginia is simple like the majority of other states, we need to act on the consensus of the Business Community and Health Care Industry to accept funding that will expand Health Care Coverage and spur Economic Growth and job creation. [cheers and applause] with a Stronger Health care system in virginia as our objective, i will work with the legislature to build on the medicaid reforms that the General Assembly has already achieved and to put virginias on tax dollars to work, keeping families healthy and creating jobs here in the commonwealth. [cheers and applause] finally, the great policy challenge we face is diversifying virginias economy in the face of inevitable federal spending cuts. Mr. Speaker and members of the General Assembly, as we begin this new term together, know that my top priority will be to lay the groundwork for a diverse and growing economy in every single region of the commonwealth. And i know it is your top priority as well. Over the last four years, i have traveled every corner of the commonwealth, and i have met hardworking virginians who are struggling to provide for their families, unable to access to quality education and training that they need to get good paying jobs. They are even worried about just providing healthy meals for their children. When you think about those virginians, you realize that the decisions we make over the next four years will determine whether parents who work hard their entire life will be able to retire with some security, whether those who return home from serving abroad can find work or start their own businesses, or whether children in rural virginia can live, work, and thrive in the community where they were born [cheers and applause] and the legislature and my administration will work to nurture our economy, and we need to remember that our sense of urgency is written by those in virginia who struggle each and every day just to get by and whose dream is simple to give their children the opportunities that they may never have had. My administration will work tirelessly to ensure that those opportunities are equal for all virginias children, no matter if you are a girl or a boy, no matter what part of the commonwealth you live in, no matter your race or your religion, and no matter who you love. [cheers and applause] there is still work to do. We must work to ensure that the children of new immigrants in virginia have equal educational opportunities. We need to ensure that someone cannot lose their jobs simply because they are gay. And we need to ensure that every woman has the right to make her own personal health care choices. [cheers and applause] an open and welcoming state is critical in a 21stcentury economy, but it is also an imperative for justice and fairness, values i learned from jack and millie mcauliffe. My brothers and i were often reminded of the struggles of the less fortunate and our obligation to do something about it. It is that same message that has guided dorothy and me as we have raised our five children in Fairfax County over the last 21 years, and as our children have grown, they have constantly impressed us with their dedication to service and improving the lives of others. It is those values that shaped me as a person and drove my decision to