The 113th Congress will have a record number of female Representatives and Senators, including Cheri Bustos, the first woman elected to represent the 17th Congressional District.
Bustos, a former journalist and health care executive from East Moline, was sworn in Thursday in Washington, surrounded by her husband, sons, mother, father, and other family members, ushering in the 113th Congress.
"My hope is that we'll have a new session of Congress that will be functional. We are coming off the most dysfunctional sessions of Congress in the history of America,'' she said in an interview Thursday afternoon with WQAD-TV.
"My hope is that I'm part of a session of Congress that can get some things done. I can tell you that I have every intention of working across the aisle."
Earlier in the day, the new Congresswoman and her female colleagues gathered for a photo on the Capitol steps.
"To memorialize the history-making status of the fact that we have more women serving in Congress now than we have in history'', she said.
Bustos moved to her rented apartment within walking distance of the Capitol last week, and says she is ready to get down to business.