releases: http://paulryan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398412
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| http://paulryan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398412 | Speaker Ryan's Remarks to the House of Representatives | 2015-10-29 | 2015 | 2015-10 | Republican | House | WI | Paul Ryan | R000570 | paulryan.house.gov | legacy | Washington, DCHouse Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) delivered the following remarks following his election as the 54th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives: Thank you, Madam Leader. Before I begin, I want to thank the family and friends who flew in from Wisconsin and from all over to be here today. In the gallery, I have my mom, Betty; my sister, Janet; my brothers, Stan and Tobin; and more relatives than I can count. Most important of all, I want to recognize my wife, Janna, and our three kids: Liza, Charlie, and Sam. I also want to thank Speaker Boehner. For almost five years, he led this House. And for nearly 25 years, he served it. Not many people can match his accomplishments: the offices he held, the laws he wrote. But what really sets John apart is hes a man of charactera true class act. He is, without question, the gentleman from Ohio. So please join me in saying, one last time, Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now I know how he felt. Its not till you hold this gavel and stand in this spot and look out and see all 435 members of the Houseas if all of America was sitting right in front of you. Its not till then that you feel it: the weight of responsibility, the gravity of the moment. And standing here, I cannot help but think of something Harry Truman once said. The day after Franklin Roosevelt died and Truman became president, he told a group of reporters: If you ever pray, pray for me now. . . . When they told me yesterday what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me. We all should feel that way. A lot is on our shoulders. So if you ever pray, pray for each other Republicans for Democrats, Democrats for Republicans. And I dont mean pray for a conversion. Pray for a deeper understanding, becausewhen youre up here, you see it so clearlywherever you come from, whatever you believe, we are all in the same boat. I never thought Id be the speaker. But early in my life, I wanted to serve in the House. I thought the place was exhilaratingbecause here, you could make a difference. If you had a good idea and worked hard, you could make it happen. You could improve peoples lives. To me, the House represented the best of America: the boundless opportunity to do good. But lets be frank: The House is broken. We are not solving problems. We are adding to them. And I am not interested in laying blame. We are not settling scores. We are wiping the slate clean. Neither the members nor the people are satisfied with how things are going. We need to make some changes, starting with how the House does business. We need to let every member contributenot once they have earned their stripes, but right now. I come at this job as a two-time committee chair. The committees should retake the lead in drafting all major legislation. If you know the issue, you should write the bill. Open up the process. Let people participate. And they might change their tune. A neglected minority will gum up the works. A respected minority will work in good faith. Instead of trying to stop the majority, they might try to become the majority. In other words, we need to return to regular order. Now, I know that sounds like process. But its actually a matter of principle. We are the body closest to the people. Every two years, we face the votersand sometimes face the music. But we do not echo the people. We represent them. We are supposed to study up and do the homework that they cannot do. So when we do not follow regular orderwhen we rush to pass bills a lot of us do not understandwe are not doing our job. Only a fully functioning House can truly represent the people. And if there were ever a time for us to step up, this would be that time. America does not feel strong anymore because the working people of America do not feel strong anymore. Im talking about the people who mind the store and grow the food and walk the beat and pay the taxes and raise the family. They do not sit in this House. They do not have fancy titles. But they are the people who make this country work, and this House should work for them. Heres the problem. Theyre working hard. Theyre paying a lot. They are trying to do right by their families. And they are going nowhere fast. They never get a raise. They never get a break. But the bills keep piling upand the taxes and the debt. They are working harder than ever to get ahead. Yet they are falling further behind. And they feel robbedcheated of their birthright. They are not asking for any favors. They just want a fair chance. And they are losing faith that they will ever get it. Then they look at Washington, and all they see is chaos. What a relief to them it would be if we finally got our act togetherwhat a weight off their shoulders. How reassuring it would be if we actually fixed the tax code, put patients in charge of their health care, grew our economy, strengthened our military, lifted people out of poverty, and paid down the debt. At this point, nothing could be more inspiring than a job well done. Nothing could stir the heart more than real, concrete results. The cynics will scoff and say its not possible. But you better believe we are going to try. We will not duck the tough issues. We will take them head on. We are going to do all we can so working people get their strength back and people not working get their lives back. No more favors for the few. Opportunity for allthat is our motto. I often talk about the need for a vision. Im not sure I ever said what I meant. We solve problems hereyes. We create a lot of them too. But at bottom, we vindicate a way of life. We show by our work that free people can govern themselves. They can solve their own problems. They can make their own decisions. They can deliberate, collaborate, and get the job done. We show self-government is not only more efficient and more effective; it is more fulfilling. In fact, we show it is that struggle, that hard work, the very achievement itself that makes us free. That is what we do here. And we will not always agreenot all of us, not all of the time. But we should not hide our disagreements. We should embrace them. We have nothing to fear from honest differences honestly stated. If you have ideas, lets hear them. I believe a greater clarity between us can lead to a greater charity among us. And there is every reason to have hope. When the first speaker took the gavel, he looked out at a room of 30 people, representing a nation of 3 million. Today, as I look out at you, we represent a nation of 300 million. So when I hear people say America does not have itwe are done, we are spentI do not believe it. I believe, with every fiber of my being, we can renew the America Idea. Now, our task is to make us all believe. My friends, you have done me a great honor. The people of this country have done all of us a great honor. Now, lets prove ourselves worthy of it. Lets seize the moment. Lets rise to the occasion. And when we are done, let us say we left the peopleall the peoplemore united, happy, and free. Thank you. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |