September 13, 2018 | Speaker Ryan Press Office | https://spkrryan.us/2x7T3nU
Summary: During the weekly Republican leadership press conference, Speaker Ryan urged support for the first minibus appropriations package, which the House will consider this afternoon. He emphasized the critical House priorities included in the bill, emphasizing the resources it provides to Veterans Affairs and the vital funding it puts toward bolstering national security.
Opening Statement:
“First off, I want to say that we’re thinking of the people in Hurricane Florence’s wake, the people in the Carolinas.
“I know coastal folks don’t need mainlanders telling them how to handle a storm like this, but I would be remiss if I did not tell folks: Please listen to your local officials. Please encourage people to follow all local emergency orders.
“Our thoughts and our prayers are with the people in the path of this hurricane.
“We’re going to keep monitoring this storm, and Congress stands ready to assist the people who will be in these affected areas in any way that we can.
“Now, we’re here because we’re doing some really important things on the floor today.
“This minibus conference report is a national security bill. It is a veterans bill.
“It provides critical funding to rebuild our military infrastructure, it strengthens our electrical grid, and it supports our nuclear weapons programs.
“It puts historic resources behind the reforms that we’ve made to improve health care at the VA.
“That is a critical part of our Better Way agenda that is getting executed and implemented today.
“And—I cannot stress this enough—this represents a return to our most basic responsibility around here: passing appropriations bills.
“Since we are doing this, this is the first time since 2007 that the House and the Senate will send multiple appropriations measures to the president’s desk on time.
“So we are actually seeing a restoration of regular order, which is something that is extremely important to make the House and the Senate work well.
“This is how it should always be done. But it hasn’t been this way for a long time. So it really is a big step in the right direction, and we are going to build on this.
“Lastly, this has been another good week—a great week—for economic news.
“Yesterday, we got news that median household income has increased to a record high.
“This comes on the heels of Friday’s report showing wages had their biggest increases since 2009.
“The bottom line is this: Americans are earning more. Their finances are improving. People are better off.
“This is what matters. We can do a lot of work here in Washington, but what really counts is how these policies improve people’s lives.
“And here we see yet another sign that we are on the right track. That the policies we have put in place in this Congress are indeed improving people’s lives.
“You can learn more about this by going to better.gop.”
