Newly sworn-in House Speaker Paul Ryan immediately promised members he would work to fix the “broken” House by fostering cooperation and inclusiveness among all members.
Ryan said he and others want to help “improve people’s lives,” but said the House in recent years has failed.
“But let’s be frank: The House is broken,” he said. “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.”
Ryan is promising to unify the frequently divided House Republican conference and help bridge the partisan divide, which he said the public views as “chaos” in Washington.
He pledged to ensure that lawmakers, particularly newly elected conservatives, are not excluded from the legislative process. Ryan was able to win the support of the most conservative House faction by promising to make significant changes to the top-down management style, which he acknowledged in his speech.
“We need to let every member contribute. Not after they earn their stripes, but now,” he said.
“The committees should retake the lead in drafting all major legislation,” he added. “If you know the issue, you should write the bill. Open up the process. Let people participate.”
Ryan, 45, accepted the speaker’s gavel from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and in his inaugural address asked lawmakers of opposing parties to pray for each other.
“I don’t mean pray for a conversion,” Ryan said. “Pray for a deeper understanding, because when you are up here, you see it so clearly. Wherever you come from, whatever you believe, we are all in the same boat.”
Ryan was tapped to run for speaker after serving as chairman of both the House Budget Committee and the Ways and Means Committee.
He brings to the job of speaker an expertise on tax policy and budget issues and is likely to use those skills to set an agenda aimed at improving the lives of ordinary Americans, who he said are suffering under the strain of a weak economy.
“We are going to do all we can do so working people can get their strength back and nonworking people can get their lives back,” Ryan said. “No more favors for the few. Opportunity for all. That is our motto.”
Ryan won the election with 236 votes, a strong showing of support that included some of the most ardent conservative opponents of his predecessor, John Boehner, R-Ohio.
The Republican conference now seems eager to rally behind Ryan for the post-Boehner era. Ryan told lawmakers he is full of optimism, even if others might be skeptical that he can bring more unity to Congress and move a reform agenda.
“I believe with every fiber of my being that we can renew the American idea,” Ryan said. “Our task is to make us all believe.”
