Recently installed House Speaker Paul Ryan Monday said he plans to address broad issues of liberty, families and poverty at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference sponsored by the American Conservative Union.
Ryan will speak Thursday March 3 in a Q&A format that was a hit at last year’s confab, also held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center just outside Washington.
In a statement, the Wisconsin Republican said, “I’m honored to join the American Conservative Union (ACU) at CPAC this year. The ACU has long played a critical role in advancing the conservative movement and they stand proudly with those of us who believe in our founding principles: liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self-determination, and government by consent.”
Ryan is expected to address his poverty and family agenda during the session, and touched on that in his statement. “Once again the ACU is challenging the status quo, this time to strengthen families and expand opportunity for all Americans. As conservatives, we have to have an answer on how to do this and so I look forward to joining you at CPAC to talk about restoring upward mobility and restoring the American idea,” he said.
Ryan, sometimes the target of hard-line conservatives, has close ties to ACU and its leaders, Chairman Matt Schlapp and Executive Director Dan Schneider.
Schlapp said, “Paul [Ryan], Dan Schneider, and I worked together as congressional staffers, and Dan and I know his strong conservative convictions. We are proud of his leadership on government spending and tax simplifications and we are pleased that he wants to level his talents to help ACU and CPAC.”
The March 2-5 CPAC, expected to draw another record crowd, opens with advocacy training on Wednesday then shifts to policy on Thursday when Ryan speaks. Several presidential candidates, including Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, are scheduled to speak Friday and the conference ends Saturday with an NRA town hall on guns and the annual presidential straw poll of conservatives.
The theme, “Our Time is Now,” comes from a line taken from a 1981 speech at CPAC by former President Ronald Reagan.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
