Paul Ryan Outlines His Goals
In a speech on Thursday at the
Library of Congress, Speaker Paul D. Ryan spelled out the ideas and
results he wanted to see from Congress during his tenure.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on Publish Date December 3, 2015.
Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press.
Watch in Times Video »
WASHINGTON — Speaker Paul D. Ryan
of Wisconsin drew a striking contrast between Republicans and Democrats
on Thursday and vowed to pursue legislation that would frame a stark
choice for voters in 2016.
“Our
No. 1 goal for the next year is to put together a complete alternative
to the left’s agenda,” Mr. Ryan said, speaking in the Great Hall at the
Library of Congress, a setting designed to highlight the importance he
placed on the speech. “Only government that sends power back to the
people can make America confident again.”
With
the speech’s sweeping oratory and careful stagecraft, it was clear Mr.
Ryan was aiming to step decisively into the role of the Republican
Party’s leader in Washington, and to set himself apart not just
ideologically from Democrats but also in tone and substance from some of
the recent coarse language of his own party’s presidential candidates.
But
while Mr. Ryan is now the senior Republican in government — second in
presidential succession only to the vice president — he has yet to
demonstrate that rank-and-file lawmakers will follow his lead, let alone
candidates like Donald J. Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, whose campaigns
are rooted in anti-establishment sentiment.
Paul Ryan Discusses Trade Agreements
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on Publish Date December 3, 2015.
Photo by Zach Gibson/The New York Times.
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And
while he presented himself Thursday as a man of serious ideas, Mr. Ryan
made no pretense of cooperating with President Obama, saying that he
would push proposals aimed at molding a government to his conservative
vision, even if the White House was opposed.
Standing
before a backdrop of two American flags, Mr. Ryan said: “And we House
Republicans will do all we can to give us that government — even if the
president disagrees. Even if he won’t sign them into law, we will put
out specific proposals and give the people a real choice.”
“And
I don’t mean just undo what the president has done, as if we could
time-travel back to 2009,” Mr. Ryan continued. “I mean show what we
would do, what our ideal policy would be — looking forward to 2017 and
beyond.”
Though
he offered few specifics, Mr. Ryan, in his address, laid out plans to
pursue a sweeping overhaul of the tax code — one of his goals for years,
including his time as chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means
Committee.
He
also said that he would lead Republican efforts to develop trade
agreements that would benefit American manufacturers, and to strengthen
the military, particularly given the rising threat from the Islamic
State.
Still,
even as Mr. Ryan was promising a forward-looking agenda, the Senate
approved a budget reconciliation bill that would repeal Mr. Obama’s
landmark health care law
— a goal that Republicans have pursued since the law was enacted in
March 2010. The reconciliation measure faces a certain veto when it
arrives at the White House.
Despite
the highly partisan tenor of his remarks, Mr. Ryan has enjoyed some
initial legislative successes, including the passage of a five-year
highway bill, a major reauthorization of federal education laws, and a
proposal to tighten screening of Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
A
bigger test now looms in negotiations over an omnibus spending measure,
which must be adopted before a Dec. 11 deadline to prevent a government
shutdown.
While
it seems unlikely that Mr. Ryan would want to disrupt his early
momentum by risking a politically disastrous shutdown before Christmas,
the negotiations over the bill have become ensnared in recent days by
Republican demands to attach dozens of policy amendments that are
opposed by the administration.
Longer
term, it remains unclear to what extent the speaker will be able to
enforce party discipline at a time when the leading Republican
presidential contenders are essentially running against Washington.
Mr.
Ryan’s sharp criticism of Mr. Obama on Thursday seemed unlikely to
promote bipartisan partnership in the months ahead, particularly with
the increasing focus on next year’s elections.
“I
don’t think all that many people are walking away from this presidency
thinking, ‘That went well,’ ” Mr. Ryan said, drawing laughter from a
largely supportive audience that included fellow Republican lawmakers.
“We
still have enormous problems. But now the country is divided,” Mr. Ryan
said. “And the federal government has grown arrogant, condescending and
outright paternalistic. So I’d say what we’ve seen these past seven
years is the illusion of success.”
Mr.
Ryan, who was the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee, emerged
this fall as the establishment choice for speaker after rebel
rank-and-file lawmakers succeeded in ousting his predecessor, John A.
Boehner. He also infused his remarks on Thursday with some Tea Party-style populism.
“Government
is always a step behind,” Mr. Ryan said. “So, oddly enough, it is the
progressives who are stuck in the past. And this is the one thing they
miss: More bureaucracy means less opportunity — I’ll tell you why,
because big government and big business don’t fight each other so much
as feed each other.”
Mr.
Ryan’s speech, however, was designed less to lay out specific policy
proposals than to chart a flight path for House Republicans for the
remainder of Mr. Obama’s presidency.
To that end, he described his own conservative ideals.
“We
are not here to be someone but to do something — to serve our country,”
Mr. Ryan said. “We believe in the American idea: The condition of your
birth should not determine the outcome of your life. And we want to do
our part to pass on that idea to the next generation. We do not see
politics as a popularity contest. To us, it is a calling. We do not care
for the tricks of the trade. What we love are ideas.”
He
added: “We want all Americans, when they look at Washington, to see
spending going down, taxes going down, debt going down. We want to see
progress and have pride. We want people to believe in the future again.”
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