Paul Ryan has been elected speaker of the House of Representatives — following the resignation of John Boehner — at an incredibly important time for the Republican Party, and the country as a whole.
Paul Giot of The Wall Street Journal recently spoke with Rep. Ryan about his plans and vision for the future of the Republican Party and how he hopes to guide the country forward. Ryan is hopefull that in the years to come, they can end the gridlock that has plagued Washington. With a Republican controlled House and a Democratic President, it has been difficult to get anything done without controversy.
The United States is in the midst of a new budget, there is increasing tension over the threat of ISIS, and there is disagreement over the Pacific trade pact.
Paul Ryan wants Congress to offer solutions. He understands that the country deserves a choice and the people of this country should have a say in where the country is going. “We should give them the option, the opportunity, the alternatives,” Ryan stated.
This will begin by taking Republican principles and applying them to the problems of the day, which will “show the country a very coherent and clear vision for how we fix our country’s problems.”
Here are a few of the issues discussed in Paul Ryan’s interview.
The Budget
Ryan contends that the current administration has churned out a number of regulations that are “killing jobs, holding back small businesses, and making it harder for working families to get ahead. He believes that Congress needs to take action to combat this, therefore, a priority in this bill will be to deal with executive agencies.
Refugees and ISIS
Ryan, and others in Congress, have called for a pause in the refugee program with refugees from Syria and Iraq because they are worried about member of ISIS trying to infiltrate the refugee population.
Pacific Trade Pact
As Ryan describes, the reason the trade promotion authority is important is “because we need to be writing the rules of the global economy instead of adversaries or countries like China.” This includes everything from intellectual-property to the rule of law and enforceable contracts. According to Paul Ryan, an effective trade agreement will allow “countries to play by our sets of rules so that we have free enterprise, not crony capitalism but free enterprise, as the way that the global economy works.” Ryan would like to see Congress pass a trade agreement only if it reaches and meets the standards that the United States that they stand for.
Republican Fundamentals
For many years the party has stood for free trade and was even open to legal immigration.
However, the candidates for the presidential nomination have presented a number of new ideas that are a shift away from many of the party’s traditional positions. While some believe that the Republican Party is changing in fundamental ways, Ryan does not agree.
“This is not a new schism that just all of a sudden popped up on the front. So this is a big-tent party. I subscribe to the pro-growth wing of the party, which is basically another way of saying maximize economic growth, upward mobility. And legal immigration is good for this country.”
If you would like to read more of the interview with Ryan, please check out the article here.