Speaker Ryan Talks Hurricane Relief, Appropriations Bills during Leadership Presser

Press Release

Today at a press conference with Republican leaders, Speaker Ryan discussed the 12 Appropriations bills the House will vote on this week--a package full of conservative wins.

He also discussed the House's ongoing efforts to provide relief to those suffering due to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Natural Disaster Relief

"First, I want to also talk about Hurricane Irma. Our hearts go out to the people who have lost family members. People are in the midst of responding right now. A lot of people haven't even gotten back to their homes to see what the status is. So, there are millions of people who are still without power, and there are millions of people who are still finding out what's happening in their communities.

"If the anniversary of 9/11 and the human response to Hurricane Harvey have reminded us of anything, it is that--no matter the tragedy--our country's a resilient country. Americans are resilient. Americans pitch in and help each other. And so I think what we're witnessing, just this week, whether it's Harvey, or Irma, or the anniversary of 9/11, is that we pitch in together and help one another. And that is on display in Texas, in Georgia, in Florida, and all across this country. And I think it's just important that we take a little pause and see and recognize that, so that we can nurture, preserve, and extend that, and teach it to our kids. We're compassionate people, and we rise up to help each other.

"Now, we're going to continue to support Florida, Texas, and other states affected by these natural disasters. And obviously, we've got a ways to go to understand the full extent of this and we're waiting to hear from OMB as to what needs will be needed as time goes on.

12 Appropriations Bills

"This week--I want to echo what the majority leader said--this week, the House is going to vote on all of the Appropriations bills. This week the House is going to vote on all of the Appropriations bills before the fiscal year deadline. To people who don't pay attention to this process, that sounds like a normal, no big deal thing. It hadn't been done in a long time. So the House of Representatives is doing its work. The House of Representatives is doing its job. And the House of Representatives is bringing all of its appropriations bills on budget, on time. And that is a historic achievement. And I want to thank the Appropriations Committee for doing this, for [getting] that done.

"We are fully funding the president's request to build a wall along our southern border. We're beefing up our enforcement against illegal immigration. It's a huge victory for so many different conservative priorities. The legislation includes strong protections for life. It rolls back regulations and eliminates dozens of government programs that are outdated and dysfunctional. This bill secures our national defense, it protects our citizens here at home. It gives our servicemembers a much-[deserved] and much-earned pay raise.

"When I became speaker, I made a commitment to regular order, to working with both sides of the aisle, to spend taxpayer dollars the right way, and to go through regular order--and that's exactly what we are doing. Each one of these bills went through subcommittee, went through full committee, is now on the floor, and went through hundreds of amendments. I want to thank Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen and his entire committee for their fantastic work on this.

"Next up, we need the Senate and the Senate Democrats to work with us to get these Appropriations bills passed and put them on the president's desk."

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