[ applause ] my dear colleagues of the 114th congress of the United States, today, as every day, we come to this floor, strength and inspired by the support of our colleagues, the trust of our constituents and the love of our families. My special thanks to my husband paul, our five children, nine grandchildren and entire pelosi families for their support. My deep gratitude to the people of San Francisco for the continued honor they give me to represent them here. And my heartfelt thanks to my democratic colleagues for extending to me the honor of being nominated to be speaker of house. Thank you, my colleagues. [ applause ] today we bid farewell to a speaker who has served his constituents and this congress with honor for 25 years. Speaker john boehner. [ applause ] in his story we are reminded of the enduring exceptional promise of america. This hardworking son of an ohio bartender and owner, who grew up to be the speaker of the house of representatives. John boehner talked about the American Dream. John boehner, you are the personification of the American Dream. As you all know, Speaker Boehner was a formidable spokesman for the republican agenda. My republican colleagues, im sure you know, and i can attest to the fact that he was always true and loyal to the members of his caucus in any negotiations we ever had. Although we had our differences, and often, i always respected his dedication to this house and his commitment to his values. Thank you, john, for your leadership and courage as speaker. Your graciousness as speaker extended and was reflected in your staff under the leadership of mike summers, whom we all respect. Thank you to John Boehners staff. And i know i speak for everyone here, democrats and republicans, when i thank you for making the visit of his holiness pope francis such a beautiful and meaningful experience for all of us. [ applause ] today we extend our thanks and congratulations to debbie, your daughters lindsey and tricia and the entire boehner family, now including grandson alister. Lets hear it for the family of john boehner. [ applause ] on behalf of House Democrats and personally, i wish you and your family all of gods blessings in the glorious years ahead. Last month, we witnessed something truly special when pope francis made history addressing a joint session of congress. Standing right here, pope francis called on us to seek hope, peace and dialogue for all people. And reminded us of our duty to find a way forward for everyone. A good political leader, his holiness said, is one who with the interest of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. With the interest in mind of all. Pope francis echoed the principle of our founders, that placed at the heart of our democracy the saying, from any one. The founders could never have imagined how vast our country would become, how diverse and many we would be, as gender identities, beliefs and priorities, but they knew we had to be one. Every day in this house, and across the country, we pledge allegiance to one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [ applause ] this is the beauty of america, that for all of our honest differences, perspectives and priorities, aired and argued so passionately on this floor, we are committed to being one nation. Despite our differences, in fact, respecting them, i look forward to a clear debate in this marketplace of ideas, the peoples house of representatives. And so, my fellow colleagues, we have a responsibility to act upon our shared faith and the greatness of our country. We have a responsibility to be worthy of the sacrifices of our troops, our veterans and our military families. We have responsibility to make real the promise of the American Dream for all. There is important work before the congress. We must do more to promote growth, decrease the deficit, create goodpaying jobs and increase the paychecks of americas working families. Today, in this house, page is turned. A new chapter has begun. Today the gavel passes to a proud son of wisconsin. The first speaker from wisconsin. Paul ryan has had the full breadth of experience on capitol hill from young staffer to tortilla coast waiter. Should i say that again . Tortilla coast waiter, to congressman, to being a sincere and proud advocate for his point of view as chairman of the budget committee, as a respected leader and chairman of the ways and means committee, and in a minute, he will be the speaker of the house of representatives. [ applause ] on behalf mr. Speaker, on behalf of House Democrats, i extend the hand of friendship to you. Congratulations to you, paul, to janna, your children, liza, charlie, sam. Your mother is here. How proud she must be. The entire ryan family, whom we all know means so much to you. Mr. Speaker, god bless you and your family, and god bless the United States of america. [ applause ] thank you. [ applause ] this is the speakers house. This is the speakers this is the peoples house. This is the peoples gavel. In the peoples name, it is my privilege to hand this gavel to the speaker of the house, congressman and honorable paul ryan. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, nancy. Appreciate it. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, madame leader. Before i begin, i would like to thank all of my family and friends who flew in from wisconsin and from all over for being here today. In the gallery i have my mom, betty, my sister janet, my brothers stan and tobin, and more cousins than i can count on a few hands. [ applause ] most important, i want to recognize my wife janna and our children, liza, charlie and sam. [ applause ] i also want to thank Speaker Boehner. For almost five years he led this house. For nearly 25 years he served it. Not many people can match his accomplishments. The offices he held, the laws he passed. But what really sets john apart is hes a man of character, a true class act. He is without a question the gentleman from ohio. So, please join me in saying one last time, thank you, Speaker Boehner. [ applause ] now i know how he felt. Its not until you hold this gavel, stand in this spot, look out and see all 435 members of this house, as if all america is sitting right in front of you. Its not till then that you feel it. The weight of responsibility, the gravity of the moment. You know, as i stand here, i cant help but think of something harry truman once said. The day after Franklin Roosevelt died, truman became president and he told a group of reporters, if you ever pray, pray for me now. When they told me yesterday what had happened, i felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me. We should all feel that way. A lot is on our shoulders. So, if you ever pray, lets pray for each other. Republicans, for democrats, and democrats for republicans. [ applause ] and i dont mean pray for a conversion. Pray for a deeper understanding because when youre up here, you see it so clearly. Wherever you come from, whatever you believe, we are all in the same boat. I never thought id be speaker. But early in my life, i wanted to serve this house. I thought this place was exhilarating, because here you can make a difference. If you had a good idea, if you worked hard, you could make it happen. You could improve peoples lives. To me, the house of representatives represents whats best of america. The boundless opportunity to do go good. But lets be frank. The house is broken. Were not solving problems. Were adding to them. And i am not interested in laying blame. We are not settling scores. We are wiping the slate clean. [ applause ] 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. We need to let every member contribute. Not once theyve earned their stripes, but now. I come at this job as a twotime committee chair. The committees should retake the lead in drafting all major legislation. [ applause ] if you know the issue, you should write the bill. Lets open up the process. Let people participate. And they might change their mind. A neglected minority will gum up the works. A respected minority will work in good faith. Instead of trying to stop the majority, they might fry to become the majority. In other words, we need to return to regular order. [ applause ] now, i know this sounds like process. Its actually a matter of principle. We are the body closest to the people. Every two years we face the voters and sometimes face the music. But we do not echo the people. We represent the people. We are supposed to study up and do the homework that they cannot do. So, when we do not follow regular order, when we rush to pass bills that a lot of us dont understand, we are not doing our job. Only a fully functioning house can truly represent the people. And if there were ever a time for us to step up, this would be that time. America does not feel strong anymore because the working people of america do not feel strong anymore. Im talking about the people who mind the store and grow the food and walk the beat and pay the taxes and raise the family. They do not sit in this house. They do not have fancy titles. But they are the people who make this country work and this house should work for them. [ applause ] heres the problem. Theyre working hard, theyre paying a lot, theyre trying to do right by their families, and theyre going nowhere fast. They never get a raise. They never get a break. The bills keep piling up and the taxes and the debt. Theyre working harder than ever before to get ahead. And yet theyre falling further behind. They feel robbed. They feel cheated by their birthright, of their birthright. Theyre not asking for any favors. They just want a fair chance. And they are losing faith that they will ever get it. Then they look at washington, and all they see is chaos. What a relief to them it would be if we finally got our acts together. What a weight off of their shoulders. How reassuring it would be if we actually fixed the tax code, put patients in charge of their health care, grew our economy, strengthened our military, lifted people out of poverty and paid down our debt. [ applause ] at this point nothing could be more inspiring than a job well done. Nothing could stir the heart more than real, concrete results. The cynics will scoff. Theyll say its not possible. You Better Believe were going to try. We will not duck the tough issues. We will take them head on. We are going to do all we can do so that working people get their strength back and people not working get their lives back. No more favors for the few. Opportunity for all. That is our motto. [ applause ] you know, i often i often talk about a need for a vision. Im not sure i ever really said what i meant. We saw problems here, yes. We create a lot of them, too. But at bottom, we vindicate a way of life. We show by our work that free people can govern themselves. They can solve their own problems. They can make their own decisions. They can deliberate, collaborate and get the job done. We show that selfgovernment is not only more efficient and more effective, its more fulfilling. In fact, we show it as that struggle, that hard work, that very achievement itself that makes us free. That is what we do here. And we will not always agree. Not all of us, not all of the time. But we should not hide our disagreements. We should embrace them. We have nothing to fear from honest differences, honestly stated. [ applause ] if you have ideas, lets hear them. I believe that a greater clarity between us can lead to greater charity among us. And theres every reason to have hope. When the first speaker took the gavel, he looked out at a room of 30 people, representing a nation of 3 million. Today, as i look out at each and every one of you, we represent a nation of 300 million. So when i hear people say, america doesnt have it, were done, were spent, i dont believe it. I believe with every fiber of my being that we can renew the american idea. Now, our task, our task is to make us all believe. My friends, you have done me a great honor. The people of this country, they have done all of us a great honor. Now lets prove ourselves worthy of it. Lets seize the moment. Lets rise to the occasion. And when we are done, let us say that we left the people, all the people, more united, happy and free. Thank you. [ applause ] i am now ready to take the oath of office. I ask that the dean of the house of representatives, the honorable john conyers jr. Of michigan to perform the oath of office. If the gentleman from wisconsin would please raise his right hand. Do you, sir, solemnly swear or affirm that you will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god . I do. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For what purpose does the gentleman from california, mr. Mccarthy, seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i offer a privilege resolution and ask for its immediate resolution. The clerk will report the resolution. The clerk will first number the resolution. House resolution 503 resolved that the clerk be instructed to inform the president of the United States that the house of representatives has elected paul d. Ryan, a representative from the state of wisconsin, speaker of the house of representatives. Without objection the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california, mr. Mccarthy, seek recognition . Well, mr. Speaker, i offer a privilege resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. The clerk will report the resolution. House resolution 504, resolved, that a message be sent to the senate to inform that body that paul d. Ryan, a representative from the state of wisconsin, has been elected speaker of the house of representatives. Without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. [ applause ] before the house of communication. The honorable the clerk house of representatives, madame, as a result of my elections today as speaker, this letter is to inform you that i resign as chairman of the committee on ways and means, and from further service on that committee. I also resign as chairman and a member of the joint committee on taxation. Signed sincerely, paul d. Ryan. Without objection the resignation is accepted. The chair would take this occasion to note the speakers announced policies with respect to particular aspects of the legislative placed in the record on january 6, 2015, will continue in effect for the remainder of the 114th congress. The chair announces that the speaker has delivered to the clerk a letter dated october 29, 2015, listing members in the order in which each shall act as speaker pro tem under clause 83b. Paul ryan of wisconsin is now the 54th speaker of the house, elected with 236 votes, 9 republican votes against him. Addressing the peoples house. He said a lot is on our shoulders. Lets pray for each other, he says, lets be frank, the house is broken but, he says, hes beginning by wiping the slate clean. You have to love the formalities of the house of representatives and how this all happened today. And it was a strange road getting to this point for paul ryan. Lets discuss this. Lets bring in senior political reporter manu raju, senior washington correspondent, jeff zeleny, and a. B. Stoddard, editor for the hill newspaper. Manu, lets start with you. I covered john boehner on the hill alongside you for a long time, and now seeing this handing over of the gavel, its a very big moment, not just for paul ryan, but for the entire congress. Reporter it really is. Its a generational shift. Of course, hes a 45yearold congressman. He has served in congress for 19 years, but this will be a brand new approach for the leadership. Hes saying this will be a new day for congress. What i was really struck by was the inside and outside messaging that he was really delivering. He was speaking to two audiences. One, those House Republicans in the conference who have been concerned about the approach. What they believe has been a topdown approach from legislating, cutting deals behind the scenes, not including them more in the process. He said thats going to change. Theyre going to fire up the committee process, bring more people in. Were not going to see that anymore. Then he was talking more about the messaging, lifting people out of poverty, fixing the tax code, having big ideas, reforming washington. So, ooet hes really speaking to the public at large and also members of congress, his own conference. Particularly people who have been skeptical of his party leadership. I should caution, a lot of this stuff is much easier said than done. You guys know full well how difficult it is to legislate. Sure, you can get legislation passed in the house but then it stalls in senate where you need 60 votes to do just about anything. That means bipartisan support. Well really see how hes able to get stuff done. One thing thats been good for him, though, is the big budget deal is Clearing Congress as early as this week. It frees his hand to do a lot of things. Hell still have to address some of the spending issues in december. But for now, hes soaking up this moment. Hes going to have a celebratory lunch with his family and also a big party at the library of congress tonight. And then the real hard work of legislating begins soon thereafter. Jeff zeleny, big picture right now. What does this mean for the business of the people . Paul ryan is this white house has acknowledged it can work with. Does this mean there might be more agreement Going Forward . Reporter john, i think at this point in time its hard to imagine much agreement Going Forward on any big issues because of the period of time were in and this president s term. Were entering the final term of president obamas time in the white house. Were in the middle of a hardfought president ial campaign. But what im struck by is how big paul ryan seems. Hes an ideas man. Hes been called the intellectual core of this Republican Party. In a president ial race that has often seemed small and bickering and back and forth, paul ryan, i think, elevates this Republican Party. Certainly makes a new generation of lead