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Boehner 61st Speaker of the House
Opening Session of 112th Congress
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today
delivered the following remarks to the opening session of the 112th
Congress.
“Madam Speaker, thank you for your kind words, and thank you for your
service. I’d like to welcome our new colleagues and their
families. My own family is here as well: my wife, Debbie, our
daughters, Lindsay and Tricia; my brothers and sisters,
brothers-and-sisters-in-law, and their children.
“I am honored and humbled to represent a great, hard-working community
in Congress. The people of Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District
continue to afford me the privilege to serve, for which I am deeply
grateful.
“We gather here today at a time of great challenges. Nearly one
in ten of our neighbors are looking for work. Health care costs
are still rising for families and small businesses. Our spending
has caught up with us, and our debt will soon eclipse the size of our
entire economy. Hard work and tough decisions will be required of
the 112th Congress. No longer can we fall short. No longer
can we kick the can down the road. The people voted to end
business as usual, and today we begin carrying out their instructions.
“In the Catholic faith, we enter into a season of service by having
ashes marked on our foreheads. The ashes remind us that life in
all its forms is fragile – our time on this Earth, fleeting. As
the ashes are delivered, we hear those humbling words: ‘Remember you
are dust, and to dust you shall return.’
“The American people have humbled us. They have refreshed our
memories as to just how temporary the privilege to serve is. They
have reminded us that everything here is on loan from them. That
includes this gavel, which I accept cheerfully and gratefully, knowing
I am but its caretaker. After all, this is the people’s
House. This is their Congress. It’s about them, not
us. What they want is a government that is honest, accountable
and responsive to their needs. A government that respects
individual liberty, honors our heritage, and bows before the public it
serves.
“Let’s start with the rules package the House will consider
today. If passed, it will change how this institution operates,
with an emphasis on real transparency, greater accountability, and a
renewed focus on the Constitution. Our aim will be to give
government back to the people. In seeking this goal, we will part
with some of the rituals that have come to characterize this
institution under majorities Republican and Democratic alike. We
will dispense with the conventional wisdom that bigger bills are always
better; that fast legislating is good legislating; that allowing
additional amendments and open debate makes the legislative process
‘less efficient’ than our forefathers intended.
“These misconceptions have been the basis for the rituals of modern
Washington. The American people have not been well served by
them. Today, mindful of the lessons of the past, we open a new
chapter.
“Legislators and the public will have three days to read bills before
they come to a vote. Legislation will be more focused, properly
scrutinized, and constitutionally sound. Committees, once
bloated, will be smaller, with a renewed mission, including
oversight. Old rules that have made it easy to increase spending
will be replaced by new reforms that make it easier to cut
spending. We will start by cutting Congress’ own budget.
“Above all else, we will welcome the battle of ideas, encourage it, and
engage in it – openly, honestly, and respectfully. As the chamber
closest to the people, the House works best when it is allowed to work
its will. I ask all members of this body to join me in
recognizing this common truth.
“To my colleagues in the majority, my message is this: we will honor
our Pledge to America, built through a process of listening to the
people, and we will stand firm on the Constitutional principles that
built our party, and built a nation. We will do these things,
however, in a manner that restores and respects the time-honored right
of the minority to an honest debate and a fair, open process.
“To my friends in the minority, I offer a commitment. Openness –
once a tradition of this institution, but increasingly scarce in recent
decades, will be the new standard. There were no open rules in
the House in the last Congress. In this one, there will be
many. With this restored openness, however, will come a restored
responsibility. You will not have the right to willfully disrupt
the proceedings of the People's House. But you will always have
the right to a robust debate in open process that allows you to
represent your constituents. . .to make your case, offer alternatives,
and be heard.
“In time, this framework will, I believe, restore the House of
Representatives as a place where the people’s will is done. It
will also, I hope, help rebuild trust among us and the people we serve,
and in so doing, provide a guidepost for those who follow us in the
service of our nation.
“To our new members – Democratic and Republican – as you take the oath
today, I know you will do so mindful of this shared goal, and the trust
placed in you by your constituents. As Speaker, I view part of my
job as helping each of you do your job well, regardless of party.
My hope is that every new Member – and indeed, every Member – will be
comfortable approaching me with matters of the House.
“We will not always get it right. We will not always agree on
what is right. A great deal of scar tissue has built up on both
sides of the aisle. We cannot ignore that, nor should we.
My belief has always been, we can disagree without being disagreeable
to each other. That’s why it is critical this institution operate
in a manner that permits a free exchange of ideas, and resolves our
honest differences through a fair debate and a fair vote. We may
have different – sometimes, very different – ideas for how to go about
achieving the common good, but it is our shared goal. It is why
we serve.
“Let us now move forward humble in our demeanor, steady in our
principles, and dedicated to proving worthy of the trust and confidence
that has been placed in us. If we brace ourselves to do our duty,
and to do what we say we are going to do, there is no telling what
together we can accomplish for the good of this great and honorable
nation. More than a country, America is an idea, and it is our
job to pass on to our posterity the blessings bestowed to us.
“I wish you all the very best. Welcome to the people’s House. Welcome to the 112th Congress.”
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