FreedomWorks Statement on New Speaker Election

Washington, D.C. – In response to the new Speaker Election, Adam Brandon, FreedomWorks president, commented:

“The House should be in session working on appropriations bills this week. Instead, we are faced with the distraction of choosing a new Speaker of the House that is eating up time ahead of the November 17 deadline to fund the government. It’s frustrating that we are here. Although we have no plans to back any particular candidate for Speaker, we are watching to see how the process shakes out.

“What we want to see from any candidate for Speaker is a viable plan for three very specific things. First, the passage of the Fiscal Commission Act is absolutely essential. Major trust fund programs will be exhausted within the next ten years, and we need a strategy on how to protect current beneficiaries while ensuring viability in the future. Second, the House must finish the appropriations process. This process should have been completed by the end of June. The fact that the House didn’t begin the process until the week before the August recess is a failure of the body. Finally, we want to know how candidates for Speaker plan to lead the conference, engage the growing number of independent voters who determine the balance of power in Congress, and bring an end to the era of negative partisanship in which we find ourselves.

“We are not interested in being told what we want to hear. We want to see viable plans on these crucial issues going forward. Exercises in political messaging on the House floor are not a practical path forward. This is reflective of the hyperpartisanship that is holding our institutions hostage.”

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