Cicilline Statement on Speaker Ryan’s Election

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement today:

“I extend my congratulations to our new Speaker, Paul Ryan, who I served with on the House Budget Committee. Although I strongly disagreed with him on many important issues, I’ve seen firsthand his willingness to negotiate in good faith with Democrats in order to get things done, and I hope this continues in his new role as Speaker.”

“Washington has been defined by gridlock for the last five years because conservative Republicans in the Freedom Caucus refused to allow their leaders to work with Democrats. It’s a sad commentary that the most bipartisan this Congress has been was in the last few weeks since Speaker Boehner announced his retirement.”

“Although we have made progress in the past several days, there is a lot more work to do. Democrats and Republicans need to find common ground so that we can invest properly in our nation’s infrastructure, reinvigorate American manufacturing, fix our broken immigration system, make college affordable, and reduce gun violence.”

“I hope that Speaker Ryan will seize this opportunity to restore bipartisanship and cooperation in the interest of serving the American people, and I wish him well as he begins his tenure.”