Scalise: House GOP Agenda is Already Becoming Law

Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), and Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) to discuss President Trump already making good on his promises at record speed in his first few weeks back in office. Leader Scalise highlighted House Republican legislation, like the Laken Riley Act and protecting girls and women in sports that is now becoming the law of the land thanks to President Trump.
  
On President Trump’s aggressive first two weeks in office:

“Since Donald Trump took the oath of office on January 20th, you've seen the President work at a feverish pace to deliver on the promises that he made to the American people, to start fixing the problems that were created during four years of a failed Biden-Harris agenda. You saw President Trump take action to secure America's border – probably the front and center issue of the campaign. We're already seeing dramatic results for the American people. You've seen President Trump work to open up more American energy to lower costs for families. You've seen him work to get cost savings from federal agencies so that American taxpayers dollars are not wasted in so many areas. You know, go ask USAID how that's working out for them when they have to now be exposed to the fact that they were funding to the tune of millions of dollars, drag shows in foreign countries with Americans' hard-earned tax dollars. You're going to continue to see that level of scrutiny and that level of efficiency to get government working for the people again.”

On passing strong policies under new Republican leadership:

“President Trump has continued to work not only in the executive branch but working with the legislative branch, working with us here in Congress. Just a few days ago, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, one of the first bills we moved out of the House because it was a bill that also fit with our agenda. We passed this bill last year. Chuck Schumer made it clear he didn't want to bring a bill to the Senate floor that actually stood up for people so that they're not victims of violence from illegals. Well, this new Senate under John Thune and the Republican leadership brought that same bill through the Senate and put it on President Trump's desk where he signed it. Just goes to show the American people how much difference it makes when you get leaders who actually will fight for them, not for Washington and the Old Guard, the progressive Democrat Party that's so out of touch with the American people. 

“Today, President Trump will sign an executive order to do something that we already passed through the House, and that is to say that men can't play in women's sports. This is a bill we passed through the House twice now, almost on a party-line vote, which seems bizarre. It should be something that everybody agrees to. It was talked about a lot during the election, and most Americans are with us saying that women's sports should be reserved for women, biological women. President Trump will be signing that executive order today as the bill we passed, hopefully, goes through the Senate so it can become law in a permanent way.”

On budget reconciliation: 

“We're going to continue to work with this President to deliver on those promises. A lot of those promises that we're working to deliver on are going to go through the budget reconciliation process. I know you all are following that closely. We've been working very closely with our membership. We got into very specific detail at our retreat in Doral, where we shared with our members a lot of specifics of what the committees are working on. There are 11 committees of jurisdiction that are working on the details of budget reconciliation. But of course, none of that can start until you pass the budget, until you open up the ability to do a reconciliation bill.

“This year with a more narrow majority, unlike 2017, where we lost 22 Republicans on the budget, we don't have that luxury this time. That means we've got to work very meticulously with our members to first make sure we have the votes to get a budget passed. We can't have 22 opposing, we can't have four opposing. We're working through a lot more detail now on what reconciliation would look like on the front end before we actually get the budget passed. But we're working to get it done, and it's critical we get it done, to have more border security, to be able to deliver on better energy policy that lowers costs for families, to make sure there's no tax increase on working families across the country.”

On legislation to stop the flow of fentanyl and to promote American energy:

“There are a lot of things that we're going to work to achieve and get done, along with real savings for the taxpayers of this country. Then, of course, this week we're going to continue moving our agenda, the Stop Fentanyl Act. You've heard about that. [Congresswoman] Monica De La Cruz is on the front line. She told you what it means to a district like hers to have this deadly poison coming into our country. President Trump laid this out when he issued more tariffs, using that as a weapon to get countries to work with us better on stopping the fentanyl. You're seeing some of those countries actually respond and do a better job of stopping it from coming into our country and killing so many young people.

“We're also bringing a bill to say that no future president can ban fracking, like we saw President Obama push, President Biden push. So many in the progressive left want to kill American energy. Hydraulic fracturing produces about two-thirds of the natural gas we use, about half of the oil that we use in America. If you had a future president go down that road of trying to kill the fracking industry, it would crush our ability to produce our own energy in America. We have a bill. Obviously, we have a president today in Donald Trump who wants to produce more energy, but this would prevent any future president from being able to crush our energy industry. So hopefully, we see a very strong vote there.”

On New Orleans hosting Super Bowl LIX:

“Finally, as a native-born New Orleanian, I'd like to welcome all of you to New Orleans this weekend for the Super Bowl. We are proud to be welcoming the world. Of course, we thank the NFL, the relationship we've had with them, and Commissioner Goodell to bring yet another Super Bowl. This ties, I believe, the Superdome will have the record for the most Super Bowls held in one arena. We are proud to display what is, I think the city has never looked better. The Superdome has never looked better. We're also welcoming the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to the game. He will hopefully see a very spirited contest between the two teams. I'm a Saints fan, so I'll just be rooting for a competitive game. But hopefully, you all can come down and enjoy the best food in the world, enjoy some of the best culture you'll ever see with the best people. Laissez les bon temps rouler.”

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