CSPAN - House Republican Leaders Hold News Conference
Aired: 2024-12-10
Duration: 20:46

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[00:01:06]  Everyone, thanks for being here today.
[00:01:30]  This week... We are bringing to the floor the Service Member Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act, otherwise known of course as the NDAA.
[00:01:39]  This bill both invests in the quality of life for our service members and their families and strengthens our national security capabilities.
[00:01:45]  Those two aspects are what drove the negotiations and the effort for this entire bill.
[00:01:50]  The quality of life of our service members and our national security capabilities.
[00:01:54]  The NDAA supports the deployment of the National Guard to our southern border, deters China, combats anti -Semitism,
[00:02:28]  We're good to go.
[00:02:31]  This comprehensive bill ensures that America can remain the most powerful in the world and I thank the House and Senate Armed Services Committees for their work on this.
[00:02:38]  I thank for all those that are involved in getting it to this point to be able to complete that this week and with that I will hand it over to our whip Mr. Tom Emmer.
[00:02:51]  America is back.
[00:02:53]  That was the message heard around the world following President -elect Donald Trump's successful trip to Paris over the weekend.
[00:03:00]  Watching America reassert its leadership on the global stage was both refreshing and reassuring.
[00:03:07]  It's clear that the world has been anticipating the return of a U .S. president who can, at the very least, stay fully engaged during important discussions.
[00:03:17]  Already the impact of President Trump's leadership is being felt.
[00:03:21]  41 days before he is set to be inaugurated, he has restored respect for our country on the world stage.
[00:03:28]  This comes in stark contrast to the weak -kneed leadership Americans have been forced to endure under the Harris -Biden administration over the last four years.
[00:03:37]  From their disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal to Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Iran and its proxies' attacks against Israel.
[00:03:46]  We're good to go.
[00:03:52]  I think?
[00:04:23]  Well, thank you, Whip.
[00:04:28]  This week, our members have been working for months on bringing to the floor Wednesday
[00:04:45]  We're good to go.
[00:05:01]  I think?
[00:05:03]  We're good to go.
[00:05:31]  I think?
[00:05:32]  We're good to go.
[00:05:40]  I think?
[00:06:01]  Under the failed Biden -Harris policies.
[00:06:03]  But we also talked about what we'd do to stabilize tax policy to prevent a massive $4 .5 trillion tax increase, which Kamala Harris wanted to impose.
[00:06:14]  She actually campaigned bragging that she would allow tax cuts to expire, putting a massive tax increase on families.
[00:06:22]  And so we're already working on what we will do in those first few months.
[00:06:27]  To deliver on those promises and get our economy back on track to help provide real relief for families who are struggling.
[00:06:35]  And those talks are going really well, not only amongst House Republicans, House Senate Republicans, but also the Trump administration.
[00:06:44]  And Trump officials in the transition team have been part of those conversations because we want to make sure the day we start in January We're good to go.
[00:07:20]  I think?
[00:07:34]  Thank you, Steve.
[00:07:36]  Leader, good morning to all of you.
[00:07:37]  I was here until late last night, about 13 hours ago.
[00:07:40]  All these seats were filled with We're good to go.
[00:07:51]  I think?
[00:08:12]  We're good to go.
[00:08:16]  I think?
[00:08:26]  The office is taken.
[00:08:28]  And as Whip Emmer said, there's a palpable sense out there that this is a new day in America.
[00:08:34]  It's not just a catchphrase.
[00:08:36]  We feel that.
[00:08:37]  We sense it everywhere we go.
[00:08:38]  And American families are ready to see an America First agenda.
[00:08:42]  And we're excited about that.
[00:08:44]  You hear a lot of talk about the agenda and how it will be formulated and come together right out of the gates in early January.
[00:08:49]  We're working on that right now.
[00:08:51]  In fact, House Republicans are already working to enact that agenda.
[00:08:55]  We met, as you know, last week.
[00:08:57]  We brought Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy here to discuss how we cut waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government.
[00:09:04]  And it was a very productive series of meetings.
[00:09:07]  We had a smaller group discussion and then the larger one in the Congressional Auditorium.
[00:09:11]  Thank you all for being here for that.
[00:09:12]  We're continuing to lay the groundwork for our very aggressive first 100 days agenda in the Congress that we've all been planning for for a long time and talking about for a while.
[00:09:22]  But in the waning days of this Congress...
[00:09:35]  I want to thank Chairman Mike Rogers of the House Armed Services Committee and all the committee members and all the staff for their really hard work on the bill.
[00:09:46]  We spent a lot of time and effort working on it because our service members and their families deserve our best efforts.
[00:09:53]  That's why we made landmark investments in their quality of life, as you heard, with a 14 .5 %...
[00:09:58]  We're good to go.
[00:10:26]  We supported the deployment of the National Guard at the border, we expanded U .S. joint military exercises with Israel, and we increased funding for U .S. defense initiatives in the Indo -Pacific, and that includes Taiwan.
[00:10:37]  At the same time, while we plussed up those other accounts, we cut $31 billion in bloated We're good to go.
[00:11:06]  I look forward to voting for it later this week and I think you'll have a large vote on the House floor in affirmation of all this.
[00:11:12]  Also this week we'll be voting on the Judges Act to ensure there's a sufficient number of federal judgeships for our growing population.
[00:11:18]  Look, Republicans believe in the rule of law.
[00:11:21]  And we've got to uphold that principle.
[00:11:23]  We can't overburden the courts and our judges with these excessive caseloads, and that's what's been happening.
[00:11:28]  It's been 35 years since Congress has authorized a package like this, and our population and caseloads have grown, and we just have to address this for the judicial branch to keep peace.
[00:11:38]  More judges means more Americans can access equal and impartial justice without waiting years to get it.
[00:11:54]  Yes, ma 'am.
[00:12:09]  I wanted to ask about the generalized system of preferences.
[00:12:13]  January 1st, it'll have been gone for four years.
[00:12:16]  Is this something that leadership still wants to bring back?
[00:12:20]  And if so, will it go on the suspension calendar early next year?
[00:12:24]  Or will it need to wait for all the big bills to move the immigration and the tax reform?
[00:12:31]  We haven't even had a chance to really address that in any detail.
[00:12:34]  So stay tuned on that when I get back to you.
[00:12:36]  Yes, ma 'am.
[00:12:36]  Over here, second row.
[00:12:38]  Thanks.
[00:12:38]  The Kids Online Safety Act, I'm just curious, does the updated text, the sewage, the concerns members in your caucus have had about it?
[00:12:46]  And if not, what is your message to parents who say the government needs to do more to protect their kids from the harmful effects of social media?
[00:12:53]  Yeah, look, it's a really important issue as a parent.
[00:12:55]  We're good to go.
[00:13:12]  We're good to go.
[00:13:54]  Yes, ma 'am.
[00:14:00]  Thank you.
[00:14:01]  After yesterday's steering committee meeting, it looks likely that there will be no women as elected committee chairs for the next Congress.
[00:14:07]  I'm just curious if you think that poses any challenges for the party as you craft policy over the next two years.
[00:14:12]  Chairman of committees are very important positions, but we really do engage all the membership.
[00:14:19]  We have extraordinary women serving in Congress and in the Republican conference.
[00:14:22]  In fact, we elected some really strong women in this upcoming freshman class.
[00:14:27]  We value those voices and they have Everybody has an equal say at the table and I'm really proud.
[00:14:34]  I don't think we haven't decided all the committee chairs yet, as you know, so we'll see how this shakes out.
[00:14:59]  Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[00:15:02]  Your first year in Congress was 2017, the last time we saw a GOP trifecta.
[00:15:07]  Republicans spent the large majority of that year
[00:15:13]  You've got to remind me of that, don't you?
[00:15:38]  It's a great question, and as you know, we're having lots of thoughtful discussion about the best...
[00:15:44]  Play calls.
[00:15:45]  Y 'all have heard me talking about our proverbial playbook we've been developing for about a year.
[00:15:49]  It's well designed.
[00:15:50]  And so we have a menu of options.
[00:15:51]  What we're deciding right now is the sequence of how we run those plays.
[00:15:54]  And it's really important.
[00:15:55]  The House and the Senate have different calculations on how that's done.
[00:15:58]  But we all have exactly the same priorities.
[00:16:01]  The incoming administration, the Senate Republicans and the House Republicans.
[00:16:04]  We've got to take care of the border as a top priority.
[00:16:06]  And we will.
[00:16:07]  We've got to get the economy going again.
[00:16:08]  And we will.
[00:16:09]  Part of that is ensuring that we don't have the largest tax increase in...
[00:16:22]  We're good to go.
[00:16:26]  I think?
[00:17:00]  Thank you all so much.
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