[applause] [applause] please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable kevin mccarthy, speaker of the United States house of representatives. Mr. Mccarthy good afternoon, and welcome to statuary hall. Kind of loud. Its great to be here in the peoples house with so many friends. Thank you all for coming out and celebrating a very special day. This is the first portrait unveil as being speaker and i could not think of a tearer friend to have of a dearer friend to have this opportunity than paul ryan. In this unveiling of the 54th speaker of the house, it celebrates a man who everybody in this room respects and admires. I remember before i even became a member of reading of paul ryan. I remember when i first got here, i became the freshman rep to the conference and i got to vote for who would be the Ranking Member on budget. I think that was a very smart decision from the very beginning of our relationship. But let me introduce, there are so many special people in the audience. First, his wife jana. His children, liza, charlie and sam. And pauls mother, betty. Thank you all for being here. [applause] this might be a portrait of paul but thank you for all your sacrifices. I spent a lot of hours with him and, it doesnt look like it, but even in the gym. He would speak of all of you, all the time. And you made his job a little easier but you made him accomplish a great deal by your sacrifices, so thank you. A few little known facts about paul. His first job was not at mcdonalds, it was for a campaign volunteer. He was placing a few yard signs when studying at miami of ohio for a local candidate for westchester who had never run for congress before. That guy won and he actually became speaker too Speaker Boehner. He put the yard signs up right, right . [applause] i dont know if this has happened in quite some time but today we have speaker gingrich with his wife, ambassador ka lis tasm we have Speaker Pelosi, Speaker Boehner and also speaker ryan all together. Since his very first job, paul has demonstrated the vision we all know and love. We looks ahead but remains anchored to the fundamental truths of the past. One of the biggest reason he is earned so much respect from those in congress, even those who disagreed with him, we all know the American Dream doesnt fight for itself, it always needs a champion and a happy warrior. Theres no greater warrior for the idea of prosperity, freedom and a Strong Economy than paul ryan. The one thing that he always did in each and every way, and i look at members who come and who go, hes the exact same man he was when he got here. I didnt think his character could get stronger, but it did his integrity as well. When people ask me who should they look to, who should they have as a mentor, when it comes to pg a member, i say look to paul. Become a specialist when it comes to an issue. But never forget your family, never forget your values, and never be fearful to lead. Thats what we have today in paul ryan. Thank you. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of the colors by the United StatesCapitol Police ceremonial unit. The singing of our National Anthem by a vocalist from the United States army band, and the retieferg the colors. O say can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there o say, does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the prayer. In the name of the father and son and holy spirit, amen. Almighty living god as we gather here today to honor the Public Service of Paul Davis Ryan as the 54th speaker of the United States house of representatives, we thank you for the guidance and wisdom you gave him in leading our congress. We are thankful for the men and women who worked for him and served with him. We are grateful to you, lord, for the many lives he touched during his time as speaker of the house and for his many years of service to our nation. God of all wisdom, we thank you for the continued blessing, that you continue to bless paul and his family. May all they do begin with your inspiration, continue with your help, and come to completion under your guidance. Give more to our current members who are serving your gifts of wisdom and understanding that it may lead the people of our great nation into peace and prosperity. Grant them, lord, new friendships and new opportunities for service. May they always show forth in their lives and works the ideals of our nation, one nation under god, indevicable with lib indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Amen. In the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. Please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable hakeem jeffries, democratic leader of the United States house of representatives. Mr. Jeffries speaker mccarthy, speaker emeritus pelosi, leader sheum every leader schumer, ider mcconnell, honored guests. It is my honor to offer remarks on behalf of House Democrats to paul ryan. The ayn rand quoting, head foan wearing, speaker, on your portrait unveiling. When one serves, the entire family serves. So i also salute his family, his wife janna and his children, charlie, eliza and sam. I know he gathered strength from the love and support of his wonderful family and we welcome you all. His portrait unveiling further cements speaker ryans enduring contributions to the American People and to this great institution. As Speaker Pelosi once observed, paul ryan has had the full breadth of experience on capitol hill. Indeed, truer words have never been spoken. Hill staffer, congressman, chair of the ways and means committee, speaker of the house. He did it all. Baseball has its fivetool players. The house has paul ryan. Paul once said on the house floor that we are conditioned to recognize that we are imperfect. But we are called to do better. Indeed, america was not born a perfect country. But we are constantly on a march toward a more perfect union. In this spirit, speaker ryan was a principled leader, with a clear set of values and a welldefined governance philosophy he practiced the art of statesmanship, where we could agree to disagree on policy without ever being disagreeable with each other personally. I saw it first nabd 2013 when appointed to serve on the Budget Committee in my first term. Paul ryan was the budget chair at the time. He was fresh off the president ial campaign trail. I was fresh off the streets of brooklyn. Chairman ryan took the time to introduce himself to me. He asked about my family. And who i succeeded in congress. And made a point of saying we should find some time to get to know each other. It was a meaningful moment a few weeks into the start of my congressional journey. And a small gesture that meant a lot to me. As i was trying to find my place in the peoples house. Paul ryan is a good man. A family man. A principled man. A thoughtful man. A hardworking man. A Green Bay Packers fan. Sorry about aaron rodgers. But well take good care of him in new york. In his farewell address to congress, speaker ryan stated, the ultimate proving ground of politics is truly making a difference in peoples lives. Speaker ryan served in these halls and made a difference. He proved himself a fierce and sincere advocate for his authentically held values. He decried the rising bitterness in our political discourse. And he helped make big things happen, such as historic criminal justice reform. A leader among leaders, we thank you for your impact. Service to this nation. Congratulations. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable mitch mcconnell, republican leader of the United States senate. Sen. Mcconnell mr. Speaker, its good to see you back. Its been almost phi years. Is five years since our friend from jainsville from janesville left the capitol. Back then most people understood pauls youthful glow amid the stresses of elected leadership to be the result of his notoriously rigorous exercise regimen. But these day, i suspect a good bit of the credit goes more to time spent at home with jana and the family. I remember calling thenchairman ryan back in late 2015, to try to convince him to take on the speakership. It was clear to pretty much everyone around that paul was the right man at the right moment. Everyone, that is, except paul. So i made my case. Got on a plane, headed overseas, so he couldnt push back. Our friend came to washington with about as clear and specific a goal as you could ever have. And he already had the job that would allow him to accomplish it. But as every bright and talented allstar eventually discovers, the usual reward for excelling at your job is, you get an even bigger job. When you spent years laying the foundations for generational tax reform, you unleashed the power of Free Enterprise for millions of american family, well, second in line to the president just a matter of course. As we all remember, the happy warriors talent the hunch that this happy warriors talents were exactly what the house needed proved to be right. During pauls teen injure there was no one in washington with whom i work masters degree closely. Speaker ryan was somebody i could trust. I knew he had our partys deepest values and our nations best interests at heart. At every step of the way, pauls integrity and energy were a beacon of the best that conservative leadership offered to the American People. With unwavering patriotism, rehe reminded critics of the power of free markets and the promise of free people. And with deep faith he showed skeptics what right of center values could do for the least fortunate in our society. Generational tax reform was the culmination of decades of devoted work. The speakership capped off a truly remarkable legislative career. But from my vantage point, the most enduring impression speaker ryan left after each major accomplishment was his boundless optimism that he brought to everything. Our friend left office with the same Firm Conviction that he brought to it 20 years earlier. That americas brightest days are yet to come. And as his portrait hangs in this institution, he proudly serve in this institution he proudly served, history will continue to prove speaker ryan absolutely right. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable charles schumer, majority leader of the United States senate. Sen. Schumer good afternoon and thank you everyone for gathering here. Its a pleasure to be here with all of you to celebrate the portrait unveiling of our nations 54th speaker paul ryan. Its good to see paul, jana, their kids, the rest of the ryan family here together. Anyone who knows paul knows how much he loves, treasures, and cares about his wonderful, wonderful family. Paul has held many titles throughout his career. Congressman. Chairman of ways and means. P90x enthusiast. And speaker, of course. But of course hell tell you his proudest titles are husband to jana and father to liza, charlie and sam. Hell also tell you his second proudest title was representative of the First District of wisconsin. And as a member of congress, speaker ryan lived on the very same block where he grew up, worshiped at the same church where he was baptized, very few in congress can say that. Even those who serve admirably. And so the titles in front of paul ryans name may have changed, but his center of tbravty always remains the same. It was always the people and community of janesville, wisconsin. Today we unveil the portrait of our nations 54th speaker, the first ever from wisconsin. Vince lombardy was from brooklyn, before he went to wisconsin. I just want you to know. Right, hakeem . Lived right in my neighborhood. Anyway. We also pay respects to a Public Servant who never lost sight of why he came to washington to begin with he never lost that internal gyroscope that is so essential for an outstanding leader. Now i consider paul ryan a friend but its no secret he and i found ourselves at the opposite end of many debates. He was a very conservative wisconsin republican. Ive always been a brash new york democrat from brooklyn. So we saw the world a little bit differently, although we both love vince. For example, speaker ryan is known for his love of hunting. Particularly deer hunting. As a teenager he mowed lawns and saved up for his own hunting rifle. I heard somewhere he even prepared his own venison and sausage. Me, on the other hand, i admit i didnt find hunting all that relaxing at first. When ben nelson took me on my first hunting trip for pheasant in nebraska, i saw the two hunting dog, i thought they were for companionship. I remember pointing my target and pulling the trigger. Nothing. Then nelson had to look over and say well maybe you should take the safety off first. Eventually i got the hang of it. But kidding aside, speaker ryan and i took very different paths on our journeys to congress but ive also respected him for being a man of integrity and principle, of decency and honor. Even in our fiercest disagreements, i always find speaker ryan to be insightful, deeply knowledgeable and always straightforward. We talked to each other regularly. And even though we often disagreed, the conversations were not only respectful but really friendly. So while the aisle may have separated us, we never doubted each others commitment to working through our differences nor our common love nor great country. Speaker ryan, we honor you and your family today. We honor your service to your district, your state, and to our country. Congratulations on your portrait unveiling and for taking your lace in the halls of this storied chamber. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable kevin mccarthy, speaker of the United States house of representatives. Mr. Mccarthy in pauls farewell address to the house, the speaker said these words. Speaker of the house is not a prize to claim or a trophy to raise. But a temporary trust to be a steward of the greatest legislative body in the world. Pauls wise words echo throughout these halls today. For three consequential years we saw the positive impact that paul of pauls stewardship. Greater Economic Opportunity, more resources to fight the opioid epidemic, stronger military and national defense, and of course a fairer, simpler, more competitive tax code that cuts taxes for millions of americans. I will tell you, they still debate it in the oval office today and we did yesterday as well. Job well done. As speaker, paul championed america in every dream, every word, every action and every piece of legislation. But heres something most people may not know about paul. He almost didnt end up in washington. When paul graduated from college he was offered a job on capitol hill that he but he almost didnt take it what he really wanted to do was be a ski instructor in colorado. Thank goodness betty set him straight. Just another reminder to always listen to your mother. She knew paul could make it here. So paul took the job at capitol hill. But six years later, at the age of 28, he entered congress from wisconsin. As a member of congress we swear an oath to be worthy of the office on which we are about to enter. I believe few individuals have upheld this oath with honor, integrity and the energy paul did in his 20 years in congress. For paul, politics is at its core a battle of the ideas. He believed lawmakers should tell the voters what they believe in, govern based on those beliefs and persuade voters if you needed to change course he came to washington to build and america based on eternal ideas of freedom, opportunity and posterity. That in doing so he also had the confidence and character to listen to the other side. He even even when he passionately disagreed. Beginning as budget chair he showed why a conservative agenda based on this freedom and the idea of opportunity were successful. Paul showed us the path to prosperity and a better way. Early on, paul warned about the threat of the National Debt. I remember in 2012, our National Debt was 16 trillion. I just wish more people had listened to you back then. I remember this late nights we both slept in our offices. Worked hard to produce a balanced budget year after year. Together paul, eric cantor and i created something called the young guns program. We defended fiscal responsibility and Economic Opportunity we made a pledge to america explaining we would govern differently. We were fortunate capture 63 seats that year. I saw paul not only as a policy wonk but a selfless leader who exemplified Teddy Roosevelts man, who shows himself in a worthy cause in. A gallery of speakers, pauls portrait will represent his many accomplishments but i want you to remember this. A portrait lasts a long time, but a legacy of change lasts far longer. Thats what paul achieved. His legacy of change is all around us. We are so grateful for your service, for your passion, for your decency and for your principles. Speaking as a clear friend, theres only one thing ive ever seen him change. His hair got a little longer. His smile got a little wider because he got more time with his family. And i think america, i know, is a lot better for your service. Thank you for that. [applause] now the time for the reason were all here. I want to invite paul and his family up to unveil the portrait. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable paul ryan, 54th speaker of the United States house of representatives. [applause] mr. Ryan well, mr. Speaker, chuck, mitch, hakeem, thank you very much. Very genuinely touched by your words. I really am. I served congress for 25 years. Phi years as a staffer. 20 years as a member. So if youll indulge me for a moment i have a few people i want to thank and i