Pat Ryan: “To close. This is a good bill, and we have put a lot of work into this bill. The essence of the Legislative Branch…”

“To close. This is a good bill, and we have put a lot of work into this bill. The essence of the Legislative Branch appropriations bill is an understanding that everybody that works on Capitol Hill is a public servant. The Capitol Police, those on the dais, the people who clean the offices, the people who do all of the construction, the young staffers, the middle-age staffers, the older staffers have spent sometimes decades trying to make this government run and help this government run. This bill is an opportunity for us to continue to invest into those people, making sure that they can stay here, they can work here, they have competitive wages, competitive benefits compared to the executive branch, compared to the judicial branch, compared to the private sector; and also knowing and understanding that we have an obligation to protect this Capitol. That is what we have done in this bill. We have made increases to Members' allowances so that they can maintain their staff and the talent that they have. We are making sure that we have a paid internship program here so that some young person from Youngstown, Ohio, or some small town or city across the United States can actually take advantage of the opportunity to stay for a summer or semester in one of the most expensive housing markets in the whole United States. I am very proud of the investments we are making in this bill.…”