House Republicans are eagerly anticipating moving legislation that's been blocked by the Democratic-controlled Senate – including a measures on the Keystone XL pipeline – if the GOP wins control of the upper chamber in November, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan says.
And they're equally anxious to see how President Barack Obama will react when the bills reach his desk.
In an interview with
The Hill, Ryan said a busy GOP-led House has sent bills over to the upper chamber only to have Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shelve them – giving Obama a pass on making "difficult decisions."
"Right now, Harry Reid is protecting the president from making difficult decisions, and I believe that we can unblock a number of things that should at least get to the president’s desk and make him make a decision," Ryan told The Hill.
Obama has only vetoed legislation twice – though he's
threatened to do so against House Republicans. A Republican-controlled Senate might change all that.
But if the GOP takes the Senate, bills will be going to the president that highlight the differences between the parties ahead of the 2016 presidential race, Ryan said.
"It will be a combination of contrasts and a combination of moving the ball incrementally in the right direction," he said of the GOP agenda.
At the top of Republicans’ agenda if they win control, Ryan says, is a bill paving the way for construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Ryan also wants Republicans to make the Obama administration "stretch a little further in our direction" in reforming entitlements, the budget process, and tax reform – an issue in which Ryan could play key part if he takes over the
Ways and Means Committee from retiring Michigan Republican Rep. Dave Camp.
Ryan said he's confident about Republicans' chances to win the Senate in November.
"Democrats are putting up a very spirited fight," he said. "I think they have headwinds and they are coming out swinging deep and early and raising a lot of money. They believe that is going to help them keep it close.
"I just think most Americans are dissatisfied with the direction we’re headed," he added. "There isn’t a negative campaign that can change that, so ultimately, I think we’re gonna be in a good position."
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