House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., urged conservatives to support a push for tax reform in a Heritage Foundation speech Thursday.
“An army of lobbyists will come to protect special interest provisions and to derail tax reform. And when it does, we must be able to count on the foot soldiers of the conservative movement to see this through,” Ryan said in the speech, according to the Washington Examiner.
“Hardworking families gain nothing if we slip into complacency. They gain nothing if we allow ourselves to be distracted. Our workers do not see their paychecks rise one penny if we shrink from this moment,” Ryan said during the speech.
Democrats will gain an advantage if Republicans fail to take action on tax reform, Ryan said. “You know as well as I do that if we fail to restore real growth and opportunity, that plays directly into the hands of the left,” the House speaker said.
He also took aim at those who take advantage of the tax code status quo. “The special interests who prop up this tax code seek to extract the most value for themselves, even if it means keeping the country on the path of decline,” Ryan said in the speech.
At another point during the Heritage Foundation speech, the Wisconsin Republican cited the importance of getting tax reform done. “We’re going to keep everybody here through Christmas if we have to,” Ryan said, according to Fox Business.