(Washington, D.C.)  Today, members of the House Republican Conference selected Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers as Conference Vice Chair.  The House Republican Conference represents all of the House Republicans and helps develop the House Republicans’ communications strategy.

“As a new mother and second youngest woman Member of Congress, my unique perspective will help our party as we build coalitions, redefine our agenda and develop and spread our party’s message,” McMorris Rodgers said.  “If we are to inspire people to join us and rally around our party’s vision for America, we as Republicans must begin using new technology to communicate our solutions for the budget and tax policy, energy, health care, education and the environment.”

McMorris Rodgers joins Republican Leader John Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Conference Chair Mike Pence, Conference Secretary John Carter, NRCC Chair Pete Sessions and Republican Policy Committee Chair Thaddeus McCotter as members of the House GOP leadership team.  

McMorris Rodgers looks forward to serving her third term representing Eastern Washington in Congress.  Prior to being elected to Congress in 2005, she served ten years in the Washington State House of Representatives, including being the first woman to serve as House Minority Leader.  McMorris Rodgers grew up on her family’s orchard in Kettle Falls and spent 13 years working there.  She is married to retired Navy pilot Brian Rodgers and they are the proud parents of an 18-month-old son, Cole.

Contact:
Destry Henderson
202-225-2006
202-279-0418

SOUND AVAILABLE:
Soundbite 1
TRT:  :24
Part of the reason I’m running for Vice Chair is I believe the next two to four years are critical for our party.  And how we respond to the Obama administration and the Democrats, as well as how we define ourselves as Republicans, is going to determine how we, if we remain a minority party for a short period or a longer period of time. 

Soundbite 2
TRT:  :23
Someone has proposed that we should become the “Grand New Party”, and I must admit, it’s appealing to me, because, I do think, we need to come up with a way of shedding some of the past bad behavior and some of the missed opportunities that we’ve had, and we also, as a party, must bring our message into the 21st century.

Soundbite 3
TRT:  :18
We must be doing more work to build those coalitions as conference, reaching out to women, the younger generation, minority groups, and just welcoming them to our party and letting them know that we care and that we want them to be a part of our vision for America.