While the House GOP’s quest for a solid legislative agenda is applauded throughout conservative circles, some activists already fret that the policies crafted for the campaign trail will be watered down or eventually shelved if the party wins majorities in the House and Senate.
Americans for Limited Government President Richard Manning was quoted in a recent Washington Times article, House GOP huddles to draft policies on biggest issues, but it’s still a work in progress. Manning, while hopeful Republicans can gain control of one or both of the Houses in the November mid-term elections, he urges GOP candidates to stick to their conservative principles.
Republicans see an opportunity to set a governing agenda to contrast with what they say is an increasingly rudderless Democratic-run Washington, but the effort has not yet coalesced.
They are still hammering out the details of what is intended to be a broad-based platform, lawmakers leading the effort told The Washington Times.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy created seven policy task forces back in June to craft that legislative agenda for Republicans to run on in the 2022 midterm elections and to govern on in 2023.
The outlines of the platform so far include: opposing vaccine mandates, curbing the power of tech oligarchs, strengthening the U.S. defense systems to compete with China and reviving get-tough immigration policies.
Six months into the endeavor, what the lawmakers described were more akin to themes and goals than detailed policy proposals.
Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, promised that the seven policy teams will identify and develop legislative solutions to the biggest issues facing Americans.
These are the task forces:
- Jobs and Economy headed up by Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.
- Big Tech Censorship led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington.
- Future of American Freedoms led by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
- Energy Climate and Conservation led by Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana.
- American Security, which includes border and immigration issues, led by Rep. John Katko of New York.
- Healthy Future headed up by Reps. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and Devin Nunes of California, the latter of whom is retiring from Congress in a matter of days.
- China Accountability led by Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas.
While the House GOP’s quest for a solid legislative agenda is applauded throughout conservative circles, some activists already fret that the policies crafted for the campaign trail will be watered down or eventually shelved if the party wins majorities in the House and Senate.
Richard Manning, president of the conservative activist group Americans for Limited Government, said that if Republicans take control of the 118th Congress, GOP leaders will need to take a page from Speaker John Boehner’s first two years of leadership. That’s when the Ohio Republican reeled in spending by the Obama administration by helping institute federal spending caps.
