House Republicans are feeling so good about prospects of retaking control of the chamber they've begun focusing on a 2023 agenda, The Washington Examiner reported.
Building on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's "Commitment to America" agenda from 2020, conference members have been working on developing policy platforms through "task forces" ranging from the economy to China to border security, the Examiner reported Monday.
Every Republican House member is assigned to a task force, and several lawmakers have developed frameworks and legislative text.
The agenda being put together includes:
- Pass a "Parents' Bill of Rights" that would, among other things, require school districts to post curriculum publicly and require schools to notify parents of violent activity on school grounds.
- Pass China COVID-19 accountability measures. That would include legislation to declassify information on the origins of COVID-19, and prohibit U.S. funding for gain-of-function research for anyone with ties with the Chinese Communist Party.
- An aggressive oversight approach. In the majority, Republicans would have the power to compel witnesses to speak under oath. Among the items GOP members want to probe are the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and the Biden administration's policies on the southern border.
- Eliminate House rules — such as the allowance for members to vote by proxy, and magnetometers lawmakers must walk through before entering the House floor —implemented by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
- Take on Big Tech in the hopes of stopping companies from discriminating based on political affiliation, and increasing social media companies' transparency.
- Prevent certain House Democrats from sitting on committees. McCarthy, R-Calif., has said Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., should not be on the Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., should not be on the Intelligence Committee; and California Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., should not be on the Intelligence or Homeland Security committees.
Biden's approval rating has dropped amid rising inflation, the migrant situation at the southern border, COVID-19, and Russia’s threat to invade Ukraine. Also, a recent Rasmussen Reports poll found that 55% of likely voters see Democrats in Congress as being too liberal.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, whose "Contract with America" helped propel the GOP to reclaiming the House in 1994, is working with House Republican leaders on developing their midterm elections platform, The Washington Post reported.
McCarthy recently told Breitbart that Republicans would release a 2022 "Commitment to America" before the midterms.
The House GOP strategy differs from that in the Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., remains focused on ensuring that Republicans regain control of the upper chamber.
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