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November 13, 2006Karen Modlin
202-225-2002

Barton Offers Nine Steps to a New Republican Majority


WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, sent a letter today to all House Republicans outlining nine specific steps he would take if elected Republican Leader. These steps, which are listed below, are designed to help regain a Republican majority and benefit the nation as a whole.

Nine Steps to a New Republican Majority

An action plan by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton

1.    Protect majority, minority and public rights -- The open procedure used so successfully in the Energy Policy Act conference committee should apply to all House-Senate conferences.   Chairmen and ranking members may meet when they choose and discuss what they like, but the conferences which do not deal in official secrets will do their business in public, with open meetings, unlimited amendments permitted from both Democrats and Republicans, and public votes.  

2.     Access to the President -- Meetings with the President should not be reserved exclusively for leadership.  On behalf of our members, the leader should request a monthly meeting with the President that is to be attended by subsets of the Republican Conference.  Every Republican in the House should be able to visit with the President at least once a year.   

3.     Access to the Leader -- The Republican leader should set aside time in the leader's office for meetings which may be attended by any Republican member, for any purpose, once a week when the House is in session.  I will have an open-door policy that guarantees every Republican the chance to meet directly with their leader for at least five minutes each week.  

4.     Save our Candidates -- The way back to the majority cannot begin with the wholesale elimination of our viable candidates.  We simply must find a way to identify and support every viable candidate who did not succeed this extraordinary election year.  Some of our best candidates for the future are the people who just lost by narrow margins in Republican-leaning districts, and we should not simply wave goodbye and send them off to fend for themselves over the next two years.  Those who want to run again should get our encouragement and real help to sustain them between now and the next election.  

5.     Clean up Travel -- It's time to eliminate the practice of using corporate aircraft for official and campaign travel.  In both cases, let's pay our way and tell the public.  Every one of us knows that it is sometimes impossible to rely on commercial aircraft to reach the places that members of Congress need to go, but nonetheless, official travel should be paid for officially and publicly reported.  That's the same way that federal agencies, businesses, universities and other large organizations pay for their travel, and we should apply that example to the unique needs of Congress by chartering aircraft when commercial carriers cannot take us to the places and people that we need to visit in order to do our jobs.  Some will say we should just sit tight in Washington and get all our information from lobbyists, activists and journalists, but that's hardly a way to produce sound policy for our country.  

6.     Punish Wrongdoing -- As recent cases have shown so clearly, Congress needs a mechanism to suspend members from leadership work and committee votes when significant evidence exists to indicate that they are guilty of grossly improper conduct.  Provocative text messages on pages' cell phones and a freezer full of bribes stand out as memorable examples.  A member is elected by constituents to represent them in passing legislation, and no member's floor vote should be impeded.  The House, however, is responsible for its own rules and, I believe, has every right to suspend the privileges that it grants until a serious case is resolved.   

7.     Workable, Non-political Ethics -- People need to believe in their Congress again, and we need to demonstrate that we can police ourselves without using ethics as a political bludgeon.  I propose that the House create a board of former members and others who do not have business before the House to decide on the potential validity of ethics cases, and to forward those which they do believe warrant full investigation to the House Ethics Committee for full consideration.  The board should be comprised of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, with the Republicans nominated by Democrats and the Democrats nominated by Republicans.

8.     Don't Lose Focus -- Republican leaders should resume the regular, unfiltered meetings with Republican press secretaries and communications directors in order to frame a unified, widely understood message that explains to America what we are doing and why.  It seems to me that too often we have endured the abuse and relentless derision of Democrat critics without effective rebuttal and without taking credit for our own good and successful accomplishments.   

9.     We are the Message -- Taking our message to the people starts with taking ourselves to the people.  The Republican leadership should begin a program of monthly events outside the capital.  I propose a series of "regional weekends" in which the leadership and local Republican members of Congress will conduct policy seminars, meet with the news media, and conduct fundraising. 

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