WASHINGTON – Today, members of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) elected Congressman Jim Banks (IN-3) as the Chairman of RSC for the 117th Congress. RSC Chairman Mike Johnson (LA-04) and Congressman Jim Banks released the following statements:
“The Republican Study Committee will be in great hands in the 117th Congress with my good friend and colleague, Congressman Jim Banks, at the helm. I know Jim will provide principled leadership for our caucus, maintain the structural improvements we've implemented the past two years, and help advance the important policy solutions that our members have developed. RSC is well positioned to continue to lead as the 'intellectual arsenal' of conservatism in the House, and I have total confidence in our new chairman to guide our group in this next critical season," said Johnson.
“Under Chairman Mike Johnson’s leadership, the Republican Study Committee has produced the legislative playbook for conservatives that we’ll use this upcoming term and when we win back the House majority in 2022. I thank Chairman Johnson for his service to our conservative cause and putting in such hard work over the last two years, and I look forward to continuing the mission of Republican Study Committee next term,” said Banks.
WASHINGTON – Today, members of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), spearheaded by RSC Chairman Mike Johnson (LA-04), introduced 3 commonsense, federal workforce modernization reforms inspired by both RSC’s Government Efficiency, Accountability, and Reform (GEAR) Task Force’s report, Power, Practices, Personnel: 100+ Commonsense Solutions to Better Government, and American Worker Task Force’s report, Reclaiming the American Dream: Proposals to Empower the Workers of Today and Tomorrow. The reforms are a collaboration of two RSC Task Forces and inspired by the Trump Administration’s bold leadership to introduce common sense, private sector led best practices into the federal workforce. Conservatives are proud to lead these government modernization efforts to empower employees to better serve the American people, streamline processes to attract the best and brightest to our public service, and enhance accountability.
Legislation introduced from Power, Practices, Personnel: 100+ Commonsense Solutions to Better Government and Reclaiming the American Dream: Proposals to Empower the Workers of Today and Tomorrow
- The Federal Skills Act – introduced by Rep. Ted Budd (R, NC-13)
- This legislation would codify President Trump’s E.O. 13932, Order on Modernizing and Reforming the Assessment and Hiring of Federal Job Candidates to prioritize job-related skills in federal hiring.
- The Federal Workforce Accountability and Modernization Act – introduced by Rep. Fred Keller (R, PA-12)
- This legislation would codify President Trump’s E.O. 13957, Creating Schedule F in the Expected Service to ensure greater accountability for career employees in critical policy positions.
- The Federal Hiring Improvement Reform and Enhancement (HIRE) Act – introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R, FL-17)
- This legislation would remove red tape when hiring federal agency personnel to address critical shortages in staffing.
"I am proud to see our members taking action to transform the Republican Study Committee proposals into meaningful legislation that will provide Americans with a more efficient, effective, and accountable federal government. We appreciate President Trump, OMB Director Vought and this administration for their bold leadership to modernize the federal employee hiring process and equip public servants to better carry out their duties on behalf of the American people. Congress owes it to the millions of Americans who fund this government to work together to get these bills passed and signed into law without delay.” said Chairman Johnson.
“The American taxpayer deserves a modern and well-organized government that works effectively on their behalf. My legislation would mirror the president’s Executive Order by creating a new classification within the federal workforce titled ‘Schedule F’ reserved for employees serving in positions considered confidential with the authority to influence public policy,” said Rep. Keller. “By enacting this legislation, we can increase accountability and transparency within federal agencies by allowing them to more efficiently remove employees who perform poorly, while also enabling those agencies to better recruit high quality candidates, and more easily reward employees who excel at their jobs.”
“Overregulating the federal government’s hiring process only leads to wasted time and taxpayer dollars. However, by giving federal agencies the authority to hire their own employees and cut through the unnecessary red tape, this legislation will promote the much-needed fiscal responsibility and efficiency at all levels of our federal government, ” said Rep. Steube.
JOHNSON, WILSON APPLAUD THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN
THE CHINA TASK FORCE REPORT
WASHINGTON – Today, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) – the largest caucus of conservatives in the House of Representatives – Chairman Mike Johnson (LA-04) and RSC National Security and Foreign Affairs Task Force Chairman Joe Wilson (SC-02) applauded the work and recommendations of the China Task Force,led by House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) and RSC member and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael McCaul (TX-10), to counter Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aggression. Their report included recommendations from the RSC National Security Strategy: Strengthening America & Countering Global Threats (click here to view the full proposal) like sanctioning the United Front Work Department, enhancing the U.S.’s ability bring cases of IP theft forward, encouraging the completion of free trade agreements with allies, and protecting our universities from CCP propaganda, among others.
“It’s encouraging that progress is being made to hold the CCP, one of the greatest threats to the U.S. and all of the free world, accountable for its years of aggression,” said Johnson. “Many of our recommendations in the RSC National Security Strategy have already been implemented by President Trump, with some being made into law, and we are appreciative that the China Task Force has also included some of our top recommendations in its report as well. The CCP’s malign influence in the U.S. will come to an end, and it started right here, with the help of this Administration and Republican policies.”
"I applaud the China Task Force for their report urging important actions be taken against the Chinese Communist Party,” said Wilson. “As Chairman of the Republican Study Committee’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Task Force, I am grateful that the China Task Force has included over a dozen major initiatives that were recommended by our National Security Strategy report back in June. We can no longer stand by while the CCP continues their harmful efforts against the United States and on the world stage."
List of RSC recommendations included in the China Task Force report:
- Create a new sanctions authority to sanction the United Front Work Department of the CCP
- Enhance the ability to bring cases for IP theft by ensuring the Defend Trade Secrets Act applies extraterritorially
- Require the Department of the Treasury to produce an annual report identifying companies that have stolen or benefited from stolen IP from U.S. companies
- Require the Department of Defense research grant applicants to certify that no recipients have ever participated in a Chinese talent recruitment program
- Enact the Safe Career Transitions for Intelligence and National Security Professionals Act
- Enact the Promoting Secure 5G Act
- Enhance FARA to eliminate loopholes for agents of companies affiliated with the CCP
- Enact the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act
- Enact the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
- Amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to allow suits against foreign states’ corporate affiliates under the law’s commercial activity exception
- Enact the Protect our Universities Act
- Enact the Countering the Chinese Government and Communist Party’s Political Influence Operations Act
- Encourage the completion of free trade agreements with democratic partners countering China including India, Taiwan, Japan, and others
- Pressure the United Nations to increase its employment of U.S. nationals
- Compete to win in international organizations by coordinating with other countries to back the election of U.S. and U.S.-supported candidates for leadership within the UN system
- Push for Taiwan’s inclusion in international organizations
- Require institutions of higher education to disclose gifts above $50,000
- Counter Chinese influence in international bodies including the World Health Organization
REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE RELEASES
“AGENDA FOR BETTER AMERICAN HEALTH CARE”
WASHINGTON – Today, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) – the largest caucus of conservatives in the House of Representatives – released a health care agenda that builds on President Trump’s America-First Healthcare Plan and the RSC’s Framework for Personalized, Affordable Care. The agenda, led by RSC Chairman Mike Johnson (LA-04) and RSC Health Care Task Force Chairman Roger Marshall, M.D. (KS-01), highlights key issues such as increasing price transparency, encouraging innovation, and reducing regulatory burdens that Congress must address in future health care legislation.
“Health care remains one of the most pressing issues in our country, and Congress has a responsibility to enact reforms that will reduce costs, increase options, and raise the quality of care available to all Americans,” said Johnson. “The Left’s socialist health care agenda will not only maintain the bureaucratic, broken status quo of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), it will make the situation even worse. We are releasing our ‘Agenda for Better American Health Care’ to build on the President’s plan and the RSC’s previously published Framework for Personalized, Affordable Care to present what, as conservatives, we believe is the best path forward for a more effective, efficient and affordable health care system.”
“The Republican Party is committed to providing affordable and effective health care that works for all Americans. We need to increase patient choice and personalized care while modernizing our current system. Meanwhile, the Democrats want to double down and take more steps toward replacing our health system with ‘Medicare For All’,” said Marshall. “ Working alongside the White House and members of the Republican Study Committee, I am proud of the proposals we have put forth that protect pre-existing conditions, lower the cost of care, unleash innovation and puts patients first. Each American is unique and deserves health care that works for their specific needs. A one-size-fits-all approach will have lasting negative impacts on patients and the future for cures. As a physician, I know we can do better and I am unwavering in my dedication to put patients first.”
You can read the agenda here, and see a side by side comparison between the Republican Study Committee’s agenda and the Congressional Democrat’s agenda below.
JOHNSON, BARR UNVEIL AMERICAN WORKER TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS:
RECLAIMING THE AMERICAN DREAM
100+ proposals to empower the workers of today and tomorrow
WASHINGTON – Today, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) – the largest caucus of conservatives in the House of Representatives – released Reclaiming the American Dream: Proposals to Empower the Workers of Today and Tomorrow (click here to view the full proposal). Spearheaded by RSC Chairman Mike Johnson (LA-04) and RSC American Worker Task Force (AWTF) Chairman Andy Barr (KY-06), the proposal is filled with 100+ conservative and solutions-oriented ideas to take a fresh, innovative, and comprehensive approach to lift up and empower America’s workers.
To achieve this goal, Congress must pass legislation that refines our education system to better equip the American worker; refocuses labor policy to unleash the American worker; and reimagines welfare to empower individuals & families.
To view an execute summary of recommendations of Reclaiming the American Dream, click here or scroll to the bottom of the page.
“Congress has always had a duty to advance policies that empower hardworking Americans to achieve their goals, and that is especially true now in the wake of the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the recommendations in this report, we can make the rebuilding and recovery process even faster and stronger," said Johnson. “I thank my friend Rep. Barr for his leadership on this task force, and I hope to see these policies made into law so we can provide greater opportunity for more Americans than ever before."
“The report released today by the AWTF could not be a more timely endeavor as it provides a roadmap that will empower millions of Americans to reclaim his or her American dream,” said Barr. “These proposals debunk the bachelors-or-bust mentality and would realign our education system to level the playing field and clear a path for innovative and in demand career opportunities. Additionally, our report recognizes the dignity of work and reforms our failed welfare systems that currently leave generations of Americans in a cycle of government dependence. Our nation is at a cross-roads and this pro-worker agenda that emphasizes the American work ethic and capitalist successes will propel us forward to economic stability and prosperity. I want to thank RSC Chairman Johnson for selecting me to lead this Taskforce as well as all my colleagues who participated for their valued input.”
EXCUTIVE SUMMARY
Reclaiming the American Dream:
Proposals to Empower the Workers of Today and Tomorrow
Platform 1: Refine our Education System to Better Equip the American Worker
Roll back federal policies that have perpetuated today’s “Bachelor’s-or-Bust” mentality and create a framework that clears a path for innovative opportunities for tomorrow’s workers to seek employment in well-paying and in-demand industries.
•Empower local educators and states to take control of education and expand choice for students and families by implementing legislation such as the A-PLUS Act and the Head Start Improvement Act.
•Curb the rising cost of tuition and lower student debt by reducing overall federal subsidies to higher education.
•Enact federal policies that encourage private lending, and the innovative models that would follow to enhance educational value.
•Encourage appropriately priced remote instruction at higher education institutions.
•Recalibrate federal student lending to ensure future employment outcomes are better incorporated into financial decisions.
•Increase transparency and the information available to students to enable well-informed choices regarding college and field of study.
•Encourage a strong connection between educators and employers to increase employment opportunities.
•Promote alternate pathways in education by leveling the playing field for Career and Technical Education in secondary and post-secondary education.
•Encourage policies that allow employers to prioritize skills instead of degrees in hiring decisions.
Platform 2: Refocus Labor Policy to Unleash the American Worker
Ensure every American can reach their potential by increasing and safe-guarding opportunities for workers to design careers that fit their needs, protecting workers’ rights, and providing additional opportunities for workers in their current positions.
•Increase apprenticeship opportunities by promoting and enhancing Industry-Recognized Apprenticeships (IRA).
•Increase employment opportunities by safe-guarding access to franchising and independent contracting, such as implementing the New GIG Act.
•Encourage policies that remove onerous barriers to licensed occupations.
•Promote worker growth with greater access to upskilling opportunities, flexible and rewarding compensation, and future savings.
•Reduce barriers that prevent workers from finding affordable, safe, and flexible child care options.
•Insulate remote work from undue tax burdens during the pandemic.
•Defend the right of American workers to choose how they want to be represented in workplace contract negotiations, protect those that stand up to corruption, and provide workers with relevant information related to union investments.
•Support ability of workers and employers to engage in alternative forms of labor management cooperation.
Platform 3: Reimagine Welfare to Empower Individuals & Families
Ensure welfare is used as a tool to lift people into meaningful and self-sustaining work while encouraging family formation and tackling the root causes of poverty.
•Institute robust work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) and strong anti-fraud measures in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
•Implement reforms of the JOBS for Success Act to refocus Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to tackle the root causes of poverty, helping families achieve self-sustainability.
•Reform housing assistance programs to eliminate duplication, create strong work incentives, encourage private investment and collaboration, and grant flexibility to focus on outcome-based approaches.
•Increase portability of housing benefits so workers can move to high-opportunity areas.
•Implement reforms of the Making DI Work for All Americans Act to modernize Social Security Disability Insurance’s (SSDI) work capability metrics and case handling.
•Promote reforms to eliminate marriage penalties and policies that discourage family formation.
•Create robust verification and anti-fraud measures to ensure benefits go to those who earn them.
•Merge duplicative programs and grant more flexibility to local and state governments to pursue outcome-based approaches.
BANKS, JOHNSON AND WILSON INTRODUCE THE COUNTERING CHINESE PROPAGANDA ACT
Legislation to sanction the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department
WASHINGTON – Today, Republican Study Committee (RSC) Budget & Spending Task Force Chairman Jim Banks (IN- 03), RSC Chairman Mike Johnson (LA-04), and RSC National Security & Foreign Affairs Task Force Chairman Joe Wilson (SC-02) introduced the Countering Chinese Propaganda Act. This legislation, based upon the recommendations from the Republican Study Committee (RSC)’s The RSC National Security Strategy (click here to view the full report), authorizes sanctions against the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)- a hostile wing of the CCP that engages in political warfare campaigns to make supreme the ideology of communism and to spread discord among enemies of the party.
The United Front has led aggressive campaigns of subversion and espionage especially on U.S. college campuses through the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) and Chinese-language centers called Confucius Institutes. The United Front has also funded a number of think tanks in Washington D.C., and co-opted business leaders to squash criticism of China. Despite this information, there is currently over a hundred United Front organizations that openly operate in the United States.
By placing the United Front under U.S. sanctions, the organization will no longer be able to access the U.S. financial system and would be blocked from receiving visas to travel to the U.S. and openly work to undermine U.S. national security.
This legislation will do the following:
- Creates new mandatory sanctions on entities, like the United Front, from spreading malign disinformation on behalf of a foreign government or political party.
- Requires the Secretary of State to examine whether or not the United Front Work Department of the CCP meets the criteria to be sanctioned under this new authority, and to be sanctioned under authorities for entities engaged in cyber-attacks and violators of human rights under the Global Magnitsky Act
“The Chinese Communist Party’s disinformation campaign targets our classrooms, our news outlets, our social media platforms—they even want to our rewrite our Bibles to include ‘socialist characteristics.’ The CCP has taken advantage of our open society for far too long. We need to fight back,” said Banks.
“Our nation’s greatest threat, the Chinese Communist Party, has a weapon on U.S. soil. This weapon is not just active, but it has over 100 affiliated organizations in our nation today- the United Front,” said Johnson. “This organization suppresses freedom of religion and human rights in their own country and is actively working to spread malign disinformation in ours. We must act now to sanction this organization and prohibit its operations in the U.S. That is why we recommended that this hostile wing of the CCP be sanctioned in our National Security Strategy and why we are introducing this bill today.”
“More Americans need to know about the United Front Work Department of the CCP and their goal of political warfare,” said Wilson. “I was grateful to propose designating this malign wing of the CCP as part of the Republican Study Committee National Security and Foreign Affairs Task Force report last June and I am grateful to support this crucial legislation which would do just that and protect American national security. Communist party operatives engaged in subversion, espionage and human rights abuses should not be able to access the U.S financial system and operate freely in the U.S.”
WASHINGTON – Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Johnson (R-La.) today announced that seven bills have now been introduced as a result of RSC’s 2020 government reform proposal, Power, Practices, Personnel: 100+ Commonsense Solutions to Better Government. The bills, detailed below, have been introduced as a direct result of the recommendations published in the report.
“The Republican Study Committee takes seriously its call to serve as the policy shop and 'intellectual arsenal' of conservatism in the House of Representatives. We have invested 19 months in building a lengthy volume of commonsense, conservative solutions to solve our nation’s toughest problems, including government inefficiency,” Johnson said. “I am proud to see our members taking action to transform our detailed blueprint for reform into meaningful legislation that will provide Americans with a more efficient, effective, and accountable federal government. Congress owes it to the millions of Americans who fund this government to work together to get these bills passed and signed into law without delay.”
Legislation Introduced from Power, Practices, Personnel: 100+ Commonsense Solutions to Better Government
- H.R. 6128, Eliminate Agency Excess Space Act - Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC)
- Would allow for agencies to more easily sell or lease unused office space. It is estimated that this legislation would save $15 billion over five years.
- H.R. 7768, Freedom from Regulations Act - Rep Budd (R-NC)
- Would require independent agencies to follow rulemaking statute so that the rules they write are clear, transparent, and lessen the burden on the American people.
- H.R. 7949, SMART Government Act - Rep Ben Cline (R-VA)
- Would implement a three-pronged approach to establish better governance and oversight regarding Federal technology practices.
- H.R. 8006, Regulatory Scorecard Act - Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
- Would establish a scorecard to grade agencies on the economic costs of their regulations. Agencies would be reviewed and scored by Government Accountability Office over two-year period and would be required to publicly answer questions about their scorecards in hearing before the House and Senate Oversight Committees.
- H.R. 7895, Separation of Powers Act - Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND)
- Would eliminate the judicial doctrine known as Chevron Deference, which requires that federal courts defer to statutory interpretations offered by federal agencies.
- H.R. 7396, Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act – Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC)
- Would promote greater regulatory transparency by increasing access to agency guidance documents.
- H.R. 8035, Modified Reg Accountability Act – Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN)
- Would require agencies to disclose data in support of a proposed regulation as part of the rule making process. Disclosure requirements would include an estimating regulatory impact on wages and jobs.
WASHINGTON – Today, Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Mike Johnson (LA-04), RSC Budget and Spending Task Force Chairman Jim Banks (IN-03), and 100 additional members of the RSC published a letter committing to defend American values, fight the Left’s calls for socialism, and take action to address the nation’s $26.5 trillion national debt. The letter, which is signed by more than half of all House Republicans currently serving in Congress, states:
“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic fallout, America’s debt trajectory was on an unsustainable path. It has now reached a point of crisis…As the U.S. economy continues to recover and rebuild in aftermath of the pandemic, we must begin to seriously address our debt. The Republican Study Committee is committed to restoring our nation’s fiscal health and to preserving [liberty, fiscal responsibility, national security, and safety net solvency].
“The alternative path being offered by Democrats would surrender our freedoms in favor of socialism, neglect our national security, require massive tax increases on nearly all Americans to fund big government priorities, jeopardize our safety net programs and those who rely on them, and ultimately bankrupt the country. We reject their dangerous agenda and we will fight it at every turn
“Keeping our republic for future generations will require principled leadership and difficult choices in the days ahead and we stand ready to meet these challenges.”
To view a PDF of the signed letter, click here. The full text of the letter can be viewed below:
***
July 29, 2020
Fellow Americans,
At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, one of America’s most prominent founding fathers was asked by a bystander: “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” Benjamin Franklin famously responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
It has been the duty of every successive generation to do just that—both in times of prosperity and especially in the face of trials. Today our country is facing unprecedented challenges that threaten the very fabric of our republic and the American way of life. Among the largest threats is the explosive growth of our nation’s debt caused by soaring annual deficits and bloated government.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic fallout, America’s debt trajectory was on an unsustainable path. It has now reached a point of crisis. Since the turn of the century, our national debt has nearly quintupled to around $27 trillion (representing a debt of $204,000 per household), and will continue to grow exponentially in perpetuity. Without decisive action now, this debt will consume more and more of our economy, leaving Americans with an insurmountable and crippling financial burden.
As the U.S. economy continues to recover and rebuild in aftermath of the pandemic, we must begin to seriously address our debt. The Republican Study Committee is committed to restoring our nation’s fiscal health and to preserving these essential pillars and principles:
Liberty: America was founded upon the ideals of individual freedom, limited government and the free enterprise system, and our continued success depends upon them still.
Fiscal Responsibility: Congress must substantially reduce reckless spending on wasteful federal programs, refuse to subsidize special interests, and eliminate the multiple layers of taxation currently imposed upon individual savings and investment.
National Security: Congress must prioritize national security investments to fulfill the federal government’s constitutional duty to “provide for the common defense.”
Safety Net Solvency: Congress must advance substantial reforms to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to avoid draconian cuts and preserve these programs for those who need them.
The alternative path being offered by Democrats would surrender our freedoms in favor of socialism, neglect our national security, require massive tax increases on nearly all Americans to fund big government priorities, jeopardize our safety net programs and those who rely on them, and ultimately bankrupt the country. We reject their dangerous agenda and we will fight it at every turn.
Keeping our republic for future generations will require principled leadership and difficult choices in the days ahead and we stand ready to meet these challenges.