GOP To Roll Out Policy Agenda This Week

June 04--WASHINGTON -- After five months and multiple behind-the-scenes meetings, House Republicans will start rolling out a six-part policy agenda this coming week, offering a peek at what could be in store for the country after the November elections.

The agenda is expected to include legislative proposals in the areas of health care, tax reform, national security, regulatory reform, poverty and re-asserting Congress's constitutional authority.

In an op-ed piece published in his hometown newspaper Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the concept behind the agenda was "if we had a Republican president ready to sign bills into law, what would we do?"

Giving an indication of how much weight he personally puts on this effort, Ryan said he only agreed to vote for Donald Trump after discussing the agenda with him at length and being convinced the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would support the ideas.

"House Republicans are helping to shape that vision (of America's future) by offering a bold policy agenda, by offering a better way ahead," he said. "Donald Trump can help us make it a reality."

Whether the proposals will capture the imagination of the average American, though, is another question.

Given Ryan's cerebral approach to politics, Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador suggested the agenda could fall flat with voters who are more concerned about jobs than the minutia of public policy.

"I think the things he'll come up with will be good, solid conservative values -- but what we need is a transformative agenda," Labrador said. "That's not what it's going to be. It's going to be the chamber of commerce agenda."

Some generic ideas that have been floated, for example, include updating corporate tax rates, simplifying the tax code, allowing consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines, expanding domestic energy production and reviving defunct welfare-to-work requirements.

Labrador contrasted Ryan's agenda-building methods with the approach Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey took in 1994, when they wrote the Contract With America.

"Newt looked at issues that had a 70 percent public approval rating," he said. "They were things that were in accord with traditional conservative principles, but that also had broad populist appeal. Gingrich was able to marry the two, but Ryan can't do that. He can't think outside the Beltway."

That could be a major problem in a year when populism has been such a factor for both parties on the presidential campaign trail.

"Trump has shown no reluctance to disavow the party platform in the past, so one of the interesting questions is how closely Ryan's agenda will align with what he rolls out," said Patrick Egan, an associate professor of politics and public policy at New York University.

"Trump is very explicitly anti-establishment," Egan said. "He attracts supporters who look at the gridlock in Washington and think the best solution is to blow the whole thing up. In an environment like that, it's not clear to what extent policy details even matter."

Like Trump, he said, the Contract With America had an anti-establishment aura. It featured 10 specific legislative proposals, as well as eight internal reforms meant to improve House procedures and make it less bureaucratic.

"I think it was a factor in electing a Republican majority," said former Washington Rep. George Nethercutt, whose stunning defeat of then-Speaker Tom Foley in the '94 election helped his party capture 54 seats in the House and gain the majority for the first time in 40 years.

However, while Republicans kept their promise and brought all 10 bills up for a vote in the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, much of the legislation died in the Senate or was vetoed by President Bill Clinton.

A cynical view might suggest the Contract was still a success, since it contributed to the Republican victory, but Nethercutt cautioned that voters today aren't likely to tolerate half measures.

"House members need to realize they're dealing with a public that's not willing to cut them too much slack," he said.

Egan agreed, saying Ryan is taking a risk by tying his caucus to an agenda that can only be implemented with the support of the Senate and the White House -- and that requires Republican unity in the House.

"Whether the agenda will be something his caucus can cling to will be something to watch," he said.

The initial indication, at least, is that Ryan may be more excited about it than his caucus.

Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, for example, who serves as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding the agenda and what she'd like it to include.

The other three Republican members of Washington's congressional delegation declined interview requests as well, as did Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy also did not respond to an interview request.

In an invitation-only meeting with reporters last week, Ryan was quoted as saying the first plank of the agenda, dealing with poverty initiatives, will be unveiled this coming week. The remaining elements will be released by the end of the month.

"Our goal is to go bold; these will be the kinds of things you only get done with a Republican president," he told the Washington Examiner.

Labrador didn't attend any of the meetings where House members offered input on the agenda, but said he's "only heard positive things" about the concepts being discussed.

Nevertheless, he also recalled a caucus retreat following the 2014 election, when Domino's Pizza CEO J. Patrick Doyle spoke about the travails his company went through in 2009 and 2010, after its pizza was rated dead last in a consumer taste survey.

"They had a bad product and bad service, so they changed everything," Labrador said. "Then they went one step further and spent their entire advertising budget on ads apologizing to customers."

Republicans are in a similar situation now, he suggested. So rather than deliver a wonky, inside-the-Beltway agenda, the party should focus on providing a product that addresses the concerns of everyday Americans.

"My friend (Ohio Rep.) Jim Jordan talks about people who are working two shifts at a factory," Labrador said. "They see the rich getting richer and the poor being provided for, but they aren't getting ahead themselves. They're frustrated and don't know where to turn.

"We just saw 65 or 70 percent of Republican voters reject the establishment candidates and support Donald Trump. In my opinion, they're telling us we need a better product. I don't think leadership understands that. If they just give us the same pizza in a new box, people aren't going to buy it."

Spence may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 791-9168.

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