Republicans’ April Agenda Memo: Lots of Rhetoric, No Reality

Last week, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent a legislative memo to his Republican colleagues discussing the priorities House Republicans want to address and legislation they are bringing to the Floor in the coming weeks. While Leader McCarthy claims that House Republicans want to take responsibility, lead the way, and get things done for middle-class families, the legislation outlined in his memo does nothing to achieve those objectives. Here’s a look at how their rhetoric fails to match reality:

Passing a Budget, Ensuring Government “Lives Within its Means”

Rhetoric: Leader McCarthy’s memo says House Republicans “envision a more efficient, more accountable government that lives within its means.”

Reality: House Republicans voted for a budget that pretends to balance by using gimmicks and magic asterisks that hide the specifics behind $1.1 trillion in spending cuts.

Passing Appropriations Bills

Rhetoric: Leader McCarthy’s memo says, “The ‘power of the purse’ is one of Congress’ most fundamental responsibilities.”

Reality: House Republicans’ decision to pursue appropriations at dangerous sequester spending levels that their own Republican Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers has called “unrealistic and ill-conceived” will make it difficult to complete the appropriations process. Since Republicans took control of the House, they have failed to pass appropriations because they have used a flawed process instead of working towards a final budget agreement:

• FY2015: House passed eight appropriations bills; only one (DHS) was enacted through regular order – but only after a near-shutdown; eleven were included in the Omnibus
• FY2014: House passed four appropriations bills; none were enacted through regular order; twelve were included in the Omnibus.
• FY2013: House passed seven appropriations bills; none were enacted through regular order; twelve were included in the Omnibus.
• FY2012: House passed six appropriations bills; none were enacted through regular order; twelve were included in two separate Omnibuses.

Protecting National Security

Rhetoric: Leader McCarthy’s memo says, “We envision a stronger America that provides freedom and security, both at home and abroad.”

Reality: House Republicans threatened the safety and security of American families by splitting out funding for the Department of Homeland Security when they passed funding for the rest of the government on December 11 so that they could hold DHS funding hostage to partisan, anti-immigrant policy. As a result, they nearly shut down DHS until they passed a last-minute, one-week extension less than two hours before the midnight deadline on February 28.

“Tax Freedom”

Rhetoric: Leader McCarthy’s memo says that House Republicans claim they want to give Americans “tax freedom.”

Reality: By “tax freedom,” House Republicans must have meant “adding billions to the deficit.” They have voted in the Ways and Means Committee and on the House Floor for numerous unpaid-for tax bills, including the following bills this year, which would add $584 billion to the deficit:

Help Americans “Send a Child to College”

Rhetoric: Leader McCarthy’s memo says House Republicans support institutions that make it easier for Americans to “send a child to college.”

Reality: House Republicans’ budget shortchanges our nation’s students by:

• freezing maximum Pell grants,
• cutting funds for scientific research, and
• disinvesting in early childhood and K-12 education.

“Searching for the Truth”

Rhetoric: Leader McCarthy’s memo says House Republicans want to “search for the truth” through their Select Committee on Benghazi.

Reality: This tragedy has been thoroughly investigated. Investigations have been conducted by:

• the independent Accountability Review Board, which has issued nine reports on the attacks, and
• multiple Congressional committees, including:
  • the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
  • the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,
  • the House Committee on Armed Services,
  • the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,
  • the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,
  • the House Committee on the Judiciary, and
  • the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 

“These panels interviewed dozens of witnesses, reviewed tens of thousands of pages of documents, conducted multiple classified interviews and briefings, and held multiple public hearings” [Select Committee on Benghazi].  All of these investigations found no wrongdoing.  

“Get Things Done”

Rhetoric: Leader McCarthy’s memo says Americans want their Members in Congress to “take responsibility,” “lead the way,” and “get things done.” He says “Americans want results.”

Reality: House Republicans’ memo ignores a number of critical issues the majority of Americans want Congress to address, including:

• Comprehensive immigration reform, which the majority of Americans support and would increase employment, raise wages, boost GDP, and reduce the deficit by $900 billion over the next 20 years.
• Securing equal pay for equal work, which 42 percent of working women cite as their top issue.
• Raising the minimum wage,  which the majority of Americans support and would help lift the most vulnerable Americans out of poverty, put billions of dollars into the pockets of American consumers, and encourage consumer spending that stimulates continued job growth.

“Promote Opportunity”

Rhetoric: Leader McCarthy’s memo says, “Every one of the bills we will consider this month will continue the House’s mission to… promote opportunity for the American people.”

Reality: House Republicans’ memo ignores critical legislation that creates jobs and promotes opportunity, such as:

• the upcoming expiration of the highway bill (May 31), which supports more than 700,000 jobs; and
• the upcoming expiration of the Export-Import Bank (June 30), which supports more than 160,000 jobs.

House Democrats will continue to urge House Republican leaders to abandon their political rhetoric and work in a bipartisan manner to really serve the American people and help more families obtain the American Dream.

Click here to read the PDF.

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