As the challenging midterm elections approach, House conservatives recognize that you cannot beat a national trend without a national agenda.
As the majority of the majority, House conservatives believe that the remainder of the 109th Congress should be dedicated to affirming our commitment to limited government, fiscal discipline and traditional moral values and the Republican Study Committee Top 10 is designed to do just that.
While this is not an exhaustive list, the fiscal and social policy reforms included in the RSC Top 10 comprise the nucleus of issues that minted this majority. Acting on the RSC Top 10 is the best hope for renewing the confidence of the American people in our commitment to fiscal discipline and reform.
10. Pass legislation that stops the raid on the Social Security Trust Fund and allows Americans to own a Personal Social Security Account.
9. Pass Protections for Religious Freedom, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments, and religious expression in the public square.
8. Defend the Sanctity of Human Life, which includes banning all human cloning, passing the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, promoting ethical adult stem cell research, and preventing federal funding for destructive embryonic stem cell research.
7. Offset all emergency supplemental spending with spending reductions and offset all new programs with simultaneous, equivalent reductions in, or eliminations of, existing programs.
6. Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to put our fiscal house in order.
5. Pass the Marriage Protection Amendment, to ensure that marriage, the union of a woman and a man as husband and wife, is not redefined by activist judges.
4. Pass Ethics Reform that requires transparency and earmark reform that permits Members of Congress to strike earmarks on the House floor.
3. Pass another Deficit Reduction Bill in the form of budget reconciliation, to reign in autopilot spending, which has risen from 25% of all federal spending in 1963 to 54% today, and is expected to reach nearly 60% in 2014.
2. Pass Budget Process Reform, which includes budgeting for emergencies with a rainy day fund, instituting a sunset commission for federal programs, instituting a constitutional line-item veto, and making the budget resolution carry the force of law.
1. Make the Tax Cuts Permanent, including the repeal of the marriage-tax penalty and the death tax and pass fundamental tax reform.
