The “Commitment to America” contains 17 agenda items and resembles the eight-point Contract with America that in 1994 helped Republicans retake the House for the first time in 40 years.
“Republicans helped build the greatest economy in a generation and the American way of life was thriving. We will do it again. That is our commitment to you,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in a press release.
McCarthy is likely to be House speaker if Republicans can reclaim a majority of seats. Democrats currently hold a 34-seat advantage.
Republicans commit in the document to “bringing high-speed internet to every household in the United States, launching a five-year plan to fix our roads, bridges, and airports, while cutting the permitting process time in half.”
Republicans also commit to “opposing efforts to defund the police while increasing funding by $1.75 billion for better police training, community policing, and equipment, including 500,000 more body cameras.”
The document comes amid gridlock on Capitol Hill on new coronavirus stimulus legislation and on police reforms following the May killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police.
In one item, Republicans commit to “extending the $2,000 child tax credit and making permanent Opportunity Zone credits that generate $10 billion each year in poor communities.”
The document commits to tripling COVID-19 testing and funding efforts to modernize medical supplies for future pandemics.
Other agenda points are less detailed, such as a pledge to uphold First and Second Amendment rights, and to allow students to change schools.
Even though the second round of coronavirus relief legislation is about to pass in bipartisan fashion, the real battle is looming over the next round of legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is looking to cut off the states and steer all the money to the wealthy. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is looking to bail out the working class and pave the way for nationwide mail-in voting.
That third round of legislation will represent a battle for the ages between Pelosi and McConnell. Pelosi is already framing her argument, and she’s making a point of doing it in McConnell’s back yard. She did an interview with conservative Trump apologist Hugh Hewitt and said this:
Look at the language of Mitch McConnell: ‘I’m not bailing out blue states, they should go bankrupt.’ Really? Really? How insecure is he in his own race in Kentucky to have to resort to that pathetic language?
Speaker Pelosi has a habit of trying to get inside her opponents’ heads like this when she knows she’s about to head into negotiations with them. She’s done it to Donald Trump several times, and now she’s doing it to Mitch McConnell. It seems to work, as Pelosi usually tends to get the majority of what she’s seeking in these kinds of negotiations. McConnell is no pushover, but our money is on Pelosi.
