Kevin McCarthy’s First-Day Agenda

House Minority Leader, and putative Majority Leader should the Republican Party gain the majority in this fall’s mid-term elections, Kevin McCarthy (R, CA) has a first bill in January [that] would aim to repeal the $80 billion IRS expansion that the Progressive-Democratic Party rammed through on strictly party line votes earlier this summer.

I have a suggestion for McCarthy, and the Republicans as a whole, if they do gain that majority.

As soon as the results are confirmed that the Republican Party has the House majority, McCarthy should convene the Republican caucus and work out not only that bill but the others on McCarthy’s “first day” agenda, along with most of the bills the Republicans and Conservatives want during the first 100 days of the new session, and have them finalized within party parameters by the end of the year. They also should work to identify those bills that don’t have party unity yet so the caucus doesn’t waste time on them in that initial period. The caucus also should finalize committee chairmen and memberships.

The caucus then should submit those initial bills to their respective committees on 4 January 2023 (because 3 January will be occupied with formalizing the election vote counts and getting the Congressmen sworn in). Those committees should be prepared to pass the bills out of committee and to the House for floor debate on 5 January, and then the caucus should bring the bills to up or down votes on Friday, 6 January.

If the Progressive-Democratic Party cries that they’re not ready with committee membership or bill debate, that’s too bad. No one and nothing prevented them from using those same two post-election months to get themselves organized for the coming Congressional session and prepared with their own bills and answers to the Republican caucus’ bills. After all, what the Republicans and Conservatives would be proposing already are well enough known—they’ve been campaigning on them. The Progressive-Democrats also should have their proposed bills ready for committee and floor vote—they’ve been campaigning on their policies already, also.

If the Republican Party gains the majority in the Senate, the Republican Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R, KY) should use the same post-election months to get the Senate Republican caucus organized so it’s ready to go on 4 January with the Senate’s companion bills.

There’s no need to dilly-dally or to let the Progressive-Democratic Party obstruct and stall. It’s time they started working with the Republicans for the good of our nation rather than for their personal and Party power.

2 thoughts on “Kevin McCarthy’s First-Day Agenda

  1. They should also be prepared to use the Congressional Review Act process to invalidate a lot of the Biden administration’s rule making.

    • They can do that, and it would be useful to put the Progressive-Democrats and the President on the record, but absent veto proof majorities in both houses, the move would fail.
      Maybe keep that for later while putting higher priority and more politically powerful bills on the floor, voted up, and sent to the President.
      Eric Hines

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