House Republican caucus drafting ‘Contract With America II’

“I said these things had to be put in writing for my constituents,” said Brat in an interview in his east-central Virginia district. “The Contract With America was on paper — and it was hugely successful. Because then you could hold people accountable.”

Gingrich’s “Contract With America” campaign proposal helped Republicans win a landslide election in 1994, gaining 54 seats and winning control of the House for the first time since Dwight Eisenhower was president. While a welfare overhaul was enacted two years later, a number of its other proposals — including term limits for members of Congress — didn’t become law. The 1994 document’s call for a balanced-budget constitutional amendment is repeated in the new draft.

The intent this time, said Meadows, is for the caucus to unveil its plan publicly so it may become at least part of the House Republican agenda for 2016.

Meadows was a key instigator in the 2013 government shutdown fight — he circulated a letter demanding the defunding of PPACA — as well as Boehner’s decision to leave Congress in October. Meadows filed a procedural bid in July to remove Boehner, who ultimately decided to resign instead of fighting conservatives among his membership.

‘More strategic’

Meadows said it’s important now for Freedom Caucus members to be “more strategic” in plotting their direction. The proposed contract represents “part 2″ of a three-step process, he said.

“Having a new speaker — getting more sensitive Republican leadership to the voice of the American people — was step 1,” he said. The contract represents “step 2 — laying out that positive agenda for what is to be expected, what we want to accomplish.”

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“Step 3 will be delivering on that contract,” said Meadows.

Brat and Meadows indicated that, so far, Ryan as speaker has been saying and doing the right things. The speaker has repeatedly said that Republicans must offer specific ideas on matters such as replacing PPACA with a new health care plan. Even if opposition from President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats keep the proposals from being enacted, Americans need to know what Republicans would do if given the chance, Ryan has said.

Highway spending 

Next week, Congress needs to pass a six-year highway spending plan before current authority expires Nov. 20. Then lawmakers must agree on a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill to keep the government open after Dec. 11.

Brat and Meadows both suggested that, with so little time left before the Dec. 11 spending bill deadline, Ryan may be judged mainly on whether he allows enough rank-and-file input. Neither said they expect huge fights on policy issues such as defunding Planned Parenthood because of the short time frame.

That’s partly why a focus is already shifting to 2016. The draft of the Freedom Caucus contract calls for House floor votes on proposals to require a balanced federal budget, repeal the estate tax, replace PPACA, and cut dependence on foreign oil 20 percent by 2025. The military should receive enough funding to be able to fight two separate wars in different parts of the world, it says, and government regulations should be cut 20 percent across the board.

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The proposal calls for closing corporate tax “loopholes” and cutting the top corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent; banning federal funds for Planned Parenthood and other groups that perform abortions; overhauling entitlement programs and enacting measures “to promote workfare, not welfare.”