House Republicans promised to focus on safety and the economy. They haven't.

During the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans promised that if voters gave them a majority in the House of Representatives, they would focus on the economy, public safety, liberty, and government accountability. Seven months in, they have achieved little on those fronts.

Six of the eight House districts in Wisconsin, for example, are represented by members of the GOP majority. A review of the bills they have filed to date shows that they are far more focused on divisive social issues than on lowering costs for consumers, addressing gun violence, or protecting civil liberties.

Last September, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy released the Republican caucus’ “Commitment to America” plan. In a video and in the document, the House GOP promised, “Starting Day One, we will work to deliver an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future that’s built on freedom, and a government that’s accountable.” 

Wisconsin Republicans endorsed the efforts. “The results are in: Democrat control in Washington is not working for the American people,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald tweeted. “I’m proud to stand with my colleagues in our Commitment to America.”

“Republicans want a government that will work for YOU – not a government that will come after YOU,” said Rep. Tom Tiffany. “That includes repealing the 87,000 IRS agents Joe Biden hired to come after you, restoring energy independence, and securing our southern border.”

After voters gave Republicans a narrow five-seat majority that November, Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced a “first two weeks” agenda of 11 “ready-to-go” proposals attacking progressive prosecutors, immigration, reproductive rights, and the Internal Revenue Service. 

Instead, the party began in disarray, spending several days arguing over who should be House speaker and unable to pass even many of those initial plans during their first months in power.

As of mid-August, just 11 bills have become law since the start of the Congress. While one was a bipartisan compromise to address the debt limit, most have been relatively minor, such as a bill to rename a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Michigan and legislation to mint a commemorative coin honoring the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps.

House Republicans reportedly plan to focus much of their fall efforts on an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and on an unconstitutional effort to expunge former President Donald Trump’s impeachments.

According to Congress.gov, Wisconsin House Republicans have thus far introduced 78 bills in the 118th Congress. Few would even remotely impact those promised priority areas.

Fitzgerald’s 11 bills include multiple attempts to undermine diversity, equality, and inclusion efforts by limiting corporate shareholders’ power to propose governance rules, requiring bipartisan agreement for new Federal Trade Commission regulations, and forcing local schools to post curriculums online, purportedly to expose teaching about so-called critical race theory. He also filed a proposal aimed at weakening the National Education Association by making it harder for teachers to join and barring the group’s political activity, and a bill to roll back consumer protection regulations. One bill would crack down on fentanyl-like drugs and one would require the Bureau of Justice Statistics to issue reports to Congress about accused violent felons being granted pretrial release or bail.

Of the 24 bills filed by Rep. Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, at least seven of them appeared to be designed to undermine that country by limiting Chinese investment in the United States and assisting Taiwan. One proposal would tighten the rules for transnational criminal organizations; another would set a federal definition for what qualifies as natural cheese.

Rep. Glenn Grothman has filed 13 bills. Two would weaken labor protections for workers with disabilities by allowing more employers to pay them less than the federal minimum wage. One would address the purported issue of voter fraud in Washington, D.C., elections by limiting who can deliver mail-in ballots, another would bar student loan forgiveness efforts, and a third would institute mandatory minimum sentences for distributors of fentanyl.

Rep. Bryan Steil has introduced 11 bills. Four aim to crack down on diversity, equity, and inclusion and curb corporate stockholders’ power to set company policies by further regulating shareholder voting and barring votes on topics that are “environmental, social, or political.”  One purportedly addresses voter fraud by making it harder for citizens to participate in elections by tightening voter ID requirements and limiting who can collect ballots.

Tiffany’s 11 bills include a ban on political candidates paying their spouses with campaign funds. Others would mandate that schools offer flavored milk despite studies that show it is less nutritious than unflavored milk; cut federal incentives for land conservation and solar/wind energy development on farmlands to insure those properties are used for farming; bar any consideration by contractors of race, color, or national origin in any activity connected with a federal contract or employment; and expand rural broadband.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s eight bills include requiring strict photo Identification for voters, barring members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists, and subsidizing dairy innovations.

None of the bills have become law.

“Wisconsin’s House Republicans have spent eight months contributing to the disarray that is the Republican House majority and accomplishing nothing of note for our state,” Haley McCoy, Democratic Party of Wisconsin press secretary, told the American Independent Foundation.

“From Brian Steil’s efforts to protect billionaire tax cheats, to Derrick Van Orden’s support for the GOP’s Default on America legislation that would have cut VA services by 22 percent, Wisconsin’s House Republicans have been doing anything but working for Wisconsinites,” McCoy added.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.