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(CNN) - Members of the conservative Republican Study Committee thanked former Vice President Mike Pence for his actions on January 6 and encouraged him to run for President during a private meeting on Wednesday near the US Capitol in Washington, according to multiple attendees. Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, said lawmakers offered Pence encouraging words about a potential presidential bid, saying they hope he plays a big role in 2024 and that they need more voices like his in the party. Pence responded with a smile, according to Bacon, but did not tip his hand about his plans for...

As news circulated Tuesday that President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are eyeing a $2 trillion infrastructure spending package, the House Republican Study Committee introduced a budget proposal that recognizes that America’s $22 trillion—and rapidly growing—national debt is unsustainable, and that Congress must change course. “Preserving American Freedom,” the Republican Study Committee’s comprehensive fiscal 2020 budget proposal, would rein in Washington’s spending addiction by prioritizing core constitutional functions. By reducing inappropriate and wasteful spending and right-sizing the federal government, the committee’s proposal would balance the budget in six years and start...

The Trump administration and House GOP leaders are eyeing three possible changes to their ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill as they seek the votes to pass it through the House. The White House on Friday won support from key conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) members by agreeing to give states the option to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients and the option to block grant Medicaid instead of the cap system in the bill, GOP sources said. Separately on Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price privately told House Republicans in a closed-door meeting that changes could include alterations to tax...

President Trump claimed Friday that House conservatives previously opposed to ObamaCare replacement legislation moving through the chamber are now on board after “changes” were made – an assertion that could be put to the test as early as next week. The president voiced confidence during a meeting with members of the conservative Republican Study Committee. “We are doing some incredible things … I am 100 percent behind this,” Trump said, before looking around the room and saying: “All of these no’s, or potential no’s, are all yes’es. Every single person sitting in this room is now a yes.” He added,...

The leader of a key group of conservatives on Friday said the House healthcare reform bill still doesn't have the votes to pass the lower chamber despite changes. In an interview filmed for C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said there are at least 40 House Republicans who are opposed to the legislation and another 20 to 30 who are undecided. If every member votes and all Democrats vote no, GOP leaders can't afford more than 21 defections. The chairman of the House Freedom Caucus made his comments before House GOP leaders announced Friday they are making modifications to...

Republican leadership's plans for the Obamacare repeal were recently leaked, though "repeal" is perhaps too strong a word. "Tweaks" more accurately describes the work of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and other House Republicans. It does not go back to ground zero, where this disaster began. Instead, the plan is to go for "Obamacare Lite." It's simply a different version of Obamacare — a Republican version of Obamacare. It's how President Obama himself might have done it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said, "The best interest of the country would be achieved by pulling out Obamacare, root...

Like most Americans, but unlike most of the other 434 members of the House of Representatives, Andy Harris pulls a lengthy commute to work each day. One way and without traffic, the Maryland Republican says he can go door to door in an hour and a half from his home in Cockeysville to his office on Capitol Hill. But if he hits traffic, it takes almost three hours just to get to work. Harris doesn’t mind. As a physician, he says he’s used to long hours in the operating room and, as a single father, the 60-mile trek is necessary...

The Republican Study Committee isn’t the newest conservative caucus on the congressional block. But they’re the oldest, they’re still the biggest, and on occasion, they will throw their weight around on Capitol Hill.

Conservative lawmakers are officially rolling out a new group aimed at advancing a conservative agenda in the House of Representatives after they expressed discontent with the direction of the Republican Study Committee.“Our main hope is that we can represent the voids and valleys for our constituents back home,” Rep. Raúl Labrador of Idaho told The Daily Signal today. “With a small group that is nimble and able to work on issues that are of importance to our constituents, we can make a difference in Congress.”Called the House Freedom Caucus, the group serves as a conservative alternative to the Republican Study...

...The new group, which does not yet have a name, is being de-facto led by former RSC Chairman Jim Jordan, although the formal leadership structure could change. It will also include Rep. Mick Mulvaney, who lost an election to become the chairman last year, disappointing many conservatives. The other founders are Reps. Justin Amash, Ron DeSantis, John Fleming, Scott Garrett, Raul Labrador, Mark Meadows, and Matt Salmon. Most but not all of those members are expected to renounce their RSC memberships, along with other members who will join the group. Many of the members will meet Tuesday evening with Sen....

Cold cash, together with control of institutions, is what makes the Establishment the Establishment. But in the current Republican civil war, the insurgents have secured their own money pipelines, and they control their own institutions – which means the GOP leadership and its allies in the business lobby have a hard fight in front of them. The firing and hiring of conservative staffer Paul Teller makes it clear that the anti-establishment has built its own establishment. Teller was a House staffer for more than a decade, and was longtime executive director of the conservative Republican Study Committee. The RSC always...

For 40 years, the Republican Study Committee has prized ideological purity over partisan loyalty. That mindset now dominates the GOP. Inside This Week's Cover Story An interview with the author On a frigid Wednesday afternoon in January, Speaker John Boehner sat in a conference room at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., acknowledging the limits of his authority. For the past two years, the Republican Study Committee—a caucus of the most conservative representatives—had defied his leadership, plotted against his policy proposals, and, just two weeks earlier, organized a revolt to dethrone him. A group of RSC malcontents, exasperated with Boehner’s...

Outline/Summary: This paper will analyze current US Copyright Law by examining three myths on copyright law and possible reforms to copyright law that will lead to more economic development for the private sector and to a copyright law that is more firmly based upon constitutional principles. 1. The purpose of copyright is to compensate the creator of the content:It’s a common misperception that the Constitution enables our current legal regime of copyright protection – in fact, it does not. The Constitution’s clause on Copyright and patents states:“To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times...

Republican staffers tell The Daily Caller that new tax cuts and regulatory reforms aimed at jumpstarting the economy will be on the agenda in the House of Representatives when it returns from recess after Labor Day. Staffers say no specifics have been locked in yet. But a significant tax reform package could come this fall, they say, because nothing is likely to be accomplished after the 2012 election cycle begins in earnest. The conservative House Republican Study Committee is also reportedly planning to supplement the Cut, Cap, and Balance plan with a “growth” element including tax cuts and regulatory reforms....

Republican Study Committee member Tom Rooney is circulating a stark letter calling out committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and accusing the group of threatening “not only the future of the RSC itself, but that of our hard fought majority.” The tough letter comes a few days after an RSC staffer was caught trying to gin up conservative groups to target other Republicans who were leaning in favor of Speaker John Boehner’s deficit reduction bill. Rooney’s letter to Jordan says that the incident, in which RSC staffers sent emails to conservative listservs urging them to pressure GOP lawmakers within the RSC,...

Message to RSC Members: Get in or Get Out Posted by Russ Vought Wednesday, July 27th at 5:28PM EDT 12 Comments Rep. Jim Jordan, the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), is taking massive heat from many of his own colleagues within the RSC for his public opposition to the Boehner debt deal. RSC staff is being called out by name for doing their job effectively. Calls are coming from all Leadershipistas to fire the RSC staff. These members—such as Rep. Renee Ellmers (NC)—don’t like the fact that they are perceived on the wrong side of where the conservative...

The House floor erupted into a chaotic scene Friday as House Democrats tried to upset Republican plans to pass their 2012 budget resolution. Democrats unsettled Republicans by voting "present" in a vote on a more conservative budget than the official GOP proposal put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), almost enabling that bill to pass. In the end, it failed in a 119-136 vote, with 172 Democrats voting present. Several Republicans, including Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (Calif.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), a member of GOP leadership, switched their votes to ensure the more conservative budget backed by...

Yesterday, we showed a list of cost cutting amendments that several dozen GOP members opposed and helped Democrats defeat.  Here are some more: Amendment No. 410—Rep. Price (R-GA):  The amendment would eliminate funding for the “National Labor Relations Board, Salaries and Expenses,” and would transfer $233,400,000 to the Spending Reduction Account.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account are designated as savings and lower the 302(b) allocation for a given subcommittee.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account cannot be allocated elsewhere in the bill. The amendment failed 176-250 with the help of 60 Republicans.  This would have been an...

The Republican Study Committee, the conservative House caucus, released a bill this week to cut $2.5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years.  This plan, which is summarized in a two page document, includes cuts in specific Obama programs, as well as the elimination of old programs and subsidies. The main objective of the RSC plan is to pass a CR that caps non defense/security discretionary spending for the remainder of FY 2011 to 2008 spending levels.  Then, beginning in 2012, this bill would slash discretionary spending to 2006 levels and would eliminate automatic increases for inflation.  The Spending...

Call it being a team player. If you’re a Republican House candidate flush with cash and poised to win, you can score points with leadership if you donate to competitive races. That cred could lead to good committee assignments down the line. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) followed that model in 2006 and ended up with a prime spot in leadership. Now he’s advising candidates from South Carolina to Missouri to do the same, even suggesting which contenders are most in need of funds for new ads. In a great year for their party, some House Republican challengers are doing more...