Speaker Johnson Lays Out Agenda for Republicans as They Fight to Hold House Majority

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Speaker Mike Johnson laid out on Tuesday a policy agenda should Republicans take the majority next year that extends the tax cuts approved when Donald Trump was president, reduces the size of the federal workforce and gives parents more choice on where they can send their children to school.

Johnson emphasized five main policy points during a speech at the New York Stock Exchange. He talked of extending and building on the Trump tax cuts, confronting China, boosting oil and gas production, expanding school choice and cutting the size and scope of the federal government.

"The survival of the American dream depends upon our victory," Johnson said.

The speaker and House Republicans are fighting this election season to hold their narrow House majority, with just a handful of seats to spare. Republicans are hopeful that a Trump victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the election will help propel them to majorities in the House and Senate, which would give them unified control of Washington for the first time since 2018 and the ability to enact a sweeping legislative agenda.

Against the campaign backdrop, Johnson provided a bleak view of the economy under President Joe Biden, though the economy continues to grow at a solid pace, inflation is on the decline and the unemployment rate is still low by historical standards. He spoke to an audience of Wall Street investors, traders and others who have witnessed stock markets reach record highs in recent days.

But Johnson said that as he has traveled the country, he's meeting business owners on the verge of collapse because of high inflation, high taxes and over-regulation. And he said he's met moms and dads who have resorted to donating plasma and setting up crowdfunding pages so that they didn't lose their homes.

"Our incredible people are hanging on right now in spite of so many unprecedented challenges, but many can't afford to do it much longer," Johnson said.

The first policy priority he outlined was enhanced tax breaks, citing specifically immediate expensing for research and development costs. He also cited the need for a "strong" child tax credit, though he did not provide specific numbers. He said the Republican tax policies would "respect the dignity of work, and it doesn't pay people more for staying out of the workforce."

Trump has laid out a series of tax cuts on the campaign trail, such as extending the expiring provisions of his 2017 overhaul, and not taxing tips and Social Security. Outside experts say the tax cuts proposed by Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris would cause the debt to rise even faster the pace under current law.

Doing more to confront China and rolling back environmental regulations are a common denominator for Republicans that Johnson embraced in his speech. On education, he said millions of Americans have the opportunity to send their children to a school that best fits their need, and "Republicans want to expand that choice so that every American has that opportunity."

Johnson also emphasized cutting the debt by cutting the size of the federal government, saying "we're going to reduce the size of the federal workforce and root out a long list of non-essential jobs through the federal bureaucracy."

"It's hard to roll back the entrenched bureaucracy and face the system that has produced the decline. It's a difficult task, but it's a task that can be achieved," Johnson said.