Departing GOP lawmakers can still rack up victories in 2018

Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) retirement announcement marks another instance of a growing trend. More and more Republican lawmakers are retiring after this legislative session — some to seek higher office at the federal and state level, some to private-sector ventures, and some simply out of a desire to be at home and with their families.

The media has been quick to spin this trend as a sign of further fragmentation within the Republican Party, speculating about its implications for the 2018 midterm elections. But this recent wave of retirements is not a sign of fragmentation or failure at all. On the contrary, it presents Republican leadership with a unique opportunity.

{mosads}2017 was a landmark year for the party. Soon after the inauguration, the Trump administration began clearing away a tangle of regulations and requiring a greater degree of oversight for federal agencies. Congressional Republicans crafted significant and historic tax reform legislation. Tax reform will renew American entrepreneurship and empower ordinary citizens across the country to invest in their communities and families.

Republicans not only kept their campaign promise to reform the tax code, they achieved this victory amidst some of the most vitriolic political and media backlash in our lifetime. Now that many of them are released from managing political expectations, they are free to consider not merely what can be done but what ought to be done. Senior Republicans like Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) can step back from decades of political work and really consider how they envision our country 10, 15 or 20 years down the road — and what they might do to make that vision a reality.

Although there are many ways in which these leaders can make the most of their final months, one area they absolutely must deliver on is spending cuts. Not only is it the natural corollary to last year’s tax cuts, it is the only way those tax cuts will be sustainable — and the only way we can begin to address our $20 trillion federal debt. Congressional Republicans should take the same approach to these cuts as they did to tax reform: a holistic, across-the-board cut, rather than reducing growth of spending here and there. Only incisive, decisive reform can prevent the gradual swelling of ineffective programs and the continuing concentration of power in the hands of beltway bureaucrats.

As leaders begin to consider how to approach these cuts, they should pay special attention to welfare reform. Our system often perpetuates unemployment, keeping people who are down on their luck in a perpetual state of dependence rather than equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to become self-sufficient citizens. One 2015 study of Maryland welfare recipients, for instance, found that just 22 percent of recipients of unemployment benefits found stable employment five years after leaving welfare. Most did not end up finding permanent, well-paying jobs.

Additionally, state-level involvement in private-public partnerships like Klamath Works in Oregon teaches people the value of work and helps them get a job placement with a small business or even in a government role. The teaching about the value of work, the training, and the chance to actually do the work will make them more hirable. It allows a transition away from welfare to a more productive life. States should consider this model as a way to make welfare a stepping stone to a life that contributes to society, rather than a dead end or just a new way of life.

Lastly, Republicans would do well to continue the regulatory reform efforts of 2017. Much of this reform was undertaken through the executive branch — a necessary step, but one that isn’t permanent. By passing laws that will force transparency and accountability among federal agencies, Republicans can ensure that, no matter who wins the Oval Office in 2020 or 2024, bureaucrats will be held accountable for the rules they make and the money they spend.

2017 was a whirlwind of a year for conservatives across the country. One minute we found ourselves cheering Congress and the administration on, the next we found ourselves baffled by their inability to achieve consensus and pass legislation. But the eleventh-hour victory of the tax bill has brought a renewed sense of confidence, a confidence congressional Republicans must capitalize on in the first few weeks of the session.

Guided by the efforts of departing members, they can achieve a real victory and make 2018 the year in which our leaders govern as people, for the people.

Adam Brandon is president of FreedomWorks, a grassroots service center dedicated to helping activists fight for lower taxes, less government, and more freedom.