Policy Committee Should Identify Opportunities for Success

Statement

Success comes from identifying opportunities and being bold enough to push one's efforts to a successful conclusion.

With the right vision and a committed leader, the Republican Policy Committee can serve this role for the Republican Conference to help it find success.

Today, the Policy Committee is our Conference's liaison to the nation's think tanks, scholars, government agencies and private-sector experts on the issues before Congress. It also has a stated purpose of being a forum for the development of legislative initiatives.

These functions are important and create the foundation for the committee, but the RPC must do more to help our Conference. It must seek out and identify the opportunities that will lead us to legislative and political success.

For the past few years, our Conference has struggled to identify opportunities to be more proactive. We have waited too long to address lobbying reform, energy prices, illegal immigration and the growth in government spending despite repeated warnings. In each instance, the knocking sound of angry voters finally jolted us into action, but we will face more serious consequences unless we make needed changes.

I have proposed a "Blueprint for the Policy Committee to Protect Our Republican Majority." The four cornerstones of my plan are: 1) policy anchored in principle; 2) innovation and a long-term strategy for success; 3) outreach to Members and providing on-demand resources for offices; and 4) building an effective conduit to House leadership. You can read more about the details of my plan for the RPC by visiting www.issa.house.gov/policy.

As the CEO of an industry-leading consumer electronics firm, I was elected chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association. In this role, I led a group of business leaders who were fierce competitors in the marketplace in pursuit of a common agenda to benefit the entire industry. Different viewpoints, even competing interests, can work together to identify opportunities for mutual benefit.

In 2003, I led a voter uprising against then-California Gov. Gray Davis (D) following his mismanagement of one crisis after another in our state. Californians were paying too much for energy, businesses were being forced to move from the state to avoid higher taxes and we were facing huge budget deficits. I saw an opportunity for Republicans to offer Californians a better vision for their state, and I ran with it, not knowing exactly where it would lead.

It led to a historic recall vote that steam-rolled the national Democratic establishment who came to Davis' aid, and installed Arnold Schwarzenegger as California's new Republican governor. He saw a vision for California, and I helped make that a reality. House Republicans have a vision for our party, and I want to make that a reality.

The important things for the chairman of the RPC to have are fresh and bold ideas for discussion, a vision to help the committee play a more active role in developing policy, a commitment to getting more members to participate in discussions, an ability to work with our Conference to identify opportunities for legislative success and the energy to see them through to successful conclusion.

The chairman of the RPC also must recognize the talent of our members and must work with them to develop a clear, concise policy on a particular issue that can be taken to House leadership.

The chairman of the committee also must reach out to Republican organizations such as the Republican Study Committee, Value Action Team, Main Street Partnership and other important organizations to facilitate policy discussions in a forum that is open to all members of our Conference. These organizations are doing exceptional work and, through a broader discussion of their ideas, we can write better legislation.

As I did with the CEA, I will reach out to all members of our Conference to try to guide the development of policies that embrace our core values: fiscal restraint, limited government, lower taxes and individual responsibility. I will work with Policy Committee members and urge them to think out of the box to bring new ideas to our Conference.

Our party's principles are strong and the membership of our Conference is talented. We must do more to use these strengths to seek out the challenges facing America and avoid the rut of passive routine that engulfed the Democrats in 1994. We must look for new ways to develop ideas and look to the private sector for inspiration and technology. The world is changing -- we must continue to lead and innovate or risk being left behind.

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