“We have a chance to restore liberty, opportunity and security to America — to bring back economic freedom, thriving families and small businesses, and a strong middle-class…”
Today, Speaker Johnson delivered an economic speech at the America First Policy Institute focused on the harmful impact of Bidenomics, the economic successes delivered under President Trump, and a legislative agenda for the first 100 days under a second Trump Administration. Speaker Johnson also joined Larry Kudlow, Chair of the Center for American Prosperity AFPI, for a fireside chat.
Below are excerpts from the speech. For a one-pager on the first 100 days agenda, click here.
On the Biden-Harris Administration’s Failing Economic Policies:
We’ve got too many hardworking Americans that are struggling to get by. They really are, the struggle is real. In every corner of the country, grocery bills have nearly doubled in the last 4 years. Many families are having to put their groceries on credit cards now and they tell us about that with tears in their eyes. This is not a sustainable situation. They are resorting to extreme measures to stay afloat and avoid repossession of their cars and their homes…
In less than four years, Americans have gone from the highest level of personal savings to the lowest. Now more than half of Americans are unable to afford a $1,000 emergency. Today, American families can only put 3% of their income into savings, the lowest consistent level for the past 20 years, and with those reduced savings, Americans now have accumulated far greater debt.
On the Trump Economy:
During the Trump administration, we saw the greatest economy because government did less, not more […] The formula for that success was simple: we produced energy here at home, cut regulations, reduced government bureaucracy, and changed the tax code so Americans could keep more of what they earn.
On Promoting American Investment and Opportunity:
The smart approach is broad-based tax policy that unleashes the American entrepreneurial spirit, and encourages research, development, and manufacturing. That’s why, under our plan, we will ensure that the United States remains the preeminent location for investment in innovation and technology by: Restoring immediate expensing for R&D costs, ensuring a strong FDII incentive to encourage U.S. ownership of intellectual property, and
restoring the 100% expensing provision.
We’ll keep those cuts in place to support job creation, along with the doubled guaranteed deduction and a strong child tax credit. But unlike the Democrats’ proposal, we will ensure that our tax policy respects the dignity of work and does not pay people more for staying out of the workforce.
On Prioritizing America:
Gone are the days of allowing China to steal our jobs, exploit our trade deals, and hollow out our manufacturing sector. It’s obviously not in our national interest to rely on Communists for our energy, critical minerals, and pharmaceuticals. And we know it’s not in our national interest to support the economy of our largest geopolitical adversary […] In addition to securing the border, we can use the tax code to deter illegal immigration and eliminate existing loopholes that reward illegal immigration.
On Reinvigorating American Energy:
Under the Biden-Harris regime, we’ve seen Green New Deal regulations, unrealistic EV mandates, the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline. We’ve seen pauses on LNG permitting, reduced oil refining capacity, and a litany of prohibitively expensive emissions standards. These mandates, which have ignored the untapped resources within our soil and ignored the science supporting natural gas – have made fueling up at the gas station, and cooling or heating your home, astronomically more expensive.
When we retake control of government, we’re going to roll back the Green New Deal regulations and put America back in a place of American energy dominance.
On Reforming Education:
We can reform our education system by maximizing school choice for parents and by holding woke university administrators accountable. At the heart of our American pioneering spirit, is the chance to learn so every citizen can help carry on our experiment in self-government […] Parents deserve the chance to send their children to the school that best meets each child’s needs, so we need to make sure parents have the proper resources and options for kids to learn, grow, thrive and become productive American citizens – citizens who are ready to continue on our great American experiment.
On Fiscal Responsibility:
We will cut the wasteful Green New Deal spending in the Democrats’ so-called Inflation Reduction Act, that is costing twice as much as it was advertised and is sending our taxpayer dollars to China. We’re going to root out waste, fraud, abuse, and improper payments within the federal government, which have grown to the highest levels ever under the Biden-Harris Administration.
We’re going to reduce the size of the federal workforce and root out the hundreds of thousands of non-essential jobs throughout the federal bureaucracy. You’ve heard President Trump and Elon Musk talk about some of this — we’re looking forward to creating a faster, more efficient, and less bloated federal government. Our government is going to be a responsible government, with a reduced scope and with reduced spending.