Republican House leaders and new GOP members had a rough time getting on the same page at the beginning of this Congress. But now it’s more smooth sailing, thanks largely to improved communication between the two groups,
The Hill reports.
After the freshmen rejected the leadership’s initial proposal on budget cuts, it reached out to them by holding weekly meetings and other gatherings and by increasing leadership opportunities.
House freshmen have gotten together outside their regular weekly meetings, and someone from the GOP leadership group often attends, freshman Rep.
Frank Guinta, R-N.H., tells The Hill.
“I think we respect one another, and we respect the message the country sent by sending us to Washington. As a result, we appreciate bouncing ideas off each other,” he said.
The leadership is drawing the freshmen into the budget process by asking them to promote the GOP’s budget plans in their own districts to elicit public support for cutting social programs, Politico reports.
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan are hosting gatherings on budget issues. The worry is that if Republicans launch a budget plan, and the public doesn’t go for it, Republican House members will pay at the polls next year.
“It’s important that we spend time with them, and we have spent a lot of time with them, laying out, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is why we’re doing it,’” House Speaker John Boehner told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s part of this bigger picture. ... Keep laying it out and laying it out and listening.”
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.