Speaker Johnson Outlines 5-Point Republican Agenda for 2025

Plus: Debate night! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [The Fisc]( By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey Good evening. The vice-presidential debate between Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET. It will be moderated by CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, who will leave any fact-checking to the politicians, though the network will also display a QR code on the screen that will take viewers to the CBS News website for real-time fact checks. (That code will only appear on CBS, not on other networks simulcasting the debate.) Now, what are the chances that any fiscal policy questions get asked? Here's what else is happening. Johnson at the NYSE (Sipa USA) Speaker Johnson Outlines 5-Point Republican Agenda for 2025 House Speaker Mike Johnson pitched Wall Street today on Republicans’ agenda of tax cuts and deregulation, promising to deliver an economic boost while also pursuing “fiscal responsibility” if former President Donald Trump wins a second term and is given a GOP-controlled Congress. “We know the playbook for economic prosperity because we put it into action eight years ago,” Johnson said in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange. “The evidence is clear that we know what it takes to have a vibrant American economy, and we have to defeat at the ballot box politicians who are actively trying to do the opposite, to try to destroy it. The survival of the American dream depends upon our victory. Republicans have a plan to stop the bleeding of inflation, to remove the parasite of socialism and to cut out the cancer of overregulation that is making our economy so sick.” Johnson said that Republicans would look to enact a wide-ranging economic plan “based on the successful plan we implemented under President Trump’s first administration that will restore the American economy to full health and reinvigorate our can-do spirit.” The speaker outlined five elements of the GOP plan: * Encourage investment and opportunity by extending and building on Republicans’ 2017 tax cuts, including restoring immediate expensing of research and development costs. Johnson added that Republicans would seek to ensure that the tax code “doesn’t pay people more for staying out of the workforce.” * Use the tax code to promote an “America First” agenda, including efforts to restrict outbound investments in China and working “to deter illegal immigration and eliminate existing policies and loopholes that currently reward illegal aliens.” * Increase energy production by rolling back climate regulations. * Reform the education system, maximizing school choice for parents. “We’ve seen how years of counterproductive government programs, exploding administrative payrolls and loan cancellations have only made it more expensive to get a degree,” Johnson said. * Cut spending. “We’re in an unsustainable and, frankly, immoral position as a nation,” Johnson said of the national debt, noting that U.S. interest costs will top defense spending. Johnson promised to roll back Democrats’ climate tax breaks and root out waste, fraud and abuse along with $1 trillion worth of improper payments. He said Republicans would also cut the federal workforce, eliminating non-essential jobs across the federal bureaucracy. Johnson also said that a Republican-led government would do away with continuing resolutions like the one Congress passed last week to avoid a government shutdown. “Moving forward, we must get the appropriations process back to regular order,” he said. House Republicans had hoped to pass all 12 spending bills this summer, but those aggressive plans were derailed by intraparty clashes on several of the measures. The bottom line: The speaker’s plan will be familiar to anyone keeping tabs on Congress or the presidential race. But Johnson ignored the fact that economic growth in Joe Biden’s first three years [surpassed]( that under Trump’s (though inflation was much higher under Biden). He also ignored the fact that the United States is producing more oil and natural gas today than ever before. And his plans to cut government spending and the federal workforce don’t address the biggest drivers of the national debt. Congress May Not Need to Return Early to Provide Emergency Disaster Funding Congressional aides are reportedly saying that there is no need for lawmakers to return to Washington before the election to provide additional disaster relief funding in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 160 people across six states while causing billions in damages. President Joe Biden said Monday that he was considering asking Congress to come back into session in the coming days to boost funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but the agency appears to have sufficient funds to continue operating until lawmakers return on November 12. Addressing the issue Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson said there was no need to call lawmakers back: “Congress has previously provided FEMA with the funds it needs to respond, so we will make sure that those resources are appropriately allocated.” A year ago, Biden requested about $24 billion in additional funding for FEMA, which has seen higher-than-expected spending amid a series of natural disasters, but lawmakers have repeatedly failed to provide the extra funds. As a result, FEMA’s disaster relief fund is facing a deficit of roughly $2 billion. At the same time, the continuing resolution signed into law last week extends FEMA’s budget for another six weeks and includes a provision that allows the agency to spend more quickly when responding to disasters. In addition, FEMA’s disaster relief fund can operate under “immediate needs funding” rules, or INF, when money runs low during an emergency, allowing it to redirect internal funds to respond to disasters, providing plenty of wiggle room to spend freely on immediate needs. (For a primer on how the system works, see [this report]( from the Congressional Research Service, which was [highlighted by reporter Jennifer Shutt]( of States Newsroom.) Still, FEMA will likely need a fiscal shot in the arm at some point this fall. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said last week that Congress will have to act soon. “We’re gonna continue to have more potential natural disasters between now and December or into next year,” he [told reporters]( adding that “we’re not done” when it comes to the effort to provide more funding for disaster relief. --------------------------------------------------------------- Send your feedback to yrosenberg@thefiscaltimes.com. --------------------------------------------------------------- Fiscal News Roundup - [Port Strike Freezes Shipping on East Coast, Dealing Blow to Economy]( – Washington Post - [Biden Scrambles to Contain Economic and Political Fallout of Port Strike]( – New York Times - [Ikea, Booze and Bananas: Here's What a Prolonged Dock Strike Could Pinch]( – Axios - [Republican Members Call on Biden to Halt Dockworkers Strike]( – Roll Call - [Hurricane Helene’s Death Toll Passes 150 as Crews Search for Survivors]( – Associated Press - ["He's Lying": Biden Blasts Trump's Political Play Over Storm]( – Axios - [Harris Will Tour Helene Devastation in Georgia, North Carolina as Storm Scrambles Campaign Schedule]( – Associated Press - [How Long Will It Take for Washington to Act on Emergency Aid for Helene Victims?]( – Maine Morning Star - [Congress Dodged a Shutdown but May Get an Ugly December Spending Fight]( – Washington Post - [Lawmakers Eye Moving Quickly on NDAA After November Return]( – Roll Call - [Lawmakers Press for Agricultural Disaster Relief Funds in Wake of Helene]( – The Hill - [Fed Drives Global Push to Cut Rates Despite Questions Over 2025]( – Bloomberg - [Global Debt Binge Brings Record $600 Billion of Bond Sales]( –Bloomberg - [CVS Explores Options Including Potential Break-Up, Sources Say]( – Reuters - [Jon Stewart Tries to Clarify Presidential Candidates' Economic Policies]( – CNN Views and Analysis - [The Vance-Walz Debate Is Hardly ‘High-Stakes’]( – Francis Wilkinson, Bloomberg - [America's Mismatched Economic Signals]( – Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin, Axios - [Biden Should Intervene in the East Coast Port Strike]( – Thomas Black, Bloomberg - [The Real Reason 47,000 Dockworkers Are on Strike]( – Heather Long, Washington Post - [If Helene Affects Voting, Trump May Pay the Price]( – Philip Bump, Washington Post - [How Project 2025 Would Treat Helene Survivors]( – Thomas Frank and Chelsea Harvey, Politico - [Kamalanomics: Way Better Than Trump—but Not as Good as Biden]( – Timothy Noah, New Republic - [The Post-Pandemic Recovery Is an Economic Policy Success Story]( – Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute - [The Medicare Advantage Influence Machine]( – Fred Schulte and Holly K. 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