Two dozen members of Congress will tackle aspects of “a blueprint to take back America” during the annual Conservative Policy Summit, set for Wednesday at The Heritage Foundation.
Headlining will be House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the summit, hosted by Heritage Action for America, the think tank’s lobbying arm.
Known as a reform hawk, Ryan likely will underscore his past remarks about returning conservative ideas to the Republican platform and changing the way the House does business.
Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham said the forum is an opportunity for lawmakers to put “ideas on the table.”
“If we are to lift people out of poverty while providing opportunity for all [and] favoritism to none, conservatives must put forward a bold, principled agenda,” Needham said.
Two freshmen Republican senators, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Joni Ernst of Iowa, will deliver addresses on defense and economic issues.
Another GOP newcomer, Rep. Mark Walker of North Carolina, also will give a featured speech.
“Building a strong civil society is about more than government policies,” Walker said in a press release plugging the event. “I am honored to share my thoughts at the Heritage Action Conservative Policy Summit on how we can advance a conservative civil society while expanding our audience in this new era.”
Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint, a former U.S. senator and House member from South Carolina, will welcome the participants.
The summit begins at 9 a.m. EST and will be live-streamed on C-SPAN and from Heritage Action’s website. (Here is the day’s agenda.)
Although Republicans dominate the straight-ticket speaking roster, the event features politicians from across the conservative spectrum and both chambers of Congress. A gang of five senators is expected to attend, accompanied by 19 House members.
Moderators for the lawmakers’ panel discussions include Needham and Heritage Action’s chief operating officer, Tim Chapman.
The gathering will give conservative members an opportunity to talk strategy and count political scalps.
A mile marker, this year’s summit stands in stark contrast to the 2015 event. Since then, the conservative House Freedom Caucus has matured from a rabble-rousing startup to an influential voting bloc.
Pressed into early retirement by conservatives in September, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, stepped down as both House speaker and member the next month. After courting and unifying the Republican conference, Ryan won election to that position.
Under his leadership, Ryan has pledged to return the House to regular order on appropriations bills, passing them individually rather than all together in an “omnibus.” If successful, it will be the first time Congress has passed all 12 appropriations bills since 1996.
The Conservative Policy Summit also will provide a forum for discussing the future of the Senate institution—the filibuster.
Ben Domenech, publisher of The Federalist, will moderate a debate on the controversial parliamentary procedure between Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
This report has been corrected to attribute the quote from Heritage Action to its CEO, Michael Needham.
