Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will outline an ambitious blueprint spelling out the House Republican agenda on Tuesday, one that emphasizes education, innovation, simplifying the tax code, and reforming immigration and labor laws.
According to excerpts of Cantor's speech provided to Yahoo News, the Virginia Republican is planning a wide-ranging address at the American Enterprise Institute to promote policies he says would help the "most vulnerable" and would boost working and middle-class citizens. Reflected within the excerpts is a desire to put a personal face on politics, as opposed to one that dwells on numbers that tally up government spending and the size of the national debt.
"Our solutions will be based on the conservative principles of self reliance, faith in the individual, trust in the family, and accountability in government. Our goal: To ensure every American have a fair shot at earning their success and achieving their dreams," the excerpts say.
On the issue of workplace reform, for instance, Cantor will outline principles that promote an environment that he says will help parents who "have to weigh whether they can afford to miss work even for half a day to see their child off on the first day of school" and ideas that pay deference to "the working mom [who is] just trying to get by."
When speaking about immigration, one of the topics that will dominate the public debate in 2013, Cantor will say, "Scientific breakthroughs are the result of and have helped contribute to America's being the world’s capital of innovation and opportunity in nearly every field. For this and many other reasons, people across the globe want to become a part of our country. We must never diminish that desire, or worse, become a place that is no longer desirable." He plans, he will add, to balance "respect for the rule of law and respect for those waiting to enter this country legally, with care for the people and families."
Cantor will reserve his most pressing rhetoric for education reform, which he suggests will be a top priority for Republicans.
"One of our priorities this year will be to move heaven and earth to fix our education system for the most vulnerable," Cantor will say.
Cantor's proposals suggest that he intends to launch an ambitious effort to guide Republican policies, which could help position him as a future candidate for speaker of the House. Cantor condemned efforts earlier this year to depose current House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, but Cantor has split with Boehner on key issues.