CPAC 2024 Congressional Ratings: House Republicans Dominated in Addressing Americans’ Top Issues in 2024

With a Democrat-controlled Senate, a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, and a Democrat-controlled executive branch, the 2024 legislative session was tough for conservative lawmakers. 

Still, the 2024 CPAC Congressional Ratings showed that House Republicans persevered and dominated in efforts to advance the interests of the American people despite constant obstacles from radical Leftists in their own chamber and Democrats in the Senate. The Senate largely advanced woke issues like abortion and illegal immigration while blocking common sense measures on supporting Israel and reducing federal waste. 

The Senate

In the Senate, the main issues for the 2024 legislative session included: the wide-open southern border, continuing foreign aid to Ukraine, and battling over fiscal responsibility. These key issues served as a litmus test for Senators, as some Republican Senators sided with Democrats prioritizing foreign commitments and costly domestic programs that put America last.

Funding Foreign Wars

The 2024 legislative session saw a major divide in how foreign aid should be administered. HR 815 provided $95 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Senators were divided over the controversial effort to continue funding Ukraine.

Protecting Life

Conservatives, during the 2024 legislative session, also faced great opposition in defending the sanctity of life. The US Senate advanced radical legislation like S. 4554, the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, which sought to codify all abortions for any reason at any point in pregnancy, overriding all state protections for the unborn. The Right to IVF Act was another attack on conservative values, using emotionally charged language and vague legal language to undermine existing pro-life laws.

Securing the Border

Border security was a top priority in the 2024 legislative session, however, Democrats repeatedly blocked meaningful reforms despite the growing crisis at the border and voter outrage. Republicans sought to reinforce border management for border wall expansion, increasing detention center capacity, and increasing ICE enforcement. Despite the Democrats wanting to facilitate the dangerous border invasion, HR 2882 passed, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which included $1.57 billion in appropriations for border security.

The House of Representatives

Meanwhile, the House’s 2024 legislative session was defined by battles over America's energy

potential, defending states’ rights, and cutting funding to unnecessary federal programs. Conservatives proposed key reforms to these issues, which proved to be priorities for Americans in the 2024 election, though the proposed reforms were often blocked or weakened due to opposition from the radical left and weak moderates.

Cutting Funding to Unnecessary Programs

Conservatives in the House during the 2024 legislative session sought to reduce funding to wasteful and ideologically motivated government programs. Conservatives, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (96% CPAC Rating), supported Roll Call 308, an amendment on HR 8771, which would have eliminated all funding for USAID. Rep. Josh Brecheen (98% CPAC Rating) offered two critical cuts in HR 8998. Roll Call 386 reduced the National Endowment for the Humanities’ budget to FY2019 levels, saving $52 million, and Roll Call 387, an amendment of the same bill, zeroed out $12 million for the Woodrow Wilson Center, another globalist organization. 

Cutting the Bureaucratic Red Tape

House conservatives worked to dismantle federal overreach and protect states’ rights by targeting costly, unnecessary regulations. In Roll Call 438, Rep. John James (61% CPAC Ratings) led a resolution to overturn the EPA’s emissions rule for trucks. In Roll Call 489, Rep. Brad Finstad (86% CPAC Rating) introduced the Prove It Act, requiring federal agencies to prove new regulations wouldn’t burden small businesses. Rep. Andrew Ogles (97%CPAC Rating) pushed the Liberty in Laundry Act (Roll Call 497) to block the Department of Energy from enforcing appliance standards that drive up washer prices without real benefits.

Living Up to America’s Energy Potential

House conservatives made significant progress in 2024 toward restoring American energy independence, rolling back harmful regulations, and unlocking domestic energy production. House Republicans sought to reduce bureaucratic red tape and bring down energy prices. Rep. Jeff Duncan (97% CPAC Rating) led the charge with the Protecting American Energy Production Act, which prohibited President Biden from issuing a fracking moratorium and restored states’ rights to regulate their energy development. Rep. Pete Stauber (71% CPAC Rating) advanced the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act, which opened up a small portion (10%) of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas leasing and limited the Bureau of Land Management’s ability to block resource development by fiat.

While Senate Democrats focused on woke, ideological legislation, House Republicans offered solutions to the real problems average Americans were facing on a daily basis. The 2024 election, with the victory of President Donald Trump and Republicans securing majorities in both chambers of Congress, proved that Republicans were focused on the right issues in 2024. Now, with majorities in Congress and President Trump in the Oval Office, Republicans in Congress need to seize the opportunity to respond to the American people’s mandate to reduce waste of taxpayer dollars, secure the border, boost the economy, make America energy independent again, and cut down on federal bureaucracy. 

Explore all of CPAC’s findings from last year’s legislative session in the 2024 Congression Scorecard on CPAC.org.