A new Congress, a fresh start: Top policy priorities for 2025

It’s a new year. A new Congress. A new administration. A fresh start to deliver the solutions Americans voted for.

After four years of disastrous policies that brought record inflation and wrecked the personal finances of millions, Americans sent a clear message to Washington:

It’s time for real solutions that bring freedom and prosperity.

Congress must focus on protecting Americans from a massive tax hike, allowing small businesses to thrive, limiting the power of the unelected bureaucracy, and unleashing the full potential of American energy.

This year, lawmakers will have a lot on their plate, and they’ll need to keep their eye on the ball to implement sound policies that will make Americans more free and prosperous.

That’s why, here at Americans for Prosperity, we took the time to lay out the top policy priorities for the 119th Congress and why they matter to you.

EXTEND TAX CUTS FOR ALL

Tax cuts are the big-ticket item for this year. The issue that will have the most evident effect on your life and hundreds of thousands of small businesses across America.

Why?

Because many provisions of the Trump tax cuts passed in 2017 will expire next year.

If Congress fails to act, 6 in 10 Americans will see their taxes go way up at the end of 2025. The odds are that you’ll be one of the millions of Americans who suffer a massive tax hike if Washington lets the taxes expire.

The data is clear: The Trump tax cuts were an economic boon for Americans and small businesses.

• The American economy enjoyed historically low unemployment, rising incomes, and low prices after the tax cuts were enacted.
• The Trump tax cuts helped millions of Americans keep more of their money at a time when the average household is paying $13,000 more every year just to maintain their lifestyle.
• A whopping 85% of small business owners benefit from the Trump tax cuts, as millions of entrepreneurs have benefitted from the expanded standard deduction.
• If the tax cuts expire, 26 million small businesses will face a steep tax hike next year, limiting their ability to create jobs or provide affordable goods and services.

After four years of record-high inflation and stagnant wages, Americans can’t afford a massive tax hike.

We need our money in our pockets, not in the bank accounts of special interests who benefit from a broken system financed by Washington politicians — that’s why Congress needs to act and extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

END GOVERNMENT WASTE

Taxes aren’t the only issue Congress will have on their plate.

As you know, Washington has a spending problem. One that needs to be urgently fixed.

Every year, politicians approve gargantuan, undisciplined spending that puts America further into debt and erodes our prosperity.

How much debt?

As of the end of 2024, over $36 trillion ── that’s around $100,000 for every single person in America.

This isn’t sustainable.

If Washington doesn’t enact meaningful change, by 2030, the federal government will spend 1 in every 5 dollars it collects from taxes just to pay for interest on the debt.

To make matters worse, a flurry of government subsidies is up for renewal this year. If approved, Congress will dig America deeper into debt.

The good news is that there are tools to put America back on a sustainable fiscal path.

By cutting government spending and passing reforms like the Comprehensive Congressional Budget Act and a well-designed balanced budget amendment, Congress can take momentous steps toward reducing government waste and pointing America to a fiscally sustainable future.

BRING POWER BACK TO THE PEOPLE

For decades, vast swaths of the federal government were effectively led by unelected federal bureaucrats shielded from oversight thanks to a Supreme Court doctrine known as Chevron deference.

This decision allowed bureaucrats to fill in the gaps left by Congress and enact thousands of regulations that hindered businesses and limited prosperity without much oversight.

But in a major victory for millions of Americans, the Supreme Court recently overturned this longstanding precedent, presenting a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rein in the runaway administrative state.

Both President Donald Trump and Congress must work hand-in-hand to end the rule of bureaucrats — and passing the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (REINS Act) will be a great first step in making the government more accountable to the people.

Approved in states like Kansas, the REINS Act will strengthen Congress’ role in policymaking by requiring that Congress authorize any major rule drafted by an executive agency before it goes into effect.

Now is the time for elected lawmakers to reassert their constitutional role and bring the bloated administrative state under control.

UNLEASH AMERICAN ENERGY ABUNDANCE

American energy was hit hard by Biden’s disastrous policies — and you ended up paying more at the pump for gasoline and more for electricity and gas at home.

During the Biden administration, the federal government imposed a swath of overbearing regulations and used its power to funnel billions of dollars into the pockets of corporate cronies.

The new Congress has the opportunity to reverse Biden’s harmful energy policies and pass laws that provide true permitting reform that can speed up project timelines to tap America’s immense energy potential — and make your life more affordable.

Keeping taxes low, reining in the administrative state, and eliminating burdensome regulations can clear the road to prosperity for hardworking Americans like you — and Congress has a golden opportunity to turn those ideas into action.

But Congress is not the only one who has to do its part — you also have a crucial role to play.

By getting involved and joining the nation’s largest pro-freedom grassroots army, you’ll help ensure Congress delivers on the fresh mandate and defends American prosperity for generations to come.