Press Releases
The Republican Recap: Week of December 1, 2025
Washington,
December 4, 2025
Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:
Cutting Burdensome Red Tape on Small Businesses ✅ Under the Biden Administration, small businesses across America struggled under the explosion of regulations. Overly burdensome regulations make it harder for small businesses to grow, innovate, and succeed due to lack of regulatory clarity and high compliance costs. The American Action Forum estimated the cumulative cost of Biden Administration regulations to be over $1.8 trillion – a significant increase from any previous administrations. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, making up 99.9 percent of American businesses and employing 45.9 percent of private sector American workers. We should be implementing policies to help them thrive and boost our economy, not weighing them down with unnecessary and complicated bureaucratic red-tape. In line with President Trump’s deregulatory agenda, the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy created a “Red Tape Hotline” in March to allow small businesses to report how federal regulations and agency activity are impacting their business, so the Office of Advocacy can review and communicate their concerns to agencies. This week, House Republicans passed legislation making the “Red Tape Hotline” permanent and requiring the SBA Office of Advocacy to submit these reports annually to Congress, providing better oversight so we can cut red tape that stifles growth. H.R. 4305, the DUMP Red Tape Act, introduced by Rep. Tony Wied, codifies a dedicated hotline for small business owners to report overly burdensome or unnecessary federal regulations to the SBA Office of Advocacy and requires Advocacy to report these submissions annually to Congress. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, but they often lack the time and resources to navigate complex regulatory frameworks,” said Rep. Wied. “As a former small business owner, I know firsthand how burdensome regulations can make it harder for businesses to operate and turn a profit. I’m very proud to see the House pass my bill, the Destroying Unnecessary, Misaligned, and Prohibitive (DUMP) Red Tape Act to give small business owners a direct line to make their voices heard, report unnecessary regulations, and ensure those complaints are documented and reviewed so Congress can take action.” What Members Said: “[Small businesses] don't have an army of compliance attorneys and compliance consultants to help them figure out what's in these 200,000 pages of federal regulation and what that means for how they conduct their behavior in their communities each and every day,” said Rep. Derek Schmidt. “So how do we figure out where to start? And I think this bill is a very common sense answer: ask the people who are most affected. The whole point of the Red Tape Hotline that President Trump set up and that this bill codifies and makes permanent is to allow the people in the small business world who are affected by regulatory decisions made in this town, our nation's capital, to tell somebody who has the ability to aggregate that information and do something about it, bring it to the attention of lawmakers, ‘This is where you need to focus.’ [...] Ask the people affected, listen to their voices. That's what this bill does, and it makes sure we put in place a simple structure that is permanent, so that the vagaries of this town don't, you know, change things on Main Street.”
Rep. Brad Finstad emphasized that H.R. 4305 ensures the small, family-owned businesses that run our economy have the resources to report in real time the burdensome regulations that hold them back.  Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Small Businesses ✅ After four years of unprecedented overregulation by the Biden Administration, small businesses are in desperate need of regulatory relief. High compliance costs and confusing red tape place heavy burdens on small businesses and threaten their survival, as well as the jobs and innovation they support. These costs can be overwhelming, as many small businesses don’t have the same time or resources to dedicate to regulatory compliance as larger companies do. Small businesses are a significant source of American jobs – employing about 59 million workers – and provide meaningful contributions to local communities while driving economic growth. It’s past time for the government to stop stifling their growth and eroding their competitiveness with unnecessary bureaucracy and start building a regulatory environment that allows small businesses to prosper. House Republicans passed legislation to reduce the regulatory burdens and promote small business growth by creating an annual government-wide report that outlines the impact of federal regulations on small businesses and preventing increased compliance costs. Rep. Beth Van Duyne’s legislation, H.R. 2965, the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025, requires the Small Business Administration to ensure any regulatory action taken by the agency will not raise compliance costs for small businesses and report the costs of other federal agencies’ regulations on small businesses. “By passing my Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025, House Republicans have come together to provide much-needed relief to America’s job creators after they have been burdened by years of overregulation,” said Rep. Van Duyne. “After a record-breaking $1.8 trillion in regulatory costs from the previous administration, it is far past time to identify the true costs of federal regulations so we can remove them and ensure American small businesses have more time and money to expand operations or hire new employees. Less regulation on Main Street means more prosperity for our communities and a stronger economy for America.” What Members Said: “Under the Biden Harris administration, small businesses were hit with an unprecedented 1.8 trillion – not billion, but $1.8 trillion – in new regulatory costs, while inflation soared over 20 percent. Where do you think that cost goes, Mr. Speaker? It goes to the consumer. Main Street cannot thrive under that kind of bureaucratic chokehold,” said Rep. Mark Alford. “Americans are demanding affordability, and this is a good step in that direction. This bill, championed by my colleague, Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, finally puts a stop to it. H.R. 2965 requires the Small Business Administration to report on the regulatory cost imposed by other federal agencies on small businesses. Transparency – it's all about transparency. It's going to show the American people exactly where the Democrat blue tape is strangling growth in America. This legislation supports President Trump's regulatory rightsizing agenda and gives our job creators the relief that they desperately need to start to grow and to succeed once again.”
Rep. John McGuire highlighted that H.R. 2965 reduces red tape to drive down costs for families by preventing the SBA from issuing regulations that increase costs for small businesses.  Combating CCP Influence in American Classrooms ✅ Over the past decade, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has worked to spread propaganda and conduct sophisticated espionage around the world by targeting the United States and seeking to infiltrate and exploit America’s K-12 classrooms and institutions of learning. Disguised as programs promoting Chinese language and culture and advancing cultural exchanges, Confucius Classrooms are an important element of the CCP’s global influence campaign that work to build ties with American schools to push propaganda and sway policy. Currently, there are around 500 to 1,000 Confucius Classrooms worldwide, and a Parents Defending Education report tracked Chinese affiliation in 143 schools across 34 states, with at least seven still active as of publication of the report. The CCP approves teachers, events, and speakers and demands that teachers pledge not to damage the national interests of China. We cannot allow foreign adversaries like the CCP, whose mission is to undermine American interests, infect our political discourse, and shape young minds to their design. House Republicans passed legislation to combat malicious foreign influence from China in our kids’ classrooms. Rep. Kevin Hern’s legislation, H.R. 1069, the PROTECT Our Kids Act, blocks federal funding from being given to elementary or secondary schools that directly or indirectly receive support from the Chinese government, including operation of Confucius Classrooms, funds provided by China, and personnel or teaching materials received from an individual or entity acting on behalf of the Chinese government. “The CCP’s malign influence in our educational institutions is a serious and growing threat. Today’s students are our future leaders, and we must ensure their learning environments are free from anti-American, foreign influence. My PROTECT Our Kids Act will put an end to CCP money and propaganda infiltrating our K-12 schools and protect our children,” said Rep. Hern. What Members Said: “For far too long, American education has been undermined from within by actors who have taken advantage of our free and open society to advance nefarious and anti-freedom objectives of the Chinese Communist Party. Under the veneer of cultural and educational exchange, the CCP and its operatives have restricted free speech, monitored Chinese students and faculty, and served as intelligence gathering conduits on emerging American technologies. These soft power tactics are part of a broader strategy to cultivate networks of communist influence within our very institutions responsible for shaping the next generation of American patriots,” said Rep. Burgess Owens. “The CCP has reached even into elementary classrooms, cultivating favorable attitudes towards the Chinese Communist Party among our young students. With passage of the PROTECT Our Kids Act, schools that refuse to confront this reality will no longer be eligible for federal funds, full stop. The message is straightforward and simple to education administrators who don't understand the concept of American patriotism: this behavior will not be tolerated and no longer subsidized by the American taxpayer.”
 Click here or on the image above to view Rep. Owens' remarks. Rep. Pat Harrigan noted that H.R. 1069 shuts down the CCP's attempts to slip influence into American schools through programs, materials, and funding designed to shape what our kids learn by withholding federal funding from schools that partner with the CCP.  Keeping Foreign Adversaries Out of America’s Schools ✅ Due to their considerable impact on the future leaders of our country, American schools have been the target of foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party, which seek to exert their influence on students, faculty, and research across the country and subvert U.S. interests. The Chinese government has worked to infiltrate American K-12 schools in many ways, including through funding and establishing Confucius Classrooms that claim to promote Chinese language and culture and advance cultural exchanges in our schools. The Senate found that increasing Confucius Classrooms in America has been a top priority for the CCP, and many K-12 schools have accepted funding, grants, teacher exchanges, and student exchange programs in China. Confucius Classrooms are very similar to smaller-scale Confucius Institutes (CIs) on college campuses. We cannot allow foreign adversaries like the CCP to dictate the curriculums in our schools. Congress must take action to ensure communist propaganda is not being taught to our kids, and that any foreign influence on American youth is fully disclosed. House Republicans passed legislation to ensure that the CCP cannot infiltrate local school districts and that the Department of Education is aware of spending by foreign countries in K-12 classrooms. H.R. 1005, the Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems (CLASS) Act, sponsored by Rep. Dave Joyce, bans K-12 schools from accepting funds from or entering into a contract with the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and requires schools to disclose funding from or contracts with a foreign source to the Department of Education. “The CCP’s attempts to shape narratives in our classrooms threaten the fairness and independence of American education,” said Rep. Joyce. “Given China’s growing influence in education worldwide, taking commonsense steps to protect our children and safeguard the integrity of our school systems is essential. The House passage of the CLASS Act reflects a commitment from Congress to keep our schools free from foreign influence and protect our children’s learning environment. I want to thank Representative Rulli for leading this legislation with me and countering China’s soft-power campaign” What Members Said: “The CLASS Act prohibits K-12 schools from accepting funds or contracting with the People's Republic of China or the CCP,” said Rep. Mike Rulli. “It also requires K through 12 schools to submit a report to the Secretary of Education with the name and the country of origin and the amount of funds that are being put into our public schools and any terms of that contract. The CCP is anti-American to its core. We stand for freedom of speech, expression and religion. They stand for none of our values. Confucius classrooms are propaganda, and they are often set up near our military bases, just to give it another layer. There is CCP and Chinese affiliations in 143 schools throughout this country. [...] This is unacceptable.”
 Click here or on the image above to view Rep. Rulli's remarks. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks underscored that voting for H.R. 1005 is voting to ensure Communist China can't influence, spy on, or infiltrate our schools.  Keeping Parents Informed of Foreign Influence in Classrooms ✅ Foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continue their efforts to infiltrate American classrooms and influence the education of America’s youth through funding and “cultural exchange programs” like Confucius Classrooms. Many schools have accepted grants connected to the CCP, teacher exchanges, Chinese language programs, and study abroad opportunities. These programs, such as Confucius Classrooms, are really trojan horses that provide the Chinese government with a vehicle to distribute their communist propaganda, advance their strategic objectives, and influence American youth. If parents are unaware of such influence in their child’s classroom, they are unable to ensure their child is being taught accurate content. It’s unacceptable for adversaries like the CCP to have a hand in the shaping of our future leaders by way of American classrooms. Parents have the right to a say in the way their children are taught and an awareness of the groups or governments that have a presence in the classroom. This week, House Republicans passed legislation to ensure parents are made aware of foreign influence in their kid’s classroom and have the opportunity to review any curriculum or materials provided by a foreign government, increasing transparency and combatting foreign influence over our children. H.R. 1049, the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education (TRACE) Act, introduced by Rep. Aaron Bean, requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to make sure the K-12 schools they serve notify parents of any foreign contracts or financial transactions they partake in, allow parents to review curriculum provided by or purchased with funds from a foreign government, and inform parents of how many personnel at their child's school are compensated by foreign sources. “American schools are for education, not espionage. Yet this is what happens when our institutions of learning accept the Trojan horse of foreign funding. The TRACE Act puts parents back in charge, exposes foreign influence for what it is, and slams the door on hostile nations trying to reach America’s youth,” said Rep. Bean. “Now it’s up to the Senate to pass the TRACE Act to solidify parents' rights, defend our classrooms, and keep our schools rooted in freedom.” What Members Said: “In recent years, foreign governments have increasingly sought to influence our K-12 schools, not for their stated purpose of cultural exchanges or diplomacy, but to push propaganda. The Chinese Communist Party, for example, has spent untold sums across hundreds of schools to indoctrinate or influence thousands of children,” said Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg. “H.R. 1049, the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education, or the TRACE Act, by Aaron Bean and Representative Mackenzie, addresses this problem by giving parents the right to review course materials funded or provided by foreign governments and entities of concern. Students perform better when parents are involved in their education, yet in recent years, parents have often been silenced or forced to navigate bureaucratic hurdles just to understand what their children are learning. The TRACE Act ensures transparency, strengthens parental rights, and protects students from foreign indoctrination.”
House Republicans celebrated the passage of H.R. 1049, which puts parents back in charge of their child's education by establishing the right to know about any donations, transactions, classroom materials, or faculty paid for by foreign entities.  |
