Republican Study Committee

Initiatives

The RSC's legislative initiatives are detailed in the American Taxpayer Bill of Rights, unveiled in March 2007.

1. Taxpayers have a right to have a federal government that does not grow beyond their ability to pay for it.
2. Taxpayers have a right to receive back each dollar that they entrust to the government for their retirement.
3. Taxpayers have a right to expect the government to balance the budget without having their taxes raised.
4. Taxpayers have a right to a simple, fair tax code that they can understand.

History

The RSC was founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich and other conservative activists to keep a watch on the House Republican leadership, which they saw as too moderate. Their formation mirrored the rise of the Democratic Study Group, a liberal force in the Democratic Caucus founded in 1959. The group's first chairman was Phil Crane of Illinois.

The group briefly dissolved in 1995 when Newt Gingrich abolished it and other similar groups after the Republicans won control of the House for the first time in 40 years. It was soon resurrected as the Conservative Action Team (CATs) by Dan Burton of Indiana (the last chair of the original RSC), Sam Johnson of Texas, John Doolittle of California and Ernest Istook of Oklahoma. These four founders alternated as chairs throughout the following two Congresses until David McIntosh of Indiana became chair in 1998. The group was restored to its original RSC name when John Shadegg became chair in 2001.

Paul Teller spent over ten years as Executive Director of RSC. He was fired in December 2013 by Steve Scalise for divulging member conversations. Teller had been working with two outside groups in opposition to a budget deal forged by Paul Ryan and Patty Murray.

Chairs

Former members

The RSC membership list is available on the group's website. It counts former vice presidents Mike Pence, Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney and former House majority leader Tom DeLay among its former members. In addition, at least two sitting senators—John Boozman (AR) and Roger Wicker (MS)—were members of the RSC while serving in the House. At least three former governors–Pence (IN), Butch Otter (ID) and Bobby Jindal (LA)—were also members.

List of former members

• Dan Burton of Indiana
• Phil Crane of Illinois
• John Doolittle of California
• Sam Johnson of Texas
• David M. McIntosh of Indiana
• Sue Myrick of North Carolina
• Mike Pence of Indiana
• Bruce Poliquin of Maine
• Jeb Hensarling of Texas
• Tom Price of Georgia
• Jim Jordan of Ohio
• Jackie Walorski of Indiana
• Rob Woodall of Georgia
• Bill Flores of Texas
• Mark Walker of North Carolina
• Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota
• Chris Stewart of Utah
• Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
• Richard Burr of North Carolina
• Ken Buck of Colorado
• John Joyce of Pennsylvania
• Tim Burchett of Tennessee

Political issues

On June 16, 2010, the committee issued a press release critical of the administration of U.S. president Barack Obama for negotiating an agreement with energy company BP to waive the $75 million federal limit on oil company liability for oil spills. The statement called the agreement requiring BP to set aside $20 billion to pay damage claims for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill a "Chicago-style political shakedown" by the White House.

In July 2013, the Republican Study Committee barred the Heritage Foundation employees from attending its weekly meeting in the Capitol, reversing a decades-old policy, over disagreements about the farm bill.

In June 2015, the Republican Study Committee reacted to the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage, calling it "a loss for democratic self-government" and stating "we should work to promote the truth of marriage between a man and a woman."

In 2021, their policy positions included maintaining the Hyde Amendment, constructing a wall on the southern border, and ending perceived censorship of conservative-leaning content.

In 2026, the Republican Study Committee unveiled its framework for a second reconciliation bill (following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2024) with the stated goal of making the American Dream affordable again. It argues that there are three things are pricing families out of the American Dream: housing costs, healthcare costs, and energy costs, and claim their blueprint provides solutions for all three.

Membership

Current members

Since January 25th, 2025, the Republican Study Committee no longer publishes its membership roster on its website. In May 2025, the caucus had 189 members in total. Currently, at least 25 members are also known to be part of the Freedom Caucus, which does not officially publish membership lists. Alabama

• Barry Moore (AL-1)*
• Mike Rogers (AL-3)
• Robert Aderholt (AL-4)
• Dale Strong (AL-5)
• Gary Palmer (AL-6)* Arizona
• David Schweikert (AZ-1)
• Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6)
• Paul Gosar (AZ-9) Arkansas
• French Hill (AR-2)
• Bruce Westerman (AR-4) California
• Doug LaMalfa (CA-1)
• Kevin Kiley (CA-3)
• Tom McClintock (CA-5)
• Jay Obernolte (CA-23)
• Darrell Issa (CA-48) Colorado
• Lauren Boebert (CO-3) Florida
• Neal Dunn (FL-2)
• Kat Cammack (FL-3)
• Aaron Bean (FL-4)
• Mike Waltz (FL-6)
• Cory Mills (FL-7)
• Daniel Webster (FL-11)
• Gus Bilirakis (FL-12)
• Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13)*
• Laurel Lee (FL-15)
• Vern Buchanan (FL-16)
• Greg Steube (FL-17)
• Scott Franklin (FL-18)
• Byron Donalds (FL-19)
• Brian Mast (FL-21)
• Carlos A. Giménez (FL-28) Georgia
• Buddy Carter (GA-1)
• Drew Ferguson (GA-3)
• Rich McCormick (GA-6)
• Austin Scott (GA-8)
• Andrew Clyde (GA-9)*
• Mike Collins (GA-10)*
• Barry Loudermilk (GA-11)
• Rick Allen (GA-12)
• Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) Idaho
• Russ Fulcher (ID-1)* Illinois
• Mike Bost (IL-12)
• Mary Miller (IL-15)*
• Darin LaHood (IL-16) Indiana
• Rudy Yakym (IN-2)
• Jim Baird (IN-4)
• Victoria Spartz (IN-5)
• Erin Houchin (IN-9) Iowa
• Ashley Hinson (IA-2)
• Zach Nunn (IA-3)
• Randy Feenstra (IA-4) Kansas
• Tracey Mann (KS-1)
• Ron Estes (KS-4) Kentucky
• James Comer (KY-1)
• Brett Guthrie (KY-2)
• Andy Barr (KY-6) Louisiana
• Steve Scalise (LA-1)
• Clay Higgins (LA-3)*
• Mike Johnson (LA-4)
• Julia Letlow (LA-5) Michigan
• Jack Bergman (MI-1)
• John Moolenaar (MI-2)
• Bill Huizenga (MI-4)
• Tim Walberg (MI-5)
• Lisa McClain (MI-9)
• John James (MI-10) Minnesota
• Brad Finstad (MN-1)
• Tom Emmer (MN-6)
• Michelle Fischbach (MN-7)
• Pete Stauber (MN-8) Mississippi
• Trent Kelly (MS-1)
• Michael Guest (MS-3)
• Mike Ezell (MS-4) Missouri
• Ann Wagner (MO-2)
• Mark Alford (MO-4)
• Eric Burlison (MO-7)*
• Jason Smith (MO-8) Montana
• Ryan Zinke (MT-1) Nebraska
• Mike Flood (NE-1)
• Don Bacon (NE-2)
• Adrian Smith (NE-3)

New Jersey

• Jeff Van Drew (NJ-2)
• Chris Smith (NJ-4)

New York

• Nick LaLota (NY-1)
• Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)
• Elise Stefanik (NY-21)
• Nick Langworthy (NY-23)
• Claudia Tenney (NY-24) North Carolina
• Greg Murphy (NC-3)
• Virginia Foxx (NC-5)
• David Rouzer (NC-7)
• Dan Bishop (NC-8)
• Richard Hudson (NC-9)
• Patrick McHenry (NC-10)
• Chuck Edwards (NC-11) Ohio
• Bob Latta (OH-5)
• Bill Johnson (OH-6)
• Max Miller (OH-7)
• Warren Davidson (OH-8)*
• Mike Turner (OH-10)
• Troy Balderson (OH-12)
• Mike Carey (OH-15) Oklahoma
• Kevin Hern (OK-1)
• Josh Brecheen (OK-2)*
• Tom Cole (OK-4)
• Stephanie Bice (OK-5) Oregon
• Cliff Bentz (OR-2) Pennsylvania
• Dan Meuser (PA-9)
• Lloyd Smucker (PA-11)
• Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14)
• Mike Kelly (PA-16) South Carolina
• Joe Wilson (SC-2)
• William Timmons (SC-4)
• Ralph Norman (SC-5)*
• Russell Fry (SC-7) South Dakota
• Dusty Johnson (SD-AL) Tennessee
• Diana Harshbarger (TN-1)
• Chuck Fleischmann (TN-3)
• Scott DesJarlais (TN-4)*
• Andy Ogles (TN-5)
• John Rose (TN-6)
• Mark Green (TN-7)*
• David Kustoff (TN-8) Texas
• Nathaniel Moran (TX-1)
• Dan Crenshaw (TX-2)
• Keith Self (TX-3)
• Pat Fallon (TX-4)
• Lance Gooden (TX-5)
• Jake Ellzey (TX-6)
• Morgan Luttrell (TX-8)
• Michael McCaul (TX-10)
• August Pfluger (TX-11)
• Ronny Jackson (TX-13)
• Randy Weber (TX-14)
• Monica de la Cruz (TX-15)
• Pete Sessions (TX-17)
• Jodey Arrington (TX-19)
• Chip Roy (TX-21)
• Troy Nehls (TX-22)
• Tony Gonzales (TX-23)
• Beth Van Duyne (TX-24)
• Roger Williams (TX-25)
• Michael C. Burgess (TX-26)
• Michael Cloud (TX-27)*
• John Carter (TX-31)
• Brian Babin (TX-36) Utah
• Blake Moore (UT-1)
• Chris Stewart (UT-2)
• Burgess Owens (UT-4) Virginia
• Rob Wittman (VA-1)
• Ben Cline (VA-6) Washington
• Dan Newhouse (WA-4)
• Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5) Wisconsin
• Bryan Steil (WI-1)
• Scott L. Fitzgerald (WI-5)
• Glenn Grothman (WI-6)
• Tom Tiffany (WI-7) Wyoming
• Harriet Hageman (WY-AL) Non-voting members
• James Moylan (GU-AL)

*Also a member of the Freedom Caucus.

Notes

References

References

1. "About RSC". Republican Study Committee.
2. (July 2020). "Party Sub‐Brands and American Party Factions". [[American Journal of Political Science]].
3. (2018-03-05). "Republican U.S. Representative Walker urges rejection of planned tariffs". Reuters.
4. (2025-06-07). "Like Elon Musk, Russ Vought wants to break Washington. Unlike the billionaire, the budget guru might just succeed.".
5. (November 15, 2024). "August Pfluger elected Republican Study Committee chair". The Hill.
6. Weisman, Jonathan. (October 19, 2005). "House GOP Leaders Set to Cut Spending". [[The Washington Post]].
7. Davis, Michelle R.. (2006-06-06). "Conservative House GOP Group Flexes Policy Muscle". Education Week.
8. Brandon Moseley. (2017-01-10). "Palmer appointed to RSC Steering Committee".
9. Orr, Gabby. (2021-03-01). "The Republican trying to bridge the Trump-Pence divide".
10. Garrison, Trey. (2007-03-14). "A New Contract With America?".
11. "Republican Study Committee Asks Taxpayers to Sign Online Petition {{!}} Tax Notes".
12. "Conservative Groups Support RSC's 'Bold' Fiscal Plan {{!}} Tax Notes".
13. "The RSC's Taxpayer Bill of Rights". Republican Study Committee.
14. (March 21, 2007). "RSC Leaders Rally to Support Taxpayers as Democrats Sanction Largest Tax Increase in American History". Republican Study Committee.
15. "Fall of the house of Newt - November 16, 1998".
16. https://archive.today/20231010164838/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/the-cabal-that-quietly-took-over-the-house/276213/
17. Alberta, Tim. (December 11, 2013). "RSC Fires Executive Director for Leaking 'Member-Level' Talks to Outside Groups". National Journal.
18. Kane, Paul. (December 11, 2013). "House GOP leader Steve Scalise fires top aide, Paul Teller, citing breach of trust". Washington Post.
19. "RSC Member List | Republican Study Committee (RSC)".
20. Bush, Rudolph. "Bitter end to 35-year career".
21. Zawislak, Mick. (2014-11-16). "Crane remembered as conservative pioneer".
22. Foran, Clare. (2024-03-12). "GOP Rep. Ken Buck to leave Congress at end of next week {{!}} CNN Politics".
23. "RSC membership".
24. (2010-06-16). "Chicago-Style Political Shakedown | Republican Study Committee (RSC)". Republican Study Committee.
25. [http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/republican-lawmakers-retaliate-against-heritage-foundation-20130828 Republican Lawmakers Retaliate Against Heritage Foundation], Tim Alberts, ''[[National Journal]]'', August 28, 2013
26. "House Republican Reaction to Supreme Court Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage {{!".
27. "Republican Study Committee".
28. https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/economy-budget/5685648-make-american-dream-affordable/
29. (2025-01-24). "Membership".
30. Devlin, Bradley. (2025-05-06). "EXCLUSIVE: Republican Study Committee Hits Membership High With Addition of Fine, Patronis".