As Congressional Republicans begin the transition process for a new majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and look ahead to the new Congress, I write in hopes of expanding the partnership we’ve forged with our nation’s Republicans Governors and using that partnership to advance the will of the American people.

In the mid-1990s, working together, reform-minded GOP Governors and legislators in Congress forced Washington to enact and implement historic welfare reform legislation now regarded by many as the most successful domestic policy change in a generation.  This joint initiative was successful because Republican governors and members of Congress worked together to force Washington to heed the will of the American people.  It is my belief that with the Pledge to America, the new governing agenda built by listening to the people and rejected by the current Democratic majority in Congress, a blueprint has been established for similar joint action on many of the nation’s priorities in the new 112^th Congress.

In the Pledge, we state: “We pledge to honor the Constitution as constructed by its framers and honor the original intent of those precepts that have been consistently ignored – particularly the Tenth Amendment, which grants that all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”  The American people have spoken, and it is clear they want a smaller, more accountable government in Washington, and policies that honor the Constitution and the rights of states, communities, families and individual citizens.  They want an end to the expansion of federal power in Washington, which is happening at the expense of their freedom and their opportunities for prosperity.

With a new majority in the House, a strengthened Republican Conference in the Senate, and an expanded team of GOP governors committed to reform, we have an opportunity for unprecedented collaboration on behalf of the American people in the effort to stop the expansion of federal power in Washington in hopes of returning power and freedom to states and individuals.  I believe a shared commitment exists among many reform-minded Governors and legislators to helping our economy get back to creating jobs, stopping out-of-control spending and reducing the size of government, repealing and replacing President Obama’s job-crushing health care law, reforming Congress to make it more accountable to the people, and keeping our nation secure.  We hope to work with Governors in all of these areas, and I ask for your help in identifying specific Governors who may be particularly helpful in our efforts.

In many cases, the federal government has grown into the affairs that are best managed by Governors in their states.  We would welcome examples from Governors of areas where the expansion of the federal government inhibits their ability to govern and we would want to work closely with Governors to find solutions to these situations.

We have all seen what happens when Washington attempts to legislate in a vacuum and refuses to listen to the American people.  Together, I believe we can stop the job-crushing policies coming out of Washington and begin to provide the leadership that our country craves and deserves.