Education reform must accompany industrial policy

On Wednesday, a group of four Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Todd Young (R-IN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and J.D. Vance (R-OH), advocated their vision of new conservative economics. Regardless of one’s stance on these proposals, their top message was clear: American interests are key.

The forum, “Rebuilding American Capitalism,” was hosted by American Compass at the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building to promote their newly released policy handbook aimed at conservative policymakers. The senators agreed that some of the policies in the book would be met with skepticism from most of their Republican colleagues.

Although the lawmakers in the group want to shift away from traditional free-market economics, they highlight the importance of maintaining belief in capitalism. At the same time, they mention certain situations that require government involvement — for example, economic investment that affects national security and lowering college debt.