Ten-point agenda for his conservative colleagues:

Sen Jim DeMint, chairman of the conservative Senate Steering Committee, outlined a ten-point agenda for his conservative colleagues:

Make the tax cuts permanent and enact fundamental reforms to the tax code;
Rein in runaway government spending and halt the practice of pork-barrel earmarks;
Make health insurance more affordable by ending the tax preference for employer-based health care and creating a national market in insurance;
Demand accountability in the United Nations;
Increase American competitiveness in the international economy by cutting corporate tax rates, increasing energy supplies and cutting back government red tape;
Secure the borders;
Fully fund our nation’s armed forces by spending at least four percent of GDP on the military;
Enact a Constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget and limit tax increases;
Stop spending Social Security surpluses on other government programs; and
Give parents more flexibility in their children’s education and work to restore federalism in education policy.
The senator praised Heritage for our work on issues like immigration and government spending. “Groups like Heritage have really put the numbers out there and helped us track the problems,” he said.