ALEXANDRIA, VA While the Democratic leadership in Washington is proposing to increase spending and the role of government, Republican state legislators are taking a different approach to addressing budget shortfalls and an economy in recession. Ohio House Republican Minority Leader Bill Batchelder, Representative John Adams and Senator Tim Grendell have proposed a significant plan to reduce the size and scope of Ohio's state government by about $1 billion a year. The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), the nation's largest caucus of Republican state leaders, said that this is a sensible approach to address current financial problems and better prepare for long-term solutions in running state government.

The following are the prepared remarks of RSLC President Scott Ward from a conference call this morning.Please contact Carrie Cantrell at the above information if you would like to follow up on these remarks.

Good morning. I'd like to start off by giving you some background on the RSLC and then discuss the future of the Republican Party from our perspective.