House Republicans are poised to shift their focus from national security to the economy, hoping to rally opposition to what they claim are Democratic plans to raise taxes amid the economic downturn.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is expected to announce Thursday that the House GOP floor emphasis will transition away from passing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and earmark reform to “stop the tax hike.”

The measure has 125 co-sponsors, none of whom are Democrats.

A recent CBS/New York Times poll found that 37 percent of those surveyed ranked the economy as the most important issue facing the United States. The Iraq war ranked second at 15 percent.

The strategy is detailed in an inaugural “Freedom File” e-mail — a monthly memo to GOP activists — from Boehner’s political action committee, Freedom Project.

“When House Republicans invited Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke to Capitol Hill earlier this month to talk about the rising threat to the U.S. economy, the housing crisis wasn’t the only issue discussed,” the e-mail says. “During the closed-door meeting, and in his subsequent public testimony before Congress the following day, Bernanke repeated a warning he first issued last fall: tax hikes will hurt the economy.”

Democrats contend that the economy continues to be weakened by the war in Iraq and place the blame for the economic downturn squarely at the administration’s feet.

“We also cannot lose sight of the Iraq war’s impact on America’s economy, which is another source of strength of our country,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said April 3. “This president has taken us into a war that is taking us deeply into debt that can take us into recession.”

Republicans charged that the 2007 House Democratic budget resolution represented the largest tax hike in U.S. history and made similar criticisms about this year’s measure.

Nadeam Elshami, spokesman for Pelosi, said, “Let’s be clear: Republican plans to give more tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans when the rest of American families are struggling to pay the rent, buy groceries or cover the cost of their healthcare will add billions more to President Bush’s deficit, and cost us the opportunity make needed investments that will create and keep jobs here at home.”

Republicans have attempted to claim the economic high ground since losing control of Congress in 2006, but have been hampered by hot-button issues like the mortgage foreclosure crisis, which has largely put GOP members on the defensive.

According to a March 24-27 Gallup poll, 58 percent of Republicans surveyed were opposed to a federal government-based solution to the problem.

On Tuesday, House Republicans released their principles for federal housing aid, which sought to strike a balance between blocking “bailouts” for those homeowners who have made poor financial decisions with helping the economy by jump-starting the housing market without raising taxes.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, stressed that the pivot away from security and earmarks was not an indicator that the GOP was giving up pushing for passage of FISA or comprehensive earmark reform.

Republicans have noted they have successfully peeled off centrist Democrats during procedural votes on FISA and earmark reform. They have also attracted 10 Democrats to sign on to a discharge petition that would force a floor vote on Rep. Heath Shuler’s (D-N.C.) immigration bill, which has more Republican than Democratic co-sponsors.