(MCT) — WASHINGTON — The second-ranking Republican in the House, in a speech intended to unveil a new strategy for the politically hobbled party, cast the GOP Tuesday as an advocate for improving the lives of working Americans even as he reaffirmed its insistence on balancing the federal budget.

The heavily promoted address by Majority Leader Eric Cantor marked the latest attempt by a Republican to reframe the party’s post-election agenda. And it was the most significant to date by a leader of the institution Americans see as the epicenter of political dysfunction: Congress.