Fellow Conservative,

T-minus 17 days until the Senate returns to DC, and 24 days until the House returns. While things may look quiet in Washington, there’s lots of action happening behind the scenes, especially surrounding the upcoming spending fights and the response to the White House’s Ukraine funding request.

This was also an action-packed week in the states, with the famous Iowa State Fair and exciting veto override votes in North Carolina.

>>> But before diving in, if you read just one op-ed this weekend, make it this op-ed from Matt Crouch. Matt Crouch is a State Director for Heritage Action, a position he took when he retired from the Marine Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel. He explains why Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is doing the right thing to oppose Biden's illegal use of military funds to pay for abortions. Senator Tuberville's actions are about returning our military's focus to the national defense and away from woke politics.

Iowa State Fair

Thank you to everyone who visited Heritage Action at the Iowa State Fair this week! We were so excited to engage with Iowans on the issues they care about most.

Iowa’s presidential caucus is first in the nation and so a candidate straw poll is a common feature for the state fair. But we decided to put our own twist on it, and ran a “policy straw poll” to see what Iowa voters thought was the #1 issue for the 2024 election.

With 1,135 votes cast, here are how the issues ranked in Iowa:

Appropriations & Ukraine Funding

The federal budgeting and spending process (“appropriations”) is complicated, but the basic principles are not. Here’s a quick review of what we know so far (and what to expect in September):

1. The federal government has spent—and is spending—WAY TOO MUCH money.

Specifically, big-government liberals use the Covid-19 “state of emergency” to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars, rapidly increasing the government's rate of spending. Now, it’s time to reject the “new normal” of Covid spending and cut spending levels back to a better trajectory for America’s fiscal future.

2. The federal government has course-corrected before…so we know it’s possible to do it again.

In 2011, the conservative grassroots created the Tea Party movement and pushed Congress to pass the Budget Control Act, which reversed the rapid trend of spending that had resulted from the 2008 financial crisis.

Now, in 2023, we’re seeing a similar spike in federal spending (a result of Covid-era spending), and it’s having negative repercussions. First it was Bidenflation. Housing has become more unaffordable. And now one of the major credit ratings agencies, Fitch, has downgraded the rating of U.S. government bonds. 

Congress can’t keep spending at absurdly high levels without hurting the American people. Congress needs to use the FY 2024 appropriations process to once again reverse this unsustainable spending path.

3. President Biden’s latest funding request shows a complete disregard for the serious financial situation the country faces.

Congress hasn’t even worked out a deal to fund the federal government past September 30, but President Biden has jumped the gun and already asked for billions of dollars in “supplemental funding” for Ukraine. This $24 billion for Ukraine:

• Disregards the bare minimum criteria of accountability and oversight that Heritage Action has called for.
• Is “unpaid for.” It is a supplemental package that is in addition to the money spent to fund the federal government, which means every dollar of Ukraine funding will increase our National Debt.
• Ties Ukraine funding to FEMA disaster relief and border funding. While Maui is destroyed by wildfires and thousands of Americans die from fentanyl pouring across the southern border, Biden thinks it’s acceptable to hold funding for these crises hostage while he demands money for a war, without meaningful oversight of how American dollars are spent.

Read More in Breitbart: Heritage Action outlines conservatives’ objections to Biden’s Ukraine funding request.

4. What to watch in September.

House Republicans want to cut spending, but are running out of time to do so. While we continue to fight for a “normal” appropriations process (passing all 12 funding bills individually), we are most likely looking at a CR (continuing resolution) to allow lawmakers more time to come to an agreement, an omnibus (combining multiple appropriations bills into one package), or some combination of these. Heritage Action has written a blog post outlining how the FY2024 appropriations policies and funding levels should reflect the priorities of American taxpayers.

Read more: How Conservative Spending Bills Should Cut the Size and Scope of Government.

Conservative Wins in North Carolina

Late Wednesday night, the North Carolina legislature voted to override Governor Roy Cooper’s vetoes of three bills:

• Help Not Harm (HB808) 
• Fairness in Women's Sports (HB574)
• Parents’ Bill of Rights (SB49)

These bills protect children from dangerous experimental surgeries and cross-sex hormones, ensure women and girls’ safety and opportunity in sports, and guarantee parents’ rights to raise their own children.

>>>Read Heritage Action’s Press Release HERE<<<

Mark Your Calendars

This coming Wednesday, August 23, is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day.

Poll workers are a vital part of ensuring elections run smoothly and securely. Learn more about how you can get involved at heritageaction.com/pollworker.

Here are a few Heritage Action grassroots events coming up in Utah and Missouri:

• August 24: The Border Crisis is at Utah’s Doorstep (Lehi, UT)
• August 29: Sound of Freedom screening event (Lee’s Summit, MO)

With the work of grassroots like you, we will continue to be successful in pushing winning conservative policies over the finish line.

Ryan and the Heritage Action Team

Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.