Fellow Conservative,

One week ago, the world watched in horror as Hamas terrorists carried out a surprise terrorist attack on Israel, murdering civilian men, women, and children, including 25 Americans. Policy makers in Washington are weighing in and beginning to formulate concrete proposals. It is worth noting that in addition to Israel being America’s primary ally in the Middle East, there are roughly 200,000 U.S. citizens living in Israel. Their well-being, along with the safe return of hostages, is a chief concern.

The right policy matters. Because it was the wrong policies from the Biden administration that empowered and invited terrorists to flex their muscles. For the past three years, Joe Biden has propagandized that the greatest threat to democracy was conservative voters. Biden directed the federal bureaucracy to investigate concerned parents, traditional Catholics, conservative nonprofits, and Republican voters.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration foolishly turned a blind eye to the real terrorists. On September 29, 2023, National security adviser Jake Sullivan said “The Middle East Region Is Quieter Today Than It Has Been in Two Decades.”

As lawmakers debate the best way to give immediate aid to our ally Israel and to protect Americans abroad, lawmakers must also recognize the overall need to address the policy failures here at home — the policy failures that have invited war and terrorism.

We need to secure our border. We need to end the weaponization of the federal government. We need to rededicate ourselves to becoming energy independent and economically strong. In the long run, a strong America is in the best interest of Israel, Taiwan, and our other allies.

"Week men create tough times"

Joe Biden has projected weakness by crafting a policy of appeasement to America’s enemies. Last month, President Biden paid Iran a $6 billion ransom. This is troubling because Iran is a key financial supporter of the terrorist organization Hamas.

During the Trump administration, Iran was isolated and pressurized under crippling sanctions that hindered them from raising money to fund terrorism groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Further, uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons remained below 4%.

Under Biden, sanctions were relaxed boosting Iranian revenue and the measures stopping enrichment were removed until now Iran is enriching over 60% and are estimated to be two weeks away from having sufficient material for a nuclear weapon.

Biden has allowed Iran:

• Access to sovereign wealth funds
• To receive payments from Iraq in the form of $10 billion for electricity
• Record oil profits of over $70 billion in 2023, compared to just $7 billion in 2020

All of this was to appease Iran, hoping that if we were nice enough they would forget their evil ways and pacify. This past week has sadly demonstrated the failure of Biden’s foreign policy.

>>>Read Ryan Walker’s full ‘X’ thread HERE<<<

Immediate actions Congress can consider

This past week, the House spent its time trying to elect a new Speaker – but so far, no Republican has garnered enough support. Meanwhile the Senate was in recess, but will return to Washington on Monday.

And so a legislative response to the attack in Israel is still forthcoming. Here are key items that are likely to be debated in Washington:

• Appropriating aid, including resupplying Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system
• Reimposing sanctions on Iran and other terrorist regimes
• Supporting resolutions demonstrating support for Israel and condemnation of Hamas
• A vote on the confirmation of Jack Lew to be ambassador to Israel (Note: Heritage Action has strong concerns about Lew’s history of Iranian appeasement and his ability to lead the US-Israel relationship in the region. At a time of crisis, this position deserves more scrutiny, not less — the Senate must not rubber stamp an Iranian appeaser.)

All eyes on the border

In an interview with Fox News, Lora Ries, Director of Border Security and Immigration for The Heritage Foundation said “we have to assume that the sleeper cells of terrorists are here inside the U.S., and Congress needs to wake up and preempt.”

>>>Read the full article HERE<<<

Over the past 24 months, Customs and Border Patrols have caught 72,823 “special interest aliens” from mostly Middle Eastern countries including known terrorist hotbeds:

• Uzbekistan - 13,624
• Afghanistan - 6,386
• Pakistan - 1,613
• Iran - 659
• Syria - 538
• Yemen - 139
• Iraq - 123

These numbers do not include those encountered at ports of entry, or “gotaways” of which there is an estimated 1.7 million at least.

This is a completely unacceptable risk for the American people to have to endure, and Congress needs to act swiftly and decisively to ensure that we do not have a calamity on our hands.

In Case You Missed It

On Tuesday, North Carolina’s General Assembly overrode Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of SB 747, a bill that strengthens election integrity by preventing private individuals and organizations from funding North Carolina’s election operations.

This is the latest in a series of veto overrides that have helped North Carolina progress towards becoming a freer state. Heritage Action’s Executive Vice President, Ryan Walker wrote in a press release.

“State lawmakers have worked together to fight Governor Cooper’s extremism and ensure policies are in place to protect life, promote education freedom, secure elections, reject ESG, and more…We look forward to working alongside grassroots North Carolinians to build on this progress.”

>>>Read the full Press Release HERE<<<

As always, Heritage Action continues to work on behalf of the interests of the American people.
We look forward to continuing to work with you to keep America safe and free.

Thank you for all that you do.

Ryan Walker and the Heritage Action team

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