Fellow Conservative,

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are out of session for the Thanksgiving break. The Senate will return to session on Monday, November 27th and the House will return on Tuesday, November 28th. When they do, there will be a number of issues facing Capitol Hill. Here is what you need to know going into the break.

The New Spending Deadlines

In September, the House passed a continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding at current levels until November 17th. While the House made progress on passing the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government, the House had completed passing 7 out of 12 bills, and the Democrat Senate lagged woefully behind passing only 3 out of the 12 appropriations bills.

Speaker Johnson led the House to pass a “laddered” continuing resolution. This CR extends government funding but structures its expiration dates so that the first four appropriations bills would need to be passed by January 19th, and the remaining eight two weeks later on February 2nd.

CRs have long been an enabling force in Washington DC’s spending addiction as they are oftentimes followed up by an “omnibus” (a singular bill that combines all 12 appropriations bills) or a series of smaller “minibuses.”

This laddered CR however, disrupts the chances of Congress passing massive spending bills in a holiday buzzer beater when members are anxiously trying to leave Washington to get back to their districts in time for Christmas. Speaker Johnson’s end goal is to avoid a bad omnibus bill, seriously slash spending levels, and institute meaningful conservative policies.

Nothing in DC happens in a vacuum, and so it’s important to remember the other spending requests being debated, namely more Ukraine funding. Washington has failed to provide oversight and accountability for the funds already sent to Ukraine, but still, Biden is requesting more. Democrats in Congress — and even some Republicans — are trying to give Biden what he wants, and are pushing for more Ukraine funding. And while CRs are not the preferred method of governance for conservatives, Johnson’s CR did NOT have Ukraine funding attached, and so it has had the effect of slowing momentum for this issue.

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

What is next

Now that this bill has passed Congress and been signed into law, Speaker Johnson and House Republicans must work together to make sure that the American taxpayer gets a win in January. Congress needs to reduce spending.

A line must be drawn: No more continuing resolutions at current spending levels, no more omnibuses, and no more minibuses! House conservatives must use the time they have to pass conservative legislation that:
Reduces government spending

• Defunds woke bureaucratic policies
• Defunds government weaponization
• Supports Israel WITHOUT conditioning its aid upon funding for Ukraine
• Considers Ukraine aid on its own merits (and with accountability and oversight). And Senate Republicans cannot give into Biden’s trick of pairing Ukraine funding with “money for the border.” The border money Biden is asking for is not to secure the border, but to fund business as usual and process more illegal immigrants into the country.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, Heritage Action President Kevin Roberts wrote:

“The American people have been incredibly clear: They want the government focused on its intended purpose, an end to the use of federal agencies to target political opponents, and an end to the spending that has directly led to high mortgage, credit, and interest rates. Congress has a chance to get a real win for the American people in January.”

House conservatives must give themselves maximum leverage in the Senate by passing strong conservative spending bills and engaging in aggressive negotiations to cement conservative priorities in future legislation.

Republicans must turn the dial up to 11, and get to work for the American people. Time has run out.

>>>Read the full press release HERE

H.R. 2 or Bust

Any action Congress takes on the border must include the House’s Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2). This bill does not simply throw money at the problem, but actually addresses the underlying policy failures the Biden administration continues that are only perpetuating this disaster.

Since Mayorkas has become Secretary of DHS, illegal border crossings have surged to an unfathomable amount. In October of 2020, there were 71,929 illegal crossings on the southwest border. This past month, that number increased by 235% for a total of 240,988 in just one month - an all-time high.

This is being felt in communities across the country as locations that should be considered safe but are now being used by government funded non-profit organizations to facilitate illegal migration.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) took an additional step by introducing a privileged motion resolution to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. But instead of supporting the privileged motion to impeach him, 8 Republicans - Patrick McHenry (N.C.), Tom McClintock (Calif.), John Duarte (Calif), Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Darrell Issa (Calif.), Cliff Bentz (Ore.), Ken Buck (Colo.), and Mike Turner (Ohio) - voted with Democrats to refer the matter to the Homeland Security Committee.

There was no reason to delay the vote. It is abundantly clear that Mayorkas has failed in his responsibilities. conservatives must fill the void and secure the border even if appointed bureaucrats refuse. Impeaching Mayorkas will send a message loud and clear: do your job or lose your job.

Heritage Action will continue to support efforts to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas. But Congress must hear directly from you.

>>>Call your Representative and tell them to Impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

In Case You Missed It

Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is refusing to make it easy for the Biden administration to reshape the military into a Woke Army. When Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin used a memo to circumvent Congress and begin using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions, the former football coach moved to block the administration by preventing DoD nominees from being confirmed by the Senate en bloc (in one group).

But now, Democrats are working with moderate Republicans on a change to Senate rules to allow for military promotions to be voted on in groups (en bloc). This is a blatantly political move to work around Tuberville’s legitimate hold and it should be offensive to any Senator concerned with the integrity of the institution.

Republican Senators who are working with Democrats to change Senate rules are carrying water for the Biden administration and their illegal policy of using your taxpayer dollars to fund abortion expenses through the Pentagon.

The Senate needs to hear from you.

>>>Call your Senators and urge them to support Tuberville’s hold, rescind Biden’s abortion policy, and refuse to change the rules for Democrats’ temporary gain.

Biden's Higher Education Bailout

Since his campaign for President, Biden has been scheming to bailout institutions of higher education through student loan cancellations and solidify the votes of America’s younger generation.

These schemes are inherently unjust because they ignore the reality that debt cancellation is a euphemism that ignores the fact that debt cannot be erased, only passed on to someone else. An estimated 13% of Americans hold student debt, meaning that if it were to be “canceled” it would be a cost borne by the 87% who already paid off their debts, worked their way through college to avoid it, or didn’t go to college at all.

Heritage Action’s most recent blog post presents a detailed and organized breakdown of the many illicit attempts from the Biden administration to bribe young voters into supporting his agenda with the promise of student loan cancellation.

>>>Read the blog post HERE<<<

In the Senate, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced legislation that would have overturned Biden’s student loan scheme, saving hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars. The Senate however, voted this measure down 49-50 (see how your Senators voted).

But the fight is not over, as this is just one of a number of options conservatives have to rein in Biden’s overreach. Your work submitting comments on this rule can also play an important role in litigators efforts to overturn this rule in court in the months to come.

The grassroots are the last line of defense for holding lawmakers accountable and advancing the conservative agenda.

Thank you for all that you do.

Ryan Walker and the Heritage Action team

Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.