Fellow Conservative,
As Congress prepares to go home for the holiday break next week, both chambers are scrambling to get as much done as they can before the new year. Here is a breakdown of key pieces of legislation to watch:
An NDAA that is Failing our Troops
The Pentagon has been turned into a petri-dish for Biden’s social experimentation – from allowing service members to receive abortions using taxpayer funding, experimenting with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and the discharging of our service members who refused to give in to vaccination mandates.
Biden’s policies are having a negative and very measurable effect on our military personnel, as demonstrated by a persistent and historic recruitment crisis.
Congress had the chance to step in and refocus the Pentagon using this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes and sets broad policy for the Department of Defense. Unfortunately, the NDAA being debated for Fiscal Year 2024 <[link removed]> fails to accomplish this goal — it fails to restrict Biden’s political culture war in the military ..
Because of this, Heritage Action opposes the FY 2024 NDAA <[link removed]> and will add this vote to our legislative scorecard. <[link removed]>
>>>Read the full text HERE<<< <[link removed]>
This NDAA was made worse by the fact that it rejected multiple efforts to deter the growing influence and military capabilities of China by again removing provisions that would have:
- Imposed sanctions on fentanyl traffickers
- Protected U.S. agricultural land
- Regulated and restricted U.S. outbound investments into China which are being used to bolster their military strength
Further, this NDAA includes a temporary extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without any of the much needed reforms. FISA has regularly been misused to spy and collect data on American citizens. Extending this act without reforms allows intelligence agencies to continue weaponizing their powers to harass and target the American people.
We want what is best for our military and servicemembers, and that means removing Biden’s political culture war from the Department of Defense. Your representatives need to hear from you!
>>>CALL CONGRESS <[link removed]> and tell them to refocus our military on its core competency: protecting the American people.
The Senate's Spending Package Fails Americans
On Wednesday, the Senate released their supplemental spending package and it is even worse than the request from the White House by increasing the proposed spending total from 105 billion to $110.6 billion.
Executive Vice President of Heritage Action, Ryan Walker bludgeoned the proposal writing: <[link removed]>
This legislation fails in every measure. First, after the House responsibly passed needed aid for Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East, the Chuck Schumer Senate refused to take up the bill for weeks... Second, the Senate bill combines aid for Israel with taxpayer funding for Gaza, where it almost certainly will be stolen by Hamas terrorists. Third, the package includes billions more in assistance to Ukraine without the strategy, accountability, or oversight Americans deserve.
Biden’s original proposal also included billions in “border funding.” This was not funding to secure the border, but to process more illegal immigrants into the American heartland. Conservatives have responded by telling Washington, “If you want border money in this bill, it needs to be money to SECURE THE BORDER.”
This proposal also continues to fund Biden’s failed border policies and refuses even to entertain the House passed H.R. 2 (The Secure the Border Act) which remains the only solution to the border crisis. The fact that the Schumer Senate won’t consider even a single provision to secure our porous border shows his complete disregard for the millions of Americans impacted by this crisis.
America deserves better and Heritage Action stands ready to oppose this spending package as a Key Vote if it reaches a final vote—not a single conservative can support this legislation.
In Case You Missed It
Holding Higher Ed Accountable
The House passed Representative Michelle Steel’s (R-Calif.) DETERRENT Act–which brings greater transparency and accountability to institutions of higher education. The DETERRENT Act lowers the reporting threshold of colleges and universities who accept foreign gifts to $50,000 (currently, it’s $250,000). And in the case of gifts from countries of concern, like China or Iran, foreign gifts must be reported no matter the amount.
>>>WATCH Rep. Steel explain the need for this legislation <[link removed]>
Biden, Don’t Touch our Cars
The House passed Representatives Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Andrew Clyde’s (R-Ga.) CARS Act–which prohibits the EPA from implementing aggressive emission standards designed to be a de facto EV mandate.
If you will remember, over the summer Biden’s EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) released a regulation aimed at squeezing gas cars off the market by using tailpipe emission standards to force 67% of all new vehicles sold to be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2032, an 11x increase from the current 6% level in just 9 years!
This will limit your choice of vehicle, make cars more expensive, and lower the quality of car. <[link removed]>
We look forward to supporting its passage in the Senate.
Fighting back against Biden’s student loan schemes
The House passed Representative Lisa McClain’s (R-Mich.) disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act to overturn one of Biden’s student loan forgiveness schemes that attempted to rewrite the income driven repayment rules. This resolution passed the House with bipartisan support!
>>> Read: Heritage Action documents the history of Biden’s student loan bailout scheme <[link removed]>
In all of this, it is the voice of the grassroots that has the
greatest potential to make a difference. Your voice matters. Thank you for making it heard.
-Ryan and the Heritage Action team
Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.
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