Fellow Conservative,
On Monday, the Senate will reconvene followed by the House of Representatives the next day. But Congress is not the only legislative body returning to session. Dozens of state legislative sessions have already opened, will start next week, or will begin in the upcoming weeks. With so many legislative bodies at work, Heritage Action and our army of grassroots supporters have lots to focus on in 2024.
Washington D.C.
Federal Spending
In November 2023, House Speaker Mike Johnson led Congress in passing a “laddered” Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend government funding into 2024, which staggered the funding expiration dates for different departments and agencies.
Quick background on Congress’s
process for funding the federal government: each year, there are 12 “appropriation bills” (i.e. spending bills) that fund all the federal agencies and departments. For instance, the appropriation bills for “Defense” funds the military, the intelligence community, and other national defense related agencies. Here is an in-depth guide on the process if you are interested. <[link removed]> But tragically, most years Congress fails to rigorously debate and pass 12 separate bills — instead, everything gets crammed into
one giant omnibus bill.
Under Speaker Johnson’s laddered approach, funding for some agencies and departments will expire on January 19th and then the rest of government funding will expire for the other agencies and departments two weeks later. The stated goal of Johnson’s laddered approach was to break the debate up, and not force all the spending into one giant bill.
The departments and agencies that will run out of funding on January 19th fall under the jurisdiction of these 4 appropriation bills: Agriculture-FDA, Energy and Water, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD.
The rest of the federal
government is set to run out of funding on February 2nd — these departments and agencies fall under the jurisdiction of these 8 appropriation bills: Commerce-Justice-Science, Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, State and Foreign Operations.
Currently, the House has passed 7 of the 12 appropriations bills,
and the Senate has passed only 3 appropriations bills.
As Congress negotiates how much money to spend, Conservatives must fight aggressively to save money and reduce federal deficit spending.
The out of control spending has created inflation which plunders our wallets, stresses our finances, and challenges the stability of our economy. Reducing deficit spending is the first and most important step to fighting off the growling dragon of inflation.
>>>Read our toolkit on the 2024 spending fight <[link removed]>
Border Security is National Security
Just as you would never leave the front door to your home unlocked and unattended, we should not leave our border wide open for just anyone to enter. Yet President Biden and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas have done just that.
Next week, House Republicans in the Homeland Security Committee will hold the first impeachment hearing of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas after releasing their interim report <[link removed]> highlighting the Secretary’s dereliction
of duty.
Biden and Mayorkas’ immigration policies, or lack thereof, are responsible for the invasion of over 7 million illegal migrants from over 160 countries into the United States including 1.7 million “got-aways” that we know of.
The Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2) is the only current solution to this crisis. Conservatives in Congress must use the power of the purse and exert their constitutional duty to end open border policies and target those that would actually protect our nation from mass illegal migration.
>>>Read our toolkit on H.R. 2 <[link removed]>
Biden’s Supplemental Spending Request
Despite the bulging debt and the open border, the Senate has acquiesced to Biden’s request and has proposed an additional $110 billion in spending <[link removed]> to be tacked on to this year’s budget in addition to whatever Congress passes through the appropriations process.
This money would include $65.5 billion in funding Ukraine in addition to
the $113 billion Congress has already approved. None of this money has received a proper accounting to know how it was spent. The current proposal also fails to exercise oversight over the funds to make sure that they are being spent properly.
And instead of closing the border, the Senate’s proposal would spend billions to process more illegal immigrants into the country. Biden calls that “Border Security” but Heritage Action has made clear <[link removed]> that conservatives won’t fall for this trick.
>>>Read more about what else is included in the Senate’s spending request <[link removed]>
State Capitals
School Choice
Last year over a dozen states passed laws that expanded or cemented education freedom into law. This year, states will have the opportunity to once again either expand current school choice programs, or pass them for the first time in their state.
>>>Model legislation to save our schools <[link removed]>
Election Integrity
2024 is an election year, making the need for fair and secure elections critical. It should be easy to vote and hard to cheat. But the Left has been trying to overhaul our election system with Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) - a confusing and chaotic system that will discourage voters and allow unpopular candidates to win. States will need to protect their elections from the RCV model.
>>>Model legislation to end RCV <[link removed]>
Ending Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion (DEI)
States like Texas, West Virginia, and Ohio have passed or introduced legislation to eliminate DEI policies that require people to be treated according to the color of their skin and not their character or merit. The latest action against DEI came from Governor Stitt of Oklahoma who banned DEI practices from all executive agencies and programs including public colleges. States should follow suit in passing legislation that elevates meritocracy over racial prejudice and preference.
Defending Children from Gender Ideology
Last year many states protected children by banning experimental gender surgeries and body-altering hormone therapy for minors. This year, states can advance these policies further and also stop the social pressures that the Left is putting on kids with the Given Name Act <[link removed]>. This model legislation would ensure that schools do not allow children to assume a gender different from their biological sex without parental knowledge or consent.
Counter the Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the greatest foreign threat facing America, but it’s not only the
federal government that can do something about it. Just this week the governor of Missouri banned the Chinese purchasing of land near US bases following research from Heritage Action and The Heritage Oversight Project <[link removed]> into Cnano, a Chinese company with alarming CCP ties
slated to build near Kansas City.
>>>Read more
HERE<<< <[link removed]>
States can make a major impact by passing in four key types of laws. <[link removed]> One of the most important measures is for states to prevent the sale of land to companies tied to the CCP who are actively buying land to spy on America’s military.
In Case You Missed It
As you all have seen, both the states of Colorado and Maine are trying to remove Donald Trump from their ballots under the 14th amendment. This is a spurious claim that is purely political and highly illegal. The Heritage Foundation has produced research <[link removed]> exposing these actions for what they are: unconstitutional.
2024 will be a fast paced and consequential year. We look forward to working with you to push the conservative movement to advance the farthest possible extent day after day.
Thank you for your support
-Ryan and the Heritage Action team
Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.
<[link removed]> <[link removed]>
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