Fellow Conservative,
There is a lot that will be happening this weekend on the Hill after a week of unprecedented action from both the House and the Senate. To set the stage, let’s start at beginning:
Foreign Aid Shell Games
Since the Senate introduced a version of Biden’s spending proposal to send money to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific, Heritage Action has outlined serious concerns <[link removed]> with each portion of the bill. One of the primary concerns being that each portion should be considered on its own merits and not tied together into one massive bill.
In the wake of Iran’s direct attack on Israel last weekend, pressure mounted to give aid to Israel, our strongest ally in that region. But instead of passing stand alone aid for Israel, the House passed a Rule – the procedural vote that brings a bill to the floor for debate – that plays a shell game with the American people. It would allow the House to vote on aid for Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, Israel, the TikTok divestment bill, and several other issues individually – and then will combine them into one bill after each has passed the House separately.
This Rule fundamentally changes the policy questions it claims to consider. The vote on and structure of the Rule is not simply a procedural step for beginning debate, rather, it is intended to ensure votes on the individual bills do not jeopardize a predetermined policy outcome.
This Rule would send to the Senate essentially the same foreign aid package that conservatives have opposed from the beginning. It combines unaccountable, unpopular additional aid to Ukraine with strategic, emergency aid for our ally Israel to respond to an unforeseen terrorist attack. For this reason, Heritage Action issued a Key Vote <[link removed]> in opposition to the Rule.
Unfortunately, the rule passed on Friday afternoon. Now the House will be voting today on each of the individual bills. Again, because the bills will be combined, one bad bill could be combined with otherwise good policy creating a Frankenstein's monster of a bill.
One of the bills – the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 8035) – provides $95 billion in unaccountable funding to Ukraine. The bill violates the principles consistently laid out by conservatives for considering additional aid to Ukraine: There is no public accounting of the expended military and economic aid, and it is not accompanied by a defined end goal, expected U.S. commitment, impacts of drawdown authority, or with significant assurances of further commitments from our European partners. Taxpayers have already sent $113 billion to Ukraine since the start of the conflict - all without responsible accountability measures, a clear understanding of future American commitments, or a path to victory.
While 60% of Americans are currently living paycheck to paycheck and our open border continues to ravage our country, Americans cannot be asked to continue to foot the bill
for foreign wars with no guarantee that the money will be used for its intended purpose. The American people demand accountability. Heritage Action opposes H.R. 8035 and has also designated it as a Key Vote <[link removed]> to be included on our legislative scorecard.
Criminal Coverup
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives delivered two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas.
In the history of the nation, the Senate has never refused to hold a trial after an impeachment of a sitting official. But in an unprecedented and dangerous move, all Democrat senators voted to dismiss the articles WITHOUT a trial.
Due to his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law, and for his breach of the public’s trust, the Senate should have convicted and removed Secretary Mayorkas from office. To have dismissed the articles of impeachment without trial is nothing short of a coverup and a dereliction of duty on behalf of Senate Democrats who have put partisan politics over and above the security of that nation.
>>>See how your Senator voted HERE <[link removed]>
Biden's Student Loan Bailout
Debt is never truly canceled, only transferred. And Biden’s latest election year stunt <[link removed]> could transfer nearly $150 billion <[link removed]> of student loan debt onto your backs, even though 87% <[link removed]> of American adults don’t have student debt.
By bailing out those with student debt, the cost is passed onto the taxpayer who include people who:
- Never went to college
- Already paid off their loans
- Worked through college to graduate with minimal to no debt
Combined with Biden’s previous efforts, taxpayers could bear the cost of up to 30 million borrowers. <[link removed]>
Not only is this highly legally questionable given that the Supreme Court already struck down a similar student loan transfer attempt, but it would only contribute to the financial strain that Americans are currently enduring.
>>>Submit a comment TODAY <[link removed]> to opposes this bailout scheme
Happening in the States
Arizona
The most fundamental right is the right to life. The Grand Canyon State currently has protections for the unborn on the books. But a bill has been introduced HB 2677 would codify the vast majority of abortions in the state.
The Left is not giving up. If you live in Arizona, contact your state legislator and tell them to defend the right to life.
Virginia
Last Tuesday, Governor Youngkin vetoed SB 428 - a bill that would have expanded the use of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) in state elections.
Ranked-Choice Voting is a system by which voters rank their candidates. The candidate with the least amount of votes is eliminated and then voters who selected that candidate as their number one choice automatically have their votes changed to their second choice, and another round of vote tabulation occurs (repeating for each round until a winner is declared).
This often leads to ballots getting thrown away (if a voter didn’t rank enough
candidates), inaccuracies as the process is very involved and complicated, and can even get candidates elected who otherwise would not have received majority support. This undermines the democratic process and threatens election integrity.
Heritage Action applauds Gov. Youngkin for defending election integrity in Virginia and encourages other states to reject RCV.
>>>Click HERE <[link removed]> to see how your state ranks on the Heritage Election Integrity Scorecard.
Idaho
The Gem State’s legislature passed H. 421 - a bill that clearly defines sex based on biological reality. This week, Governor Little signed H. 421 into law establishing common sense definitions of male and female in the state.
As radical activists try to replace science and commonsense with progressive gender ideology in sports, education, and medicine, Idaho is fighting back with H. 421. Heritage Action applauds Idaho lawmakers for standing up for the truth.
We do this work to make sure that your voice is heard. You are the lifeblood of the conservative movement. Thank you for all that you do.
- Ryan and the Heritage Action team
Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.
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