Apr 20, 2020

Good morning. With so many Americans eager to go back to work, Heritage President Kay C. James is helping President Trump to reopen America. She is working with both the administration’s Great American Economic Revival effort and the Heritage-led National Coronavirus Recovery Commission. Read on to find out more. Meanwhile, as many of us are left wondering how much more COVID-19 will spread and how many more lives will be lost, two Heritage analysts shed light on why predicting the virus’ spread and mortality rate is so difficult. Check out our list of upcoming webinars to find an event that interests you. Lastly, we are helping policymakers respond to the pandemic based on data, not panic. Read our latest report urging policymakers to increase hospital bed capacity temporarily, where it is needed most instead of permanently.

President Trump Invites Heritage President to Help Reopen America
Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James joined American industry leaders and CEOs on a White House call with President Donald Trump last week to discuss the administration’s Great American Economic Revival efforts. Trump announced Tuesday that he would consult James as one of America’s thought leaders with ideas for restarting the U.S. economy. “I am grateful to work with President Trump alongside economists, scholars, and industry leaders on the Great American Economic Revival,” James said. “We are committed to developing plans to get Americans back to work as soon as it’s safe to do so and helping the nation recover from COVID-19. The president has assembled an amazing team, and I am honored to be a part of it.” Read more about Kay C. James’ involvement in pandemic recovery efforts for America, including her leadership of the National Coronavirus Recovery Commission.

Predicting the Mortality Rate of Coronavirus Is More Difficult Than Media Portrays
A number of attempts have been made to forecast the spread and mortality rate of COVID-19 with a wide disparity between their results. Two Heritage Foundation analysts, Kevin Dayaratna and Norbert Michel, examined one common model for doing so, finding tremendous variability in forecasts. “To make well-informed decisions, policymakers must use a range of forecasts and fully understand how sensitive models are to the smallest changes in assumptions,” the analysts write. Read the full report to find out what makes prediction models for coronavirus so difficult.

Let’s Increase Hospital Bed Capacity Temporarily Instead of Permanent Expansions
Although all U.S. states have reported cases of COVID-19, the distribution is heavily concentrated in a small number of states, and among a small number of counties within those states. In light of that, Heritage expert Norbert Michel and Heritage visiting fellow Doug Badger recommend that policymakers focus on relief efforts for hospitals in the communities most affected by the pandemic, rather than hospitals all over the country. “While COVID-19 is testing the capacity of some hospitals temporarily, there is no structural shortage of acute-care capacity in the U.S.,” Badger and Michel write in a new report. “Policymakers should focus immediate assistance on increasing hospital capacity temporarily in specific localities that are overtaxed by the COVID-19 crisis.” Read Badger and Michel’s full report on the pandemic’s effects on U.S. hospital capacity.

The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission will hold its next meeting today. Commissioners are expected to release the first set of recommendations for government leaders and civil society. They will hear testimony from top experts and thinkers. Learn more about the Commission.

Heritage President Kay C. James responded to White House guidance for reopening America. “We know that good public health policy is good economic policy. The administration is rightly working to restore livelihoods in the midst of catastrophic job losses while also taking care to balance Americans’ health and safety,” said James. Read the full statement.

Monday at 3 p.m., the Leadership Institute will host a webinar with Phyllis Schlafly’s daughter, Anne Cori Schlafly, and the hosts of the The Daily Signal “Problematic Women” podcast, Lauren Evans and Virgina Allen. They will discuss Phyllis Schlafly’s life and influence on the conservative movement. Register for the event.

Monday at 7 p.m., Young Americans Against Socialism and The Heritage Foundation will host a webinar on the history of communism. Featured speakers include Lee Edwards, distinguished fellow in conservative thought at Heritage, and Morgan Zegers, founder of Young Americans Against Socialism. Register for the webinar.

Tuesday at 2 p.m., Heritage will host a webinar on why more government control in health care is not the answer. Featured speakers include Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute and author of "False Premise, False Promise: The Disastrous Reality of Medicare for All,” and Robert E. Moffit, a senior research fellow in Heritage’s Health Policy Center. Register for the webinar.

Tuesday at 7 p.m., America’s Future Foundation will host a virtual event to discuss the role of the government during COVID-19. Featured speakers include Cully Stimson, a senior legal fellow in Heritage’s Institute for Constitutional Government, and Christina Sandefur, executive vice president at the Goldwater Institute. Register for the webinar.

Wednesday at 10 a.m., Heritage will host a timely conversation on how COVID-19 is impacting the U.S. economy, which policies are helping and which are hurting, and what's next for facilitating an economic recovery after the public health crisis is contained. Featured speakers include Rachel Greszler, a research fellow in Heritage’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, and Adam Michel, a senior policy analyst in the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. Register for the webinar.

Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. Wilfred McClay, G.T. and Libby Blankenship chair in the history of liberty at the University of Oklahoma, will discuss what the privileges and responsibilities are of citizenship in American society. Register for the webinar.

Thursday at noon, Steve Bucci, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, will host a student leadership webinar on how to lead during unconventional times. This will be a great opportunity to learn from a true practitioner on navigating crises and providing leadership to  student chapters and peers. Register for the webinar.

Thursday at 1 p.m., Heritage will host a webinar to discuss the New START arms control agreement between the United States and Russia and if the Trump administration should extend it or let it expire. Featured speakers include Tim Morrison, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; Frank Rose, a senior fellow for Security and Strategy at the Brookings Institution; and Patty-Jane Geller, a policy analyst in Heritage’s Center for National Defense. Register for the webinar.

Here are highlights from Heritage experts on TV. This week they talked about COVID-19, reopening America, holding China accountable, the World Health Organization, and more. Watch the clips.