Fellow Conservative,
These next few weeks will be paramount to outlining the future of the 119th Congress. It may seem crazy, but midterm elections really aren’t that far away. The next 20 months will go by fast, and Congress is working hard to set up a legislative agenda to take full advantage of that time to support President Trump’s policies. Here is how that is playing out:
Congressional Update
Lasting Change: The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports
On February 5, President Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. On Monday, the Senate has the chance to codify the President’s action into law by voting on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (S. 9) sponsored by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
This bill is the companion legislation to the House version of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 28) which passed with bipartisan support last month. In practice, this legislation would make it a federal crime under Title IX for anyone who receives federal funds and operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs to allow biological males to compete in athletic programs that are designated for women or girls. This means that anyone who violates this law could lose their federal funding.
But to break the filibuster, Republicans in the Senate will need to earn Democratic support and get 60 Senators to vote in favor of advancing this legislation. It will not be enough to rely solely on Republicans, this bill will require the support of at least 7 Democrats as well.
>>>Call your Senators’ offices <[link removed]> and urge them to support this bill to
preserve safety and opportunity for women and girls.
President Trump’s Cabinet is ALMOST Complete
One additional nominee has been added to Trump’s cabinet: Jamieson Greer. He was confirmed by the Senate (56-43) to be the United States Trade Representative and will be responsible for developing and promoting America’s foreign trade policies.
Former Rep. Dan Bishop also cleared the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday and now heads to the Senate where he will be voted on to be the next Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Director Russ Vought.
Next week, it is expected that Jay Bhattacharya, President Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will receive his confirmation hearing before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Bhattacharya has been an outspoken critic of the NIH’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and its questionable actions leading up to it.
Creating a Budget
The House of Representatives passed their budget resolution this week, which is the first step to set up the budget reconciliation
process. Reconciliation <[link removed]> is a budgeting tool used to adjust taxes, spending, and deficits. Its purpose is to conform tax and spending policies with the budget resolution.
Now that both Chambers have passed their budget resolutions - which outline revenue, spending, and deficit goals - the two chambers will come together to negotiate and create matching resolutions which must then once again pass the House and Senate. This will create the reconciliation instructions that are then passed down to various committees who must draft policy meeting the requirements set in the budget resolution.
Once the committees have drafted their proposals, they are then combined into one, single reconciliation bill.
The beauty of this process is that only 51 votes are required in the Senate to break the filibuster instead of the typical 60 votes, creating a golden opportunity to pass conservative policies and support President Trump’s agenda including: increasing resources for border security, reforming the tax code, unleashing American energy production, and much more.
We will continue to closely watch the process and provide updates as things unfold.
Government Funding
In the meantime, the federal government is approaching its funding deadline, which expires on March 14th. The best option at the moment is to pass a clean, temporary Continuing Resolution (CR) which will extend government funding WITHOUT any tag-along increases in spending.
This will give the administration and Congress the time it needs to properly flesh out the problems from the previously passed budget, consider necessary reductions thanks to the work of DOGE, and create the proper corrective policies.
Trump’s Tuesday Address
This Tuesday, President Trump will
address a joint session of Congress, which will be his first major address to both chambers since taking office in January. While the speech is not a State of the Union, he is expected to lay out a legislative agenda he hopes Congress will follow.
Heritage Action will be covering his address live on social media. You can watch the action unfold by following us on X <[link removed]> (Twitter) or TruthSocial <[link removed]>. For off-the-cuff live comments, follow Heritage Action’s Executive Vice President Ryan Walker on his X account <[link removed]>. This address will map out an agenda from now to the foreseeable future so you won’t want to miss a thing.
A Good Week for Education
Idaho
Education Freedom has expanded in the Gem State. This week, Governor Brad Little <[link removed]> signed the Parental Choice Tax Credit program into law, a $50 million program to boost Idaho’s already existing education freedom initiatives and provide parents with the ability to choose between educational options for their children.
Wyoming
The Equality State also passed their own universal school choice bill with a veto-proof margin, almost guaranteeing its eventual passage into law.
An investment in education is an investment in the future. By expanding education options and opportunities, students will have greater flexibility to choose the kind of education that best suits their needs, learning styles, and preferences, ultimately improving their ability to learn.
These state level wins make a huge difference in the lives of millions of Americans and are only possible because of the efforts of the grassroots who make their support for these laws known.
Thank you for the instrumental work that you do.
- Ryan and the Heritage Action team
Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.
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