New beginnings: A Heritage delegation visited Paraguay, Argentina, and Panama this month to meet with leaders of countries that scored well on Heritage’s latest Index of Economic Freedom and to warn of the “political and economic security costs of the U.S. neglecting this hemisphere.” Fox News covered the trip.

• America has left a leadership vacuum that China has been filling, Heritage experts said. Heritage President Dr. Kevin Roberts said that the Trump administration is wisely resetting relations.
• Andres Martinez-Fernandez, senior policy analyst for Latin America, told Fox News that “There’s a lot of interest from both the United States and the region as far as bolstering our economic interconnectedness. And that, I think, is a clear counterweight to our dependence on China.”

Read the Fox News article here.

Fighting back: The Securities and Exchange Commission recently let IBM shareholders to file a resolution introduced by Heritage calling for a report on the company’s DEI activities.

• Heritage is “moving directly into the fray of shareholder activism by using its financial muscle in the boardroom debates of blue-chip U.S. companies,” wrote Carrie Sheffield, senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Voice.

Read more here.

Heave ho: Taxpayers shouldn’t have to subsidize the leftist propaganda of NPR and PBS, Senior Fellow Mike Gonzalez told a congressional committee. They have free educational options online that aren’t politically skewed.

 

Watch his testimony here.

 

Also: Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center Lora Ries testified on illegal immigration. Watch her testimony here.

Washington has been spending YOUR money like there’s no tomorrow.

• Trillions wasted. Taxes rising. National debt soaring. It’s time to restore fiscal sanity before it’s too late.
• Will you sign the Declaration for Restoring Fiscal Sanity and demand a government that spends wisely, cuts waste, and lowers taxes for hardworking Americans?

Add your name now! Click here to sign the declaration.

MARAD: This week, the White House announced the nomination for head of the U.S. Maritime Administration—Heritage’s very own Brent Sadler, senior research fellow in the Allison Center for National Security.

• “We are deeply proud to see Brent Sadler nominated for this critical position,” said Victoria Coates, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy.

Read more here and here.

Grade inflation: Academics say they are underpaid, but the quality of their research tells a different story, as Senior Research Fellow Jay Greene, Ph.D., documents.  

• Greene writes: “Rising tuition costs, ideological imbalance, low-quality instruction, and increasingly unreliable or irrelevant research are depleting the reservoir of goodwill that universities have accumulated over time.”

Read the full story here.

250 years young: Heritage has launched a special round of the Innovation Prizes ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to recognize and provide substantive financial awards that, in total, amount to $250,000 to non-profits for projects focused on themes relating to the Semiquincentennial in 2026. We welcome projects that focus on the following: 

• Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary 
• Building civic awareness and encouraging Americans to engage in civic life 
• Inspiring patriotism 
• Educating citizens about America’s founding principles 
• Teaching Americans about our government’s foundational tenets 

Applications for America’s 250th Anniversary Innovation Prizes are open through May 1. For more information and to apply, please visit our website.

Unplugged: President Trump "has taken the first steps toward terminating President Biden’s electric vehicle mandate” write Austin Gae, research associate in the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment, and Jackson Moody, member of the Young Leaders Program.

• “Trump’s action reflects a return of vehicle choice to individual Americans, a welcome change from Biden’s government control,” they write.

Read more here.

Help, not harm: A 13-article Special Report released by The Heritage Foundation and the Ethics and Public Policy Center lays out a roadmap for addressing infertility holistically.

• The first half of the report introduces restorative reproductive medicine, an alternative to the “pharmaceutical Band-Aids” often used.
• It opens discussion on ethical, medical, and legal challenges of assisted reproductive technologies.

Read the Special Report here.

Fighting for the future: America’s brightest high school students aren’t waiting on the sidelines—they’re stepping up to fight for the future of our country. The Lloyd and Bea Smith High School Fellowship equips young conservatives with the knowledge and skills they need to defend America’s founding principles and actively engage in building tomorrow’s conservative movement.  

• Real-world policy experience. Fellows don’t just study conservative ideas; they engage directly with policymakers, scholars, and experts at Heritage.  
• Leadership training. From public speaking to professional networking to projects developing policy ideas, students gain the skills to lead confidently and advocate conservative values.  
• Be part of the movement. Connect with like-minded conservative students who share your passion.    

Applications are open through April 11, 2025.  Apply today!  

Reclaiming the Culture of American Higher Education

Higher education is long overdue for a cultural course correction, and during the first 100 days of the Trump administration’s second term, that has begun apace. Join us for a discussion with an official from the U.S. Department of Education and four college presidents as they chart a renewed American vision for the academy.

 

April 8, 10:30 a.m. Register here.

• What Made America Great in the Gilded Age—Mario Loyola
• No, Trump Is Not Attempting a ‘Reverse Nixon’—Bryan Burack
• Wokeness Finds New Life South of the Border—Mike Gonzalez
• Ending D.E.I. Is Only Half the Battle—GianCarlo Canaparo
• Post-Modern Mischief at America’s National Parks and Museums—Brenda Hafera
• Wisconsin Denies the Religious Dimensions of Charity—Jack Fitzhenry
• Report: A Pro-Life Progress Report for the 118th Congress—Melanie Israel
• Article III and the Canal Zone District Court: What Does the Constitution Require of Territorial Courts?—Zack Smith
• Supreme Court Has a Chance to Reform the FCC—Chris DeMuth and Michael Greve
• Indiana Must Help Trump with Enforcing Immigration Laws—RJ Hauman and Brandy Perez
• Facing Russia’s Threat, European Nations Reject Landmine Ban—Jordan Embree and Steven Groves
• Report: Next Steps for Germany’s National Security Zeitenwende—Wilson Beaver
• Columbia’s Egregious Public Relations Campaign—Jason Bedrick and Tal Fortgang

Director of the Center for Education Policy Lindsey Burke and Senior Research Fellow Jonathan Butcher appeared on Newsmax to discuss how defunding the Department of Education will return power to parents and the states. Watch here and here.