Fellow Conservative,

Congress was back in full swing this week and Heritage Action issued two key votes — one in each chamber. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court delivered a huge victory for conservatives.

A Good Start

DOGE scored its first legislative win this week as Congress passed President Trump’s first rescissions package (H.R. 4). Specifically, this package rescinds roughly $9 billion in previously appropriated funds for USAID and NPR/PBS. Heritage Action issued a Key Vote in June in support of H.R. 4 as it passed the House, and did the same this week as Vice President Vance cast the tie-breaking vote on a pivotal procedural motion to advance the package. Heritage Action does not issue a score for the Vice President, so this vote will not impact his already impressive 93% lifetime rating from the Senate. However, he (like many of you) will be happy to know that we anticipate posting our initial scoring for the 119th Congress soon so that everyone knows who is keeping their promises to the American people, and who isn’t. Stay tuned!

>>> See how your Senators voted on Heritage Action’s legislative Scorecard <<<

This is a monumental moment for Congress. Although cutting $9 billion alone won’t prevent America’s upcoming debt crisis, it’s a pivotal first step — and H.R. 4 could (and should) be the first of many rescissions by the Trump administration. By showing that the federal budget can be reduced, Congress can begin recovering from its spending addiction.

The funds that were rescinded would have been spent on leftist priorities that undermine American values both at home and abroad. USAID has come to represent foreign aid bureaucracy that has gone off the ideological rails and no longer reflects the will or values of the American people, and in principle, funding for NPR/PBS violates the American founding principles of free speech and expression.

To most Americans, this would seem like an easy place to start trimming the budget; however, it ended up being anything but easy. In the end, certain GOP Senators fought to preserve about $400 million from the package, including proposed cuts to the left-wing expansions of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This well-intentioned program, which aims to treat HIV/AIDS globally, was taken over by the Biden administration and used as a tool to push their radical abortion and gender ideology agendas. By exempting this funding from the rescissions package, the senators who supported it are forcing the Trump administration to fund gender ideology and abortion.

Despite the massive win that H.R. 4 represents, it also shows us that there is much work to be done to drain the swamp. Heritage Action will continue to encourage Congress to use tools like rescissions to rein in woke and weaponized government funding.

Conservatives Stand Strong

The House’s so-called “Crypto Week” was more of a rollercoaster than leadership envisioned. Among a trio of cryptocurrency bills that the House intended to consider was the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (H.R. 1919), for which Heritage Action issued a Key Vote in support. However, it was briefly delayed by conservatives and other supporters of the bill who successfully fought for and secured a commitment to include this critical bill in a must-pass legislative vehicle, to increase its chances of enactment. Here’s the breakdown:

>>> Read the Key Vote here <<<

Why is this bill so important?:

H.R. 1919 ensures that a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is prohibited. A digital dollar issued by the federal government (like a CBDC) could easily be programmed to track every purchase and blacklist anyone whose purchases don't align with the preferred narrative. This isn’t far-fetched either — Communist China has already used a CBDC as a tool to implement a social credit score system, and it was only recently that Jerome Powell and the Biden administration attempted to push through their own CBDC. If we are to defend liberty against 21st century tyranny, we must prioritize legislation that recognizes where the future dangers are.

>>> Read more: Heritage explains the dangers of CBDCs

Why were conservatives holding it up?:

Too often, we see conservative priorities pass the House and die in the Senate without so much as a vote. There are many reasons for this, ranging from the 60-vote filibuster threshold to internal politics, but time after time, the House has often gotten the short end of the stick. This time, the script was flipped.

The Senate recently passed stablecoin legislation, which, while not explicitly endorsing a CBDC, some conservatives viewed as leaving a backdoor open for one. To ease the concerns of House conservatives, leadership paired that bill with H.R. 1919; however, without a legislative vehicle that requires action, the Senate would simply not pass the bill. Thankfully, conservatives stood strong and struck a deal with leadership to attach the bill to the must-pass NDAA that will be considered in a few weeks once the House comes back after August. This is a major victory that gives the legislation a significant shot at becoming law if the deal holds.

BIG GRASSROOTS WIN AT SCOTUS!

This week, the Supreme Court issued a victory for conservatives, allowing the Trump administration to proceed with plans to dramatically scale back the Department of Education. The decision temporarily lifts a lower court’s block and enables the Trump administration to proceed with restructuring the education bureaucracy.

Simply put, the Department of Education is a failed experiment that has pushed progressive ideologies over academic excellence. Overall, federal spending per pupil (adjusted for inflation) has more than doubled since the Education Department’s establishment in 1979. Yet over the same period, high school students’ scores on math and reading have shown little long-term improvement, despite the increased federal involvement. President Trump now wants to empower families and allow local leaders — who know what’s best for their communities — to make better decisions for their children.

>>> Read more: No, We Don’t Need the Department of Education After All

Heritage Action has fought against federal control of education for years, advocating instead for deference to states, local solutions, and parental rights. This win wouldn't have been possible without the tireless efforts of grassroots activists across the country. Their unwavering dedication, involvement in school boards, calls, emails, and advocacy helped make this moment possible. Thank you for being in the fight alongside us.

- The Heritage Action team

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