Aug 26, 2019
America is heading down a perilous fiscal path, and the latest budget deal will only accelerate the danger. But there is still time to change our course. Heritage senior policy analyst Justin Bogie explains why Congress and President Trump need to act now to restrain spending. As world leaders depart from the G-7 summit, they should make trade and supporting the peaceful protesters of Hong Kong a priority as they return home. And as states take steps to address gun violence, Heritage legal expert Amy Swearer separates fact from fiction. Read on to learn what she told Virginia’s State Crime Commission last week. This is your conservative briefing.
Budget Is at a Crossroads. Which Path Will Congress Take? 
Congress returns from summer recess in September and it has a lot of work to do. Thanks to the latest massive budget deal, our nation’s fiscal situation is deteriorating even more quickly than before. “In total, the Congressional Budget Office projects public debt will rise by $11.8 trillion over the next decade,” writes Justin Bogie, a senior policy analyst in Heritage’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. “The problem is not a lack of money. The problem is growing spending.” The good news is that Congress and the president have the power to alter this course. Read Bogie’s commentary on how lawmakers can save our fiscal future. <[link removed]>
Trump and G-7 Leaders Should Focus on Trade and Hong Kong 
Today wraps up the last day of the annual G-7 summit in Biarritz, France. Heritage experts have advocated that President Trump and other G-7 leaders should use the time to focus on one or two high-priority agenda items, such as free trade and Hong Kong, in order to actually get something accomplished. “Supporting these millions of mostly-peaceful Hong Kong protesters should be a no-brainer for G-7 leaders,” writes James Roberts, a Heritage research fellow for economic freedom and growth. “The group’s membership constitutes the ‘who’s who of Western democracies, founded at the height of the Cold War as a mechanism to increase economic freedom, promote global trade and investment, and coordinate action on shared security concerns.” Read more about the G-7 summit <[link removed]>.
Heritage Expert Testifies on Second Amendment
Amy Swearer, a senior legal policy analyst in Heritage’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, testified last week on gun violence before the Virginia State Crime Commission. Over the course of the two-day hearing, the commission heard testimony from law enforcement, gun control activists, researchers, public policy experts, and citizens. It offered solutions to gun violence and shared concerns about proposed legislation. Informed by her research, Swearer began her testimony by debunking the notion that our country is facing a gun violence crisis. “Americans are safer today from violent crime—including firearm-related crime—than we have been at any point during my lifetime,” Swearer stated. Read more on Swearer’s research and testimony. <[link removed]>
HAPPENING AT HERITAGE
Over 300 Heritage members and friends gathered in Dallas, Texas, to hear Heritage policy experts, Heritage President Kay Coles James, and author and commentator Victor Davis Hanson discuss the rise of socialism and how conservatives can thwart the left’s assault on America. See more from the event <[link removed]>.
Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James remembers philanthropist David Koch. Read the statement. <[link removed]>
Heritage is leading the way on U.S. policy with Greenland. Learn about our impact <[link removed]>.
Heritage is influencing the affordable housing debate at a local level. Learn about our impact. <[link removed]>
President Trump appointed a Heritage expert to the prestigious J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Learn more <[link removed]>.
HERITAGE PODCASTS
This week on the “Heritage Explains” podcast, Luke Coffey, director of Heritage’s Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy, explains who governs Greenland, if the United States should buy Greenland, and more on why Greenland is such an important ally to the United States. Listen to the podcast <[link removed]> or watch it on YouTube <[link removed]>.
In the final episode of Heritage’s “Millennial Myths” podcast series, Heritage intern Samantha Renck sits down with Heritage research fellow Rachel Greszler to discuss the economic impact of a federally-mandated $15 minimum wage, what demographic would be impacted the most, and much more. Listen to the podcast <[link removed]> or watch it on YouTube <[link removed]>.
On the “Liberty and Justice for All” podcast, Heritage’s Jack Spencer and Paul Winfree talk with George Selgin, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute, about free banking, the history of the Federal Reserve, cryptocurrency, and more. Listen to the podcast <[link removed]>.
HERITAGE IN THE NEWS
The Washington Examiner highlighted the latest edition of Heritage’s “America’s Biggest Issues” video series on voter fraud. “Refusing to surrender ground to the leftist/media myth that voter fraud is a negligible problem, The Heritage Foundation this week released a short video highlighting this very real, continuing problem,” writes the Examiner. Read the full article <[link removed]>.
Here are the highlights from the dozens of cable news shows Heritage experts appeared on last week. They touched on hot topics like immigration reform, explosions in Russia, Hong Kong, talks of a recession and more. Watch the video <[link removed]>.
POLICY PICTURE
Do you agree with Buckley?  Email us at [email protected] <[link removed]>

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