Fellow Conservative,

Monday begins Congress’s traditional month-long August recess. Every year, Congressmen work from home the entire month of August to avoid the humid D.C. heat that makes this place “The Swamp.”

One of the few things that could pull them back before Labor Day is if backroom negotiators strike a deal on a fourth coronavirus stimulus package.

A Fourth Coronavirus Stimulus

Congress has already passed three major coronavirus relief bills totaling $3 trillion! And while conservatives scored some victories (think: the Paycheck Protection Program), liberals racked up their share of wins as well. They managed to push through a weekly $600 Unemployment Insurance (UI) subsidy that has paid people more money to stay out of work, than to return to their jobs.

With a fourth stimulus package, liberals are pushing for agenda items they couldn’t get into one of the first three bills:

• A federal bailout of state governments.
• An extension of the $600 UI subsidy.
• Soviet-stlye price-controls on medical bills.

It’s three months until election day, and Members of Congress are hypersensitive to what their constituents think. Please continue to make calls and send emails through the month of August. If Congress knows voters are watching, they’ll act accordingly!

For an in-depth look at the issues at play, please check out our coronavirus legislation toolkit.

Happening on the Hill

House Passes $1 Trillion Spending Bill—On Friday, by a vote of 217-197, the House passed HR 7617, an appropriations bill for FY 2021 to fund the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, Transportation, and Treasury (that’s most of the federal government).

The bill now heads to the Republican controlled Senate where changes can be made. A final compromise package is unlikely before the election, which sets up a final vote during a lame duck Congress, a historically bad precedent for Conservatives looking to rein in out-of-control spending.

House Spends $60 Billion on Childcare—The House also passed two bills this week (H.R. 7027 and H.R. 7327) to spend federal taxpayer money on new and existing grant programs for childcare centers. Parents all over the country are now wondering why the government has not only closed their child’s school, but is now paying their child’s daycare center to stay closed. These policies appear almost purposefully engineered to hurt middle-class, working families while subsidizing those who employ nannies.

Worth Checking Out

Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 by “three radical organizers” and their impact on America in 2020 is astounding.

Many in America are completely unaware of the Marxist ideology and tactics behind this movement. One of the few writing what the media won’t tell you about BLM is Heritage Scholar Mike Gonzalez.

Mike joined our Heritage Action Sentinels for a special call in June to discuss several BLM groups and other radicals on the Left. Mike got rave reviews, and we thought we’d point you to his new book about identity politics (which couldn’t be more timely).

So mark your calendars and join a special online event with Mike to take a dive into the cultural currents flowing through America.

VIRTUAL EVENT: The Plot To Change America: How Identity Politics Divides America
Tuesday, August 4, 2020, 11:15 am - 12:15 pm

If you are interested in picking up a copy of the book, you can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and elsewhere.

That’s all for this week. For more information on the week’s happenings in Washington, D.C., be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Parler!

- Jessica Anderson and the Heritage Action team

Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.