Mar 22, 2021

Greetings from the nation’s capital, where leftists are so intent on imposing their far-reaching agenda that they want to eliminate the one thing standing in the way: the Senate’s time-honored filibuster rule. One result of that would be the passage of HR 1, a monstrosity that would make 2020’s election chaos look tame. Meanwhile, if you want to know how President Joe Biden caused today’s border crisis, we have a new tracker that shows just what he’s done since taking office. We also feature a new report on the economic gains created by the Trump tax cuts. There’s much more in this week’s Agenda.

A New Low in the Filibuster Fight
In its effort to get rid of the Senate filibuster, the left is now trying to claim that the rule allowing prolonged debate in the “world’s most deliberative body” is racist, as Sen. Elizabeth Warren did last week. Heritage President Kay C. James responded by calling this latest attempt at race-baiting “a tired and extremely insulting tactic.” She adds that “It’s absolutely absurd for Sen. Warren to declare that the Senate filibuster is now racist, especially when so many of her Senate Democratic colleagues, including Sen. Cory Booker, have long supported it.” Read James’ entire statement here. Also, Heritage Senior Legal Fellow Thomas Jipping explains why the filibuster protects us from the tyranny of the majority in a “Heritage Explains” podcast. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here.

HR 1 Is a ‘Monstrosity’
One big reason the left wants to kill the filibuster is so they can pass HR 1—the misnamed “For the People Act”—without any GOP support in the Senate. This bill would enshrine rules that caused the chaos of 2020 nationwide by requiring things like automatic voter registration and no-fault absentee voting, while banning prudent election integrity laws like voter ID requirements. Heritage Senior Legal Fellow Hans von Spakovsky, who heads of our Election Law Reform Initiative, calls HR 1 an “800-page monstrosity,” and points out its eight major flaws. Read what these flaws are here. He was also on Mark Levin’s popular Fox News show, which is well worth watching.

New Immigration Policy Tracker Documents Biden’s Border Catastrophe
President Joe Biden doesn’t want to take responsibility for the burgeoning humanitarian crisis at the southern border, but it’s clear that his policies are to blame for the historic surge in illegal border crossings. How do we know? Heritage recently launched an exclusive Immigration Policy Tracker, which documents how Biden has dismantled dozens of effective border security policies implemented by the Trump administration. Check out the tracker here. We also fact-check Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ statement on the border crisis and find eight claims that are false or misleading.

Facts the Left Doesn’t Want You to Know About the Trump Tax Cuts
Now that President Biden signed his $1.9 trillion “recovery” plan, he’s starting to talk about imposing massive new tax hikes to cover the bills. But this would undermine the gains from President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Heritage Senior Policy Analyst Adam Michel details those gains in a must-read report, showing how the tax cuts “succeeded at allowing new business investment, creating jobs, raising wages, and increasing the size of the economy.” Read the new report here.

Monday at 11:30 a.m., Heritage will host an event on the future of nuclear modernization, which is at a pivotal moment with the new administration and new Congress. The featured speaker is Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. Register for the event here.

Thursday at 11 a.m., Heritage will host an event discussing why the left’s campaign to cancel the British monarchy will fail. Featured speakers include James Jay Carafano, vice president of Heritage’s Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy; Nile Gardiner, director of Heritage’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom; Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of the UK Conservative Party; and Camilla Tominey, associate editor of the London Daily Telegraph. Register for the event here.

This week on “Heritage Explains,” we covered what happened in the first Senate hearing on the Equality Act and bust the left’s myths about the legislation. Listen to the episode.

HR 1 Makes It Easy for People to Vote Illegally
Heritage’s Hans von Spakovsky joined ”Life, Liberty & Levin” on Fox News to explain how HR 1 would remove critical election security measures and make it easy for ineligible people to vote. Watch the interview.

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