Mar 29, 2021

Happy Monday! In this week’s Agenda, we highlight the real reason for the current Biden-fueled border crisis. We look at what Georgia is doing to combat election fraud. We bust myths about “assault rifles.” And we expose “critical race theory” as making racial inequality worse. There are also webinars, podcasts, and more you don’t want to miss..

It’s a Biden-Created Crisis at the Southern Border
A “situation.” That’s what Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called the surge of illegal immigration across our southern border in his public assessment of the Biden-created debacle. Leftists falsely insist that the Trump administration created this “situation.” In reality, “This is part of the left’s agenda to take over elections and get as many illegal aliens as possible voting or on the path to voting,” write Heritage visiting fellow Ken Cuccinelli and senior advisor Mike Howell. “It’s a purely political play at the expense of American sovereignty, security, and well-being.” Read Cuccinelli and Howell’s full commentary to learn the truth about the crisis at our southern border.

Georgia Bill Tackles Election Vulnerabilities
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill last week that takes the first step toward fixing the election vulnerabilities that fueled controversy over the state’s 2020 election results. The new law focuses in particular on reforming the process for absentee ballots and early voting. “Considering some of the problematic voting procedures utilized in Georgia during the 2020 presidential election, this bill is certainly a step in the right direction,” writes Heritage senior legal fellow Hans von Spakovsky, manager of our Election Law Reform Initiative. Read von Spakovsky’s latest commentary to find out how this new law could make Georgia’s election processes less prone to fraud.

Gun Control Bill Would Put Lives at Risk
Heritage senior legal policy analyst Amy Swearer warned the Senate Judiciary Committee that gun control measures being considered by the left would put more lives at risk by placing barriers to legitimate gun transfers that save countless lives each year. She said it’s like a doctor deciding to “cut off the leg to treat a sprained ankle. We cannot do public policy this way.” Swearer was one of two Meese Center legal experts to testify before Congress last week. Heritage legal fellow Zack Smith testified before the House in opposition to D.C. statehood. Read more about their testimony or watch the videos.

Critical Race Theory Won’t Solve Racial Inequality. It Will Deepen It
A few years ago, “critical race theory” was something heard only in the upper echelons of academia. Now, it’s everywhere, as schools, businesses, and even places of worship push critical race theory on the promise that it will bring about racial reconciliation. The truth, however, is that it will only make matters worse. “True equality will be achieved by maximizing the ability of Americans to become self-sufficient, not by dividing Americans on the basis of race and apportioning resources based on skin color,” writes Christopher Rufo, Heritage’s visiting fellow and director of the Center for Wealth and Poverty at the Discovery Institute. Read Rufo’s full report to learn more about the failings of critical race theory.

Iowa recently enacted a series of election reforms recommended by Heritage. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law on March 8. The reforms include requiring absentee ballots to arrive before the polls close on Election Day (as opposed to just being postmarked before the election) and more. Keep reading.

Heritage was instrumental in defeating a proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour in the recent reconciliation bill. The provision had originally been attached to the COVID-19 relief bill. Learn more.

Arizona recently enacted an election security bill containing numerous Heritage Foundation policy recommendations. The bill, signed March 18 by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, requires the Arizona Department of Health Services to send the secretary of state a monthly report listing every state resident who died within the preceding month. The secretary of state must then compare the death records against voter registrations and remove all deceased residents from the state’s voter rolls. Learn more about the bill. 

Tuesday at 10 a.m., Heritage will host an event on Russian interference in U.S.-Czech missile defense cooperation. The featured panelists are Michaela Dodge, a research scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy; Otakar Foltyn, security expert at the ministry of defense of the Czech Republic; and Jakub Janda, executive director at the European Values Center for Security Policy. Register for the event here.

This week on “Heritage Explains,” retired Gen. Thomas Spoehr, director of Heritage’s Center for National Defense, runes through the priorities that Congress must sanction in order to keep our military strong and prepared. Listen to the podcast.

A Wealth Tax Will Impact All Americans
Heritage’s Genevieve Wood joined Newsmax to discuss why wealth taxes don't just hit the wealthy. Watch the interview.

This month, as we honor women’s history, we recognize Harriet Tubman, who put her life at constant risk helping enslaved people escape to freedom. She was never caught—and never lost a “passenger” on the Underground Railroad. As the first African American woman to serve in the U.S. military, her knowledge of transportation routes throughout the South made her a vital asset to Union military commanders during the Civil War.

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