Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.
Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.

Justice Department’s Lawsuit Against Georgia Is Completely Partisan – In another example, an anonymous, hate-filled, threatening racist called Ebenezer Baptist Church, where now-Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., was a pastor. That is shameful, to be sure, and something no one condones. But what does that have to do with the legislation passed by the Georgia Legislature? The Heritage Foundation sometimes receive anonymous, hate-filled, racist messages, too, over our efforts to guarantee the integrity and security of the election process through commonsense reforms. Does that mean that opponents of election reform, including Garland and Clarke, are engaging in racially discriminatory behavior by filing this lawsuit? This complaint is nothing less and nothing more than a partisan lawsuit and an abuse of the Justice Department’s enforcement authority under the Voting Rights Act. Every allegation in the lawsuit, from the objection to voter ID requirements to voting in each voter’s assigned precinct, is based on the patronizing view that black and other minority voters are somehow not as capable as other voters of dealing with election rules and procedures. That is obviously and clearly not true, but it is the shameful and embarrassing position the Justice Department takes today. Heritage experts: Zack Smith and Hans von Spakovsky

Education Department Should Not Revive Harmful School Discipline Policies – Crafting education policy on the foundation of racial differences is never the right answer. Unfortunately, this announcement invokes the 2014 ‘Dear Colleague’ letter from the Department of Education and Department of Justice to K-12 public schools that resulted in schools maintaining quotas of students disciplined according to race. That federal policy micromanaged local school discipline matters, discriminated against students based on their race, and unlawfully expanded the federal government’s authority in local education. The federal government should not recommend that school officials use a disparate impact standard in local school discipline matters. These policies lead to disciplining students based on race ratios rather than behavioral actions by individuals. Previous use of the disparate impact standard didn’t protect children or school staff because these policies allowed for disruptive and even dangerous students to remain in classrooms. Heritage experts: Lindsey Burke and Mike Gonzalez

To fix health care, try putting patients in charge – It’s not just Obamacare that’s the problem. Other laws are preventing patients from getting the care they need and want. For example, too often sick people can’t access specialized plans that treat their needs; workers can’t keep their doctors and plans when they switch jobs; and it’s often impossible to find out the price you’ll pay for medical care before you get it, let alone benefit financially when you choose lower-cost care. Federal laws also make it unnecessarily hard to see a primary care doctor of your choice, and to save for and finance your health care needs in ways that let you control where the dollars go. Thankfully, there are alternatives. The Health Care Choices Proposal, developed by dozens of free-market and conservative thinkers, advances notable ones. It offers a new policy path that puts you and your loved ones in control of your health care without asking Washington politicians or health insurance bureaucrats for permission. Heritage expert: Marie Fishpaw

Democrats’ Double-Cross Wrecks Bloated Infrastructure Deal – If the negotiations were happening in good faith, Republicans who agree to the deal would lift the Democrats’ threat of an enormous reconciliation bill. After all, if Democrats could just turn around and get everything they want through reconciliation, what’s the point of negotiations? That’s exactly why Republicans, from the centrists who negotiated the bipartisan plan to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are so upset with the impossible demand. Even some moderate Democrats are balking at the radical move. Legislators should recognize that while there is tremendous potential in getting federal infrastructure policy right, they don’t have to rush. There is enough time to craft a bill that maximizes the value of taxpayer dollars by spending on national priorities and cutting federal red tape. Regardless of where infrastructure discussions go from here, it’s vital for Republicans to secure promises from leading Democrats that bipartisan compromises are not contingent on a radical left-wing spending package. Such an extreme, bad-faith approach threatens to make Congress more dysfunctional than ever, which would be bad news for America’s future. Heritage expert: David Ditch

By Dodging School Bathrooms Case, Supreme Court Cements Earlier Win for Transgender Rights – In a heartbreak for many conservative court-watchers, the Supreme Court today denied a petition for writ of certiorari in the case of Gloucester County School Board v. Gavin Grimm—an appeal from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals over a biological girl’s access to the boy’s bathroom in one Virginia school district. In so doing, it hands a victory to the former student, Grimm, and concretizes more federal precedent on the ability of students in federally funded schools to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. While the Department of Education has recently made clear through federal guidance that it will interpret Title IX to include sexual orientation and gender identity, it remains to be seen how such guidance will be enforced, and what can be expected for secular institutions that don’t comply with the agency’s interpretation of the statute. Heritage expert: Sarah Perry