Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
Biden Border ‘Blueprint’: Unfair, Disorderly, and Inhumane <[link removed]> – Amnesty has no place in such a budget
bill. The parliamentarian should reject the ploy, and senators should reject amnesty as a policy. Amnesty only encourages the illegal immigration that Americans see happening at our border every day. Pay no attention to the illegal immigration and COVID-19 chaos at the border, says the Biden administration. Our border policies are “fair, orderly, and humane,” it says. The White House says so up to 13 times in its new immigration “fact sheet.” The Biden border certainly isn’t fair to American citizens ordered to stay at home from their jobs and school, and away from family and friends during the pandemic. Border Patrol agents don’t say the border is orderly. To the contrary, they say they are overwhelmed. And as long as this administration continues to encourage unaccompanied alien minors to come to the border and shower them with immigration benefits due to their status, its policies will never be humane. This administration’s repeated words don’t pass the laugh test for Americans. It would be funny if it weren’t so serious for America.
Amnesty Is Not Infrastructure <[link removed]> – The $1.2 trillion bipartisan “infrastructure” deal merely paves the road for Democrats to pass the largest amnesty
for illegal aliens in American history. Even absent this planned societal transformation, the bill is bad policy, as it is not focused on actual “hard” infrastructure. Congress should pump the brakes on this wasteful infrastructure package that will ensure amnesty for up to 22 million illegal aliens and put an end to the historic Biden border crisis. Heritage experts: Lora
Ries <[link removed]> and Mike Howell <[link removed]>
Biden's border crisis – crime problem in Texas a bad omen for rest of US <[link removed]> – The bottom
line here is that, using just one of the appalling numbers highlighted by the Texas report, there are 1,245 Texans who would likely still be alive today if we were securing our border and vigorously enforcing our immigration laws by quickly and effectively deporting aliens whose first act is to enter the country illegally, and whose second act is to assault, kidnap, rob and murder our
citizens. As the Texas Department of Public Safety starkly says, this report, "identifies thousands of crimes that should not have occurred and thousands of victims that should not have been victimized because the perpetrator should not be here." No truer words have been spoken about the illegal alien problem and
the reckless open-border policy of the Biden administration. Heritage expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
DC Mayor Bowser, Pelosi rejoins ever-growing list of COVID hypocrites <[link removed]> – This tool is not about playing a political game of
“Gotcha!” It is about protecting and restoring confidence in our governing institutions — a confidence that has been especially shredded by many leaders’ response to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not too much ask that these officials display the most basic sense of integrity. And it is only appropriate that we call them out when they stubbornly refuse to do so. Millions of Americans have heard the phrase “we’re all in this together” for months from corporate advertisers, friends on social media and, of course, government officials. If the behavior of our elected leaders is any indication, however, it would seem that many of them have chosen to live by another phrase: “YOU’RE all in this together.” Heritage experts: Joel Griffith <[link removed]> and John Cooper <[link removed]>
U.S. reaches 70% Covid vaccine milestone for adults <[link removed]> – The best way to increase immunizations is to encourage Americans to talk with trusted sources like their doctors or family members. Coercing, shaming or discriminating against Americans who do not get the vaccine flies in the face of building public support to combat COVID-19. Educating—not indoctrinating or coercing—Americans can reduce vaccine hesitancy. Vaccination rates remain low among minorities and young adults. We know that Americans who are hesitant are turned off by anything political or coercive. They also rightly question the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has made a series of blunders. And some recall painful memories of historic abuses from government medical treatments. A focus group found that resistant Americans were more open after receiving information from a medical professional about the real risks and benefits. We should encourage Americans to talk with their health care providers or someone else they trust to make the best decision for themselves and learn
about alternatives. Heritage expert: Doug Badger <[link removed]>
This eviction moratorium falls far outside the congressionally authorized CDC regulations—and is thus unlawful. <[link removed]> – Both the eviction moratorium itself and the CDC’s economic intent unlawfully breach any congressional authorization. Even if Congress had authorized the CDC to enact an eviction moratorium, the moratoria are unconstitutional. Congress may
regulate activity that is interstate and economic in nature. But evictions are inherently within one state. Further, an eviction order from a court is not an economic product. CDC moratorium exceeded powers delegated to it by Congress, created economic policy through executive fiat, infringed upon the fundamental constitutional right to petition state courts & infringed upon the sovereignty of states by interfering w/ the jurisdiction of those
courts. We must be vigilant against attempts to use this crisis as an excuse to further erode private property rights, enlarge federal power beyond constitutional limits, rewrite legislation by executive order or deny fellow citizens their fundamental right to access the courts, enter into enforceable contracts, and to possess private
property. Congress must not permit the extension of this unlawful and unconstitutional eviction moratorium. Heritage expert: Joel Griffith <[link removed]>
Why Is Your College Tuition So Expensive? It’s Funding Piles Of ‘Diversity’ Bureaucrats <[link removed]> – Rather than being an effective tool for welcoming students from different backgrounds, DEI personnel may be better understood as a signal of adherence to ideological, political, and activist goals. Employing dozens of DEI professionals (chief diversity officers, assistant deans for diversity, directors for inclusive excellence, etc.) appears to work better as a jobs program subsidizing political activism than a means of improving campus climate. High DEI staffing levels suggest that these programs, like many other administrative initiatives at
universities, are bloated relative to academic pursuits. It is fair to wonder whether reducing administrative bloat and reducing costs would do more to promote college access and inclusion than the best efforts of any diversity officer. In light of our findings, state legislators and donors who fund these institutions may wish to examine DEI efforts more closely to ensure university resources are being used
effectively. Heritage expert: Jay Greene <[link removed]>
NPR Allows Its Reporters to Engage in Direct Activism <[link removed]> – The biggest takeaway from the NPR announcement is
this: Is it appropriate for a taxpayer-funded website to be both highly partisan and activist? NPR’s bias has been obvious for a long time. It’s now barely more than a state-funded Pravda, churning out pro-progressive stories and allowing its reporters to openly embrace various political causes. If NPR was an independent website, this wouldn’t be as big of an issue. It would be just one of countless other left-wing media outlets contributing to the noise. But Americans of all political backgrounds pay for National Public Radio through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees both NPR and PBS. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting budget approved by Congress in 2020 was $515 million. A sizable amount of money. NPR gets only a small portion of its total budget from the federal government, but at this point one wonders why it receives this endless gravy train? It’s more than a little ridiculous,
given NPR’s obvious political slant. Its green light on activism for employees just confirms what most should already have known. And perhaps this is a positive. At the very least, NPR’s policy change will do a good job of exposing what its newsrooms really stand for. NPR no longer will be able to hide behind a kind of faux objectivity. Heritage expert: Jarrett Stepman <[link removed]>
Abortion Funding: Save the Hyde Amendment <[link removed]> – Since its initial introduction in 1976, the Hyde Amendment has been an important guardrail restricting taxpayer funds
from paying for most elective abortions through domestic spending. Despite permissive abortion laws being allowed by the High Court for four decades, federal policymakers have rightly sought to separate taxpayer dollars from being entangled with abortion and other controversial issues. But this bipartisan, consensus position is now under threat like never before due to a vocal minority of abortion industry advocates agitating for virtually no restrictions on abortion or taxpayer funding for abortions. Congress should not abandon this nearly half-century tradition and reject attempts to undo pro-life legislative protections. Heritage expert: Melanie Israel <[link removed]>

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