Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
8 Ridiculous ‘Green New Deal’ Programs in Democrats’ Bloated Spending Bill <[link removed]> – Both chambers of Congress are focused on a raging debate over whether to
pass a 2,465-page, $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend bill. With the legislation almost guaranteed to have no Republican support, different factions of Democrats are locking horns over the bill’s fate. Progressives want to spend recklessly, which is much easier to do when you’re using other people’s money. In contrast, moderates are alarmed about what effect yet another federal spending blowout would have on already-high inflation and the dangerously huge national debt. It is vitally important to have a discussion about overall spending levels. It is equally important to understand what those taxpayer dollars would be used on. A key component of the bill is enacting a “Green New Deal” agenda, which is a top priority for left-wing activists. Heritage expert: David
Ditch <[link removed]>
Joe Biden Has “Chosen to Open the Border" <[link removed]> – The Biden administration’s open-borders agenda is destructive, inhumane, and unsustainable. It’s become abundantly clear that the Biden administration sees these historic numbers as a feature, not a bug, and is content to continue processing tens of thousands of illegal aliens into the country, all in pursuit of new voters added to the rolls if Democrats ram through a massive amnesty. The American people are fed up with this. They are tired of seeing the Biden administration make a mockery of laws and deny the very crisis they created. It’s time for concerned citizens across the country to put real, unmistakable pressure on their elected representatives to get this crisis under control and restore order on our border. We have the power to force change, if only we will use it. Heritage experts: Lora Ries <[link removed]> and Mike Howell <[link removed]>
Work matters, despite what congressional Democrats think <[link removed]> – When mothers formerly dependent on welfare found employment, they saw better physical health, improved emotional and psychological well-being, and even better health and behavioral outcomes for their children. Teen pregnancies – and the abortion rate – fell sharply. It’s clear
that work is important to families – whether they are low-income or not. After long-term unemployment, people earn less – as much as 5% less a year. But work also affects well-being. Connection to work is associated with a higher degree of human connectedness, while unemployment can hurt mental health and physical health, even affecting mortality by as much as a year and a half. Low-income individuals, like all Americans, deserve real opportunity for themselves and their children. While the safety net can be effective – as intended – at alleviating material deprivation, the long-term policy
goal should be for families to break out of the cycle of dependence and poverty by improving their upward mobility and well-being. Congress can fix welfare to do just that. It can start by rejecting misplaced calls to make the Biden child allowance permanent. Heritage expert: Leslie
Ford <[link removed]>
Biden’s National Security Strategy Must Answer These 3 Questions <[link removed]> – One does not substitute hard power for soft power or vice versa. These elements of national power are not fungible. There is no formula for how many diplomats can replace a division. Further, many of these instruments are not well suited for dealing with modern great-power competition. Traditional tools of public diplomacy and foreign assistance match up poorly against China’s sharp power. The United States needs to scrape the rust off all these instruments. How it competes in international organizations is one example. And the country cannot neglect hard power. Whether Biden’s team can deliver satisfactory answers to these three questions will tell the country a lot about how well they will prepare America to compete for the long term. Heritage expert: James
Carafano <[link removed]>
Michigan should reject critical race theory from education <[link removed]> – For K-12 schools, legislators in Michigan and other states introduced or adopted proposals this
year to reject the application of critical race theory in K-12 classrooms. State officials should consider proposals that make public school curriculum transparent so that parents and taxpayers can review what educators are presenting to students. Lawmakers should also consider proposals that prohibit any public official from compelling a teacher or student to believe or profess any idea that violates the Civil Rights Act of
1964, including the idea that individuals should be adversely or advantageously treated based on their race, as The Heritage Foundation’s model proposal for state policymakers explains. No parent wants their children to face prejudice and discrimination – certainly not in the classroom. Yet critical race theory encourages students to see themselves and others through a racial lens – one that separates them into categories of victim and oppressor. Such teachings leave no room for discussion and create
division and animosity, not civil discourse and civic responsibility. Michigan lawmakers should consider proposals from states nearby to help them prevent taxpayers from bankrolling bigotry. Heritage
expert: Jonathan Butcher <[link removed]>

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