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EXCLUSIVE: Government Expands List of Unvaccinated, Now Tracking Both Medical and Religious Exemptions – The Commerce Department is going to keep a record of all employees seeking a medical exemption from President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, under a proposed regulation. The new rule, placed on the Federal Register on Tuesday, will be the subject of public comment until March 28. The proposal comes as the Biden administration considers keeping a list of workers who apply for religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate for federal employees. The Pretrial Services Agency will begin storing names and “personal religious information” of employees who make “religious accommodation requests for religious exemption from the federally mandated vaccination requirement,” Sarah Parshall Perry and GianCarlo Canaparo, legal fellows with Heritage’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, wrote in their Jan. 11 article in The Daily Signal breaking the news on the pilot program. Perry and Canaparo followed up Jan. 15 by reporting that 18 other federal agencies were considering making similar lists of religious objectors to the vaccine mandate. This week, 41 House Republicans signed onto a letter to Biden accusing his administration of targeting Americans who seek religious exemptions, The Daily Signal’s Mary Margaret Olohan first reported. Heritage Expert: Sarah Parshall Perry
Democrats’ Voting ‘Rights’ Agenda Is A Thinly Veiled Attempt To Nationalize Our Elections – American voters should be breathing a sigh of relief after the defeat of Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer’s attempt to gut the legislative filibuster rule and pass a reckless election bill that would have endangered the integrity and security of future elections. Schumer was trying to destroy the “guard rails of our democracy” in more ways than one. The bill that fortunately went down in defeat — H.R.5746, the “Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act” — was a combination of two prior bills and probably one of the worst pieces of legislation ever proposed in Congress. It would have federalized and micromanaged the election process administered by the states, imposing unnecessary, unwise and likely unconstitutional mandates on the states and eliminating basic security protocols like voter ID that protect voters and the honesty of our elections. Heritage Expert: Hans von Spakovsky
Heritage Experts: ‘The Biden Economy is a Mess’ – “The U.S. economy remains 1.6% below the pre-pandemic trend, and the Biden administration's policies are pushing us in the wrong direction. Today’s new data largely represents just a backfill of what we lost in the past two years of destructive lockdowns and foolish federal policies. “The Biden economy is a mess. The rising cost of living—especially for housing, energy, and food—continues to squeeze families. Millions fewer Americans are working today compared to just two years ago, despite jobs being in ample supply. Excessive federal unemployment benefits have made not working more economically attractive than maintaining a job, causing many to drop out of the work force altogether. “The Biden administration’s embrace of radical, socialist policies will only increase the pain working families are feeling. More COVID mandates and restrictions, the war on energy development, more government debt, expanded government economic control, and seemingly limitless monetary expansion by the Fed risks economy misery, more inflation, and lost freedom.” Heritage Expert: Joel Griffith
New proposals rejecting CRT see through radical talking points – A recent survey found that 81% of voters said public schools should teach the idea that “America was founded on the ideals of freedom, equality, and self-governance,” the opposite of CRT’s principle that American institutions will always be racist. State lawmakers must protect teachers and students from the bigotry caused by CRT’s application in schools. These new proposals countering the theory’s dogma by blocking compelled speech recognize the theorists’ intent to not only describe a philosophy but to convince Americans, including children, to apply prejudicial ideas. The truth about CRT is becoming more widely understood. State officials’ new proposed protections against the worldview see the theory’s application for what it is: racial discrimination. Heritage Expert: Jonathan Butcher
Taxes in the Build Back Better Act: Five Ways Congress Is Dodging Accountability and Three Ways It Could Take Responsibility – The Build Back Better Act has several provisions that make Congress less accountable for U.S. tax policy and give unaccountable bureaucrats more control. The act would (1) give the IRS more regulatory authority, (2) task IRS agents with finding new revenues, (3) allow a nonprofit organization to set tax rules, (4) allow the OECD to influence U.S. tax policy, and (5) force a future Congress to pay for this Congress’s fiscal irresponsibility. Congress should reject this misguided proposal. Heritage Expert: Preston Brashers
Grappling With DC Vaccine Mandate, Capitol Hill Restaurant Owner Pleads for Decency – Vaccine mandate culture wars rage on, and Noe Landini and his staff are caught in the middle. Torn between desires to respect all customers, to comply with Washington, D.C.’s vaccine mandate, and to keep his restaurants afloat, he pleads for patience and the understanding that “mandates are not as simple as they seem.” “Does refusing service based on vaccine status not constitute discrimination?” he asked. “Is requiring a patron to show proof of vaccination not a violation of their medical privacy? How do I know if a vaccine card is real or fake? Why is an alcohol enforcement bureau enforcing a health-related order instead of the Department of Health?” Heritage Expert: Mary Margaret Olohan