Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
Biden’s Open Border Chief Gets Hill Drubbing <[link removed]>- Words matter, and when Biden repeatedly promised to extend amnesty, to shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and most famously <[link removed]> “immediately surge to the border all those people seeking asylum,” millions of soon-to-be illegal aliens heard him loud and clear. They know well enough that all it takes is to show up and say the magic words of “asylum” and they will be let in and never removed. Under Biden, the famous Field of Dreams quote has morphed from “if you build it, they will come” to “if you destroy our border security, they will come.”Implementation of Biden’s open-borders agenda has been the primary responsibility of Mayorkas. With such responsibility comes accountability. And judging by this week’s hearings, and the American public’s complete lack of confidence <[link removed]> in this administration’s handling of the border, strict accountability is on the horizon. Heritage Expert: Mike Howell <[link removed]>
Congress Must Carefully Review Any Ukraine Spending Package <[link removed]> - President Joe Biden has requested a $33 billion supplemental spending package <[link removed]> to provide additional aid to Ukraine. These funds would follow the $13.6 billion appropriated in March as well as the $6.4 billion <[link removed]> in security assistance provided since 2014. This proposed level of funding is significant. For context, $33 billion is about the same amount as the annual discretionary funding provided to the Department of Justice and is even greater than the funding for the Environmental Protection Agency plus the Department of Labor plus the Department of Commerce. Compared to the $46.6 billion in Ukraine-related funding provided and requested this year, the entire fiscal year 2022 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill was $56.1 billion. While the human impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is moving, and further U.S. support for Ukraine to defend itself is warranted, it is vital that Congress carefully evaluate Biden’s request and ensure that any legislation is responsibly crafted. Heritage Expert: Matthew Dickerson <[link removed]>
Supreme Court Rules Boston Violated First Amendment by Refusing to Fly Christian Flag outside City Hall <[link removed]>- Unanimous opinion is a good sign for the Court’s constitutional jurisprudence with big questions on religion, speech, and abortion yet to be
answered this term. Breyer authored another big 1st Amendment case last term – Mahanoy School District v. BL (the cussing cheerleader case) – and seems to be consistently protective of free speech. Alito, Gorsuch, and Thomas concurred in the judgement but argued that Breyer
had unnecessarily complicated the case by using a wholistic, factual analysis. They said it should be simple: Is the government speaking, or regulating private expression? Heritage Expert: Sarah Parshall Perry <[link removed]>
Biden Administration Cancels Proposed Rule to Force Americans to Pay for Transgender Experimentation <[link removed]> - This is a great victory for Americans who oppose government requiring them to pay for ideologically driven drugs and surgeries that ultimately lead to sterilization of other people, including children.” Severino said. “We take credit for making the Biden administration hit the brakes on an LGBT initiative for the first time. While this doesn’t stop the government from bringing up this or similar transgender mandates in the future, Heritage has put the Biden administration on alert that Americans will resist this type of government overreach and require them to justify their actions every step of the way. If HHS wants to relitigate the issue in the future, it will have to start the process all over again, and when that time comes, Heritage and our allies will be ready to fight back even harder,” Severino added. Heritage Expert: Roger
Severino <[link removed]>
Policy Proposals for Reducing Record-High Gasoline Prices <[link removed]> - Energy is essential to Americans’ economic well-being and their ability to live healthier, safer, and more productive lives. Just as increased prices drive up costs throughout the economy, the benefits of more affordable energy are widespread and have profoundly positive effects for American families and businesses. Policymakers should reject the false choice posed by the Biden Administration to date—renewables or conventional energy—and make policy changes in pursuit of energy abundance. Americans and the rest of the world stand to benefit greatly, as the only way to dilute the power of those who weaponize energy for political ends is to provide the world with affordable, reliable energy of all kinds. Heritage Expert: Katie Tubb <[link removed]>
We’re Still Fighting to Protect Our Liberty Today <[link removed]> – Americans who are fighting the left’s attempts to restrict our liberties, destroy our culture, and manipulate our society using the imperious power of the government sometimes may forget that we’ve been struggling to preserve our liberty and freedoms from overbearing governments since the beginning of our nation.Built in 1741 on a high hill with a sweeping view of the James River, St. John’s is still a functioning church today. St. John’s is the place where American patriot Patrick Henry gave one of the most famous speeches in history, concluding with the immortal words, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” Nearly 250 years later, we bemoan that government has sunk its claws into almost every aspect of our lives, including our families, our professions, and our businesses. Heritage Expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
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