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Biden must urge South Korea and Japan to assume larger regional security roles - In a new report Heritage’s senior research fellow Bruce Klingner and Jeff Smith layout how President Biden should use his trip to South Korea and Japan, “to affirm, augment, and accelerate recent positive trends in both alliances and the increasingly relevant Quad grouping. Biden’s Asia trip should really be about: an America First foreign policy that confronts the greatest existential threat to the West – the Chinese Communist Party. Strong alliances in the Indo–Pacific better position the U.S. to confront and overcome China. Heritage Experts: Bruce Klinger, Dean Cheng, and Walter Lohman
Disinformation Board Paused, ‘Mary Poppins’ Director Out, but Biden Suppression of Free Speech Continues - After only a few weeks, the unconstitutional, correctly criticized federal Disinformation Governance Board has been “paused” and “Minister of Truth” Nina Jankowicz has resigned. It is appropriate to celebrate, but amid statements from the White House saying the “work is going to continue,” we should beware that some version of the board will quietly pop up again in the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies. And we should be ready to expose the suppression of free speech wherever it continues. As many have pointed out, this effort was entirely unconstitutional from the start and violated the First Amendment. The board even opened President Joe Biden and Jankowicz up to robust lawsuits from two states. The Constitution clearly states that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” The executive branch cannot abridge free speech either, nor can the federal government collude with Big Tech to censor free speech, as they are wont to do. Heritage Expert: Erin Dwinell
Carbon Border Tax Is Outside the Venn Diagram of Compromise - For years, the idea of a carbon tax has been a nonstarter for Americans in both parties. And for good reason—while it would raise a pretty penny for a federal government addicted to spending, a carbon tax would weigh down American consumers and businesses, for no environmental benefit. Given that nearly 80% of Americans’ energy needs for heat, power, and transportation are met by energy resources that would be taxed, it’s not hard to see the exorbitant costs of such a policy. Now, some in Congress are contemplating such a tax on imported foreign goods, hoping it’s not as politically “lethal.” Known as carbon tariffs or carbon border adjustments, the policy is getting some press time, with a handful of Republicans entertaining the idea. Generally speaking, border carbon adjustment proposals place a tax or tariff on imported goods whose production emitted greenhouse gases, whether directly or indirectly through their supply chains. Heritage Expert: Katie Tubb
Gas Prices Hit New Highs Again With All 50 States Above $4 a Gallon - 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 and Joel Griffith
Latest Cases of Election Underline Need for Vigilance and Action - Election integrity continues to be an important issue to citizens across the country, regardless of their political affiliation. While many politicians on the left continue to downplay the issue of election fraud to the dismay of their constituents, threats to free and fair elections continue at an alarming rate, as our newest batch of cases for The Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Database show. But be forewarned: According to the May 3 issue of Washingtonian magazine citing one of us (Hans von Spakovsky), overseeing a “national tracking system that monitors election-fraud cases” is a “highly controversial tactic.” Really? Heritage Expert: Hans von Spakovsky