Fellow Conservative,

Congress is back, and there are only two weeks left before they need to come to an agreement about continuing to fund the government (government funding expires on Sept 30 at midnight).

Spending fights are about more than dollars and cents—it’s about the policies and programs that are being funded. At the core of every bill (or bills) to fund the government, is a policy agenda!

Pelosi is on her way out the door, so it’s important that Republicans don’t let her set that agenda for the next year.

The Government Funding Fight 

To understand what’s about to happen in Congress, it’s helpful to have two important definitions:

1. A Continuing Resolution (or CR) is a bill to extend current levels of funding (and current policies) into the next fiscal year. CR’s have become very common, as Congress routinely fails to follow its own appropriations process and put forward 12 separate spending bills to fund the various government departments and agencies.

A final note on CRs—often Congress tries to tack on a few extra funding/policy changes to a CR—these are called “riders.” A CR is often seen as a “must pass bill,” so adding riders is an effective way for Congressional leadership to force their priorities through. Passing a “clean CR” means that the CR does NOT have any of these policy riders.

2. An omnibus spending bill is what happens when the 12 separate spending bills are grouped together into one bill. These aren’t ideal either, as it creates one “take-it-or-leave-it” vote. 12 seperate bills is better for debate and for preventing good policies from being held hostage by bad policies.

Now, here’s what’s happening: Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are trying to pass a CR that would extend government funding only until just after the November elections. Then during the “lame duck” Congress (the months of November and December), Democrats will try to pass a BIG omnibus spending bill. This omnibus spending bill would cement Democrats’ liberal policies in place until October of 2023!

And here’s what conservatives should push for: GOP congressmen and senators should reject any CR that expires before Q1 of 2023. We should advocate for a “clean CR” that doesn’t include extra policy riders.

This Left has crippled our economy, sent inflation skyrocketing, and allowed millions of people to flood into our country illegally. The American people have suffered enough from two years of Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer’s agenda.

As a country, we are about to elect a new Congress, and we should let that new Congress set the agenda for 2023.

>>> TAKE ACTION: On Monday, Call Congress and tell them to pass “a clean CR” to fund the government until Q1 of 2023. We should let the voters decide the agenda for next year!!

Chicago is about to get even more DANGEROUS

American cities are becoming less and less safe, and the Left is to blame. Americans are rightly anxious about crime, yet progressive lawmakers and prosecutors routinely show more grace to the aggressors of a crime than to the victims.

For years the Left has pushed for softer sentences, police budget cuts, and cashless bail while expressing a vicious rhetoric defaming police officers and departments.

Unsurprisingly, crime in major cities has remained inexcusably high and continues to rise.

Signed by their governor, Illinois' new SAFE-T Act will go into effect in 2023. This is one of the most radical anti-police and public safety laws in the country.

>>> Read: Heritage Action’s press release about the “SAFE-T” Act.

>>>Watch: In an effort to blame anyone but themselves, the Left claims the problem is legal gun-ownership. This tired, worn-out argument is thoroughly refuted by Heritage Action’s Carson Steelman.

And here’s what the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association is saying about this new law:

To help reclaim American streets from criminals and Leftist radicals, click >>HERE<< to sign the Heritage Action Police Pledge and share it with your friends and elected officials. We need to make America safe again.

Update: Marriage and Religious Liberty

In July, the Democrats introduced legislation that would codify gay marriage into federal law. It passed the House and was sent to the Senate.

This bill attacks religious liberty by creating a pathway for the IRS to strip religious organizations of their tax exempt status and by creating a private right of action for activist groups and individuals to sue religious entities and individuals based solely on personal beliefs.
Two amendments have been proposed to address the religious liberty issue:

1. A weak one by Senators Baldwin, Collins, and Romney.
2. And a much better one from Senator Mike Lee. This is the amendment Senators should support.

Senator Schumer has now delayed a vote on the bill until AFTER the midterm elections in November, setting up a vote during the lame-duck session of Congress.

Like with spending, a lame-duck Congress should not be voting on important issues like Marriage and Religious Liberty.

Thank You For Your Activism 

Two months ago the Biden Department of Education issued a regulation change that would redefine “sex” to mean “gender identity”, “gender steryotypes”, and “sexual orientation”.

In response, Heritage Action activists fought back in a BIG WAY by flooding the DOE’s public comment section with over 23,000 comments in objection to the rule change.

Thank you to all those who participated in the pushback and submitted a comment!

Have a great weekend!

Jessica and the Heritage Action team