Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
School Choice Is a Political Winner <[link removed]> - Opponents of school choice have long claimed that voters would punish lawmakers who pass legislation that give families more choices in education. Such policies supposedly endanger traditional district schools to which voters feel a strong attachment. The midterms demolished this hypothesis. Every state in which a GOP trifecta—governor and legislative chambers—enacted large, new school-choice programs or significantly expanded existing ones in the past two years kept that trifecta, and most expanded the GOP’s majority in the legislature. Heritage Experts: Lindsey Burke <[link removed]> and Jason Bedrick <[link removed]>
These 12 Republicans Just Voted for Radical ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ <[link removed]> -
The legislation also “repeals and replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or
national origin,” allows “the Department of Justice to bring a civil action,” and “establishes a private right of action for violations.” Heritage Experts: Roger Severino <[link removed]>, Jay Richards <[link removed]>, and Emma Waters <[link removed]>
Faith Leaders Warn So-Called Respect for Marriage Act Will Hack Away at Religious
Freedom <[link removed]> - Roger Severino, vice president of domestic policy at The Heritage Foundation, condemned the legislation in a Tuesday statement that accused Democrats of “threatening to empower woke activists inside and outside of government to attack people of faith with this bill that will be
used as a cudgel against those who believe in the reality of marriage as between a man and a woman.” “This bill provides no benefit or protection that same-sex couples don’t already have,” he warned. “All this bill does is target people of faith who don’t support woke ideology.” Heritage Experts: Roger Severino <[link removed]>, Jay Richards <[link removed]>, and Emma Waters <[link removed]>
Rick Dearborn Returns to Heritage as Visiting Fellow for Project 2025 <[link removed]> - Dearborn will serve on the
Project 2025 steering committee and write a chapter for the forthcoming “Mandate for Leadership” book, which will feature authors from across the conservative movement as well as former administration officials. Project 2025 was created by Heritage President Kevin Roberts <[link removed]> to provide conservative policy recommendations and the properly vetted and trained personnel needed to take back America. The initiative is led by Paul Dans <[link removed]>, former chief of staff of the Office of Personnel Management during the Trump administration. Heritage Expert: Paul Dans <[link removed]>
Heritage Hosts First Meeting of Panel on Military Service and Readiness to Address Readiness, Recruitment Crisis <[link removed]> - Launched last month <[link removed]>, the panel will examine issues impacting military recruitment and retention. Members identified areas where politicization and divisive policies are negatively impacting military readiness. From these discussions, the panel plans to complete a final report detailing recommendations to improve the readiness of the military, determine the causes of current military recruitment shortages, and encourage more Americans to serve. Heritage Expert: Thomas Spoehr <[link removed]>
Democrats’ ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ Would Children <[link removed]> - It’s now clear that “the speed of science” required cutting methodological corners. In 2016, after examining every single same-sex parenting study, researcher Walter Schumm <[link removed]> concluded: “[S]tudies that show ‘no difference’ often used poor methodology (non-random samples, parental (self-) reporting vs. actual child outcomes, short duration, etc.) to reach their conclusions.” Heritage Experts: Roger Severino <[link removed]>, Jay Richards <[link removed]>, and Emma Waters <[link removed]>
-
