Fellow Conservative,
Congress has been busy during this lame duck session—and that’s generally not a good thing for America. Many members currently sitting in Congress are retiring or just lost their elections and so they aren’t really accountable to the voters. Major policy decisions should be made by the newly elected Congress in January.
This week, several important issues were being talked about on the Hill, such as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) <[link removed]>, the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA) <[link removed]>, the EAGLE Act <[link removed]>, and how to fund the government <[link removed]>.
NDAA - A Win for our Troops and for our Country
Each year Congress votes on an NDAA to renew funding for the U.S. Department of Defense.
This year, conservatives lit up the phone banks and pressured Congressional Democrats to walk back and repeal a disastrous policy—the military’s COVID vaccine mandate. This unjust policy has hurt military readiness, hindered military recruitment, and resulted in the unjust firing of our servicemembers.
Since the mandate 3,171 Marines, 1,816 Soldiers, and 2,064 Sailors have been “discharged for refusing to get vaccinated” <[link removed]>. This is a complete waste of the time, money, and talent it takes to train and recruit these individuals and demonstrates an even greater lack of awareness.
>>Watch<< <[link removed]> Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson discuss this victory.
Amidst an increasingly dangerous world and plummeting Army <[link removed]> and Navy <[link removed]> recruitment, firing troops over a refusal to accept an experimental vaccine is maddeningly unhelpful.
Thank you to all the grassroots who petitioned to get this provision in the NDAA. YOU stood up and defended the people who stood to defend this country. Thank you also to all the elected officials who stood strong and fought to keep this provision included.
The NDAA included many other important provisions as well. To get a breakdown of all the details read The Heritage Foundation’s Maiya Clark’s summary HERE <[link removed]>.
(Dis)respect for Marriage Act - A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Earlier this week the House voted to pass the Senate’s version of the Respect for Marriage Act <[link removed]>. Under the guise of “tolerance” all this act does is threaten religious liberty.
This bill changes nothing about marriage in America because all it does is reinforce the Supreme Court’s Obergefell and Windsor decisions. But it does paint a massive target on the backs of religious institutions and individuals. <[link removed]>
It gives the IRS carte blanche discretion to target religious schools, charities, and other religiously affiliated entities that oppose same-sex marriage and eventually strip them of their tax-exempt status.
It also creates a roving license to sue anyone acting “under color of law” which could very possibly lead to a path where adoption centers and foster care providers with religious objections to same-sex marriage would be forced to shut down.
You can find the list of Senators <[link removed]> and House members <[link removed]> who voted in favor of this atrocious bill HERE <[link removed]>.
EAGLE Act - Stopping a Bad Immigration Bill
This week Congress was supposed to vote on the EAGLE Act <[link removed]>. However, because of YOUR diligent work contacting your representatives, this bill will lay dormant for now.
This bill would raise the per country legal immigration cap, benefitting China more than any other country. By raising the cap and making visa applications easier, the EAGLE Act would:
- Help the Chinese Communist Party steal America’s trade secrets by making it easier for Chinese nationals to attain green cards without any way of knowing if they are part of the CCP
- Make the problem of chain migration worse, by reducing the qualifications to become a green card holder who can then send for any number of family members
- Ignore the wide open southern border allowing our broken immigration system to persist
This fight is NOT over, but hopefully this bill will not come up for a vote. If it does, rest assured we will remain vigilant <[link removed]>.
Spending - The Pending Fight
Currently, it is still unclear how the government will be funded beyond December 16th when federal funding is set to run out.
Democrats will likely attempt to pass a nearly $2 trillion omnibus spending bill that would solidify their priorities until late 2023. Fiscal Conservatives need to oppose any such wrong-headed spending.
Congress should not be passing any significant legislation or spending bills on their way out the door <[link removed]> to begin with.
The new Congress takes their seats on Jan 3, 2023. They should be the ones who decide the spending priorities for the next year.
CALL CONGRESS <[link removed]> and demand a clean Continuing Resolution (CR) that extends federal funding at the minimum amount until late January 2023.
Advocate for American Workers
There are only three days left before the public comment period on Biden’s mistaken labor regulation closes. This regulation would force independent workers, such as freelancers, Uber drivers, truck drivers etc… into an employer-employee relationship <[link removed]>.
This would take away everything that makes independent work something worth pursuing including flexible hours, the ability to pick your own clients, entrepreneurship and so on. This is no small economic matter either:
- 59 million workers performed independent work in 2021
- 56% of non-freelancers say they are likely to try it in the future
- 55% of those who work independently do so because they are unable to work for traditional employers
- 29% of Baby Boomers freelance
This rule change would affect millions in a negative way by limiting their work opportunities.
Take just 2 minutes and WRITE A COMMENT <[link removed]> to protect the work of your fellow Americans.
Thank you for all that you do for the conservative movement and for the benefit of the country.
Jessica and the Heritage Action team
Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.
<[link removed]> <[link removed]>
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