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Congress Must Rein in Unaccountable Bureaucracy and Inflation in Debt Ceiling Debate – Heritage President and Heritage Action Executive Director <[link removed]> - Having pushed the national debt north of
$31 trillion, President Biden is now demanding a debt limit increase to take more hard-earned dollars from each American family and fan the flames of inflation. Worse, the federal budget has spun so far out of control that most federal agencies no longer address the needs of the American people. And while the national debt is a truly bipartisan issue that demands a bipartisan approach, the budget has become a safe haven for woke, leftist initiatives like Green New Deal subsidies and DEI training for all. Heritage Expert: Richard Stern <[link removed]> and Matthew Dickerson <[link removed]>


 
No Surprise: The No Surprises Act Is Vague and Confusing, and Congress Must Fix It <[link removed]> - In seeking to appease special interests on both sides of the “surprise billing” debate, Congress devised a complex and deeply flawed system that each
side is seeking to turn to its advantage. Instead of requiring three powerful and well-financed economic actors—insurers, doctors, and hospitals—to negotiate privately over medical fees, the No Surprises Act instituted a novel system with vaguely defined standards that are sowing confusion and litigation. Congress should amend the No Surprises Act to eliminate the dispute-resolution process in favor of a truth-in-advertising approach that will protect consumers and liberate doctors, insurers, and arbiters from confused and conflicting standards for resolving disputes that the disputing parties can best resolve themselves. Heritage Expert: Doug Badger <[link removed]>  
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Joint Ford-China Electric Vehicle Battery Plant Contrary to American Interests <[link removed]> - If California and the Biden administration succeed in limiting future new vehicle sales to battery-powered electric vehicles, American or America-friendly companies should be
producing the batteries, not China. Congress allocated over $7 billion <[link removed]> in electric vehicle tax incentives in 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act for domestic, not Chinese, production. Moreover, CATL is not just another Chinese company. China dominates battery technology, and it accounts for over 70% <[link removed]> of global electric vehicle battery production capacity. Within the battery industry, CATL is the largest producer, profiting from its close relations with the Chinese Communist Party. Heritage Expert: Diana Furchtgott-Roth <[link removed]>
 
That’s Science? Congress Must Probe the Rationale for Covid Mask Mandates <[link removed]> - So, Fauci expressed privately to a former colleague a strong conviction that cloth masks were ineffective. That view was broadly shared by other senior federal public health officials, including both Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Fauci’s colleague at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and former Surgeon General of the United States Jerome Adams. Indeed, in a March 2020 social media message to the public Dr. Adams warned <[link removed]>: “Seriously, people, STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing the general public from catching Coronavirus.” Heritage Expert: Bob Moffit <[link removed]>
 
Education Choice in Rural America  <[link removed]>- K–12 education savings accounts (ESAs) allow parents to choose learning environments that align with their values and best meet their child’s individual learning needs. Nine states now offer ESAs and several more are working to enact ESAs to expand education opportunity for all. Policymakers should also make it easier to open and operate charter schools, especially in rural areas, by reducing barriers to entry for charter operators, allowing multiple charter authorizers, granting longer charters, and reducing red tape. Heritage Expert: Jason Bedrick <[link removed]> and Dani Doane <[link removed]>
 
Heritage Experts Applaud Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for Being First Out of the Gate on Universal ESAs in 2023 <[link removed]>—Iowa’s legislature late yesterday passed a bill that will empower families with a greater say of how their children are educated in the state. Iowa Gov. Kimberly Reynolds today signed the bill creating a new education savings account. Jason Bedrick <[link removed]>, a research fellow in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, made the following statement: “This is a major win for families looking for greater education freedom and choice! The Students First Act, which makes education savings accounts available to all Iowa families with children in K-12 grades,
puts parents in charge of the education options for their children. “This is one of the best vehicles for providing families with more options, since parents can use the ESAs for private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, curricular materials, special-needs therapy and more. We’ve already seen success from ESAs in Arizona. “No longer will children be relegated to a geographically assigned district school that might not serve them well.” Heritage Experts: Jason Bedrick <[link removed]> and Jonathan Butcher <[link removed]>
 
Joe Biden Needs To Send M1 Abrams Tanks To Ukraine <[link removed]> - President Zelenskyy has directly requested tanks from Western allies. At a recent meeting at Ramstein airbase, he told <[link removed]> Western defense ministers, “Hundreds of thank-yous are not hundreds of tanks.” The West’s response has been mixed. The U.K. has pledged <[link removed]> to send 14 of its Challenger 2 <[link removed]> tanks. Germany  <[link removed]>said it would send <[link removed]> Leopard 2 tanks only if the U.S. sent M1 Abrams tanks, though Poland said it would be willing to send some of its Leopard 2 tanks. This is a moment for Europe to demonstrate leadership. Poland and the U.K. are doing just that. Germany, which is dependent on Russian energy, should support Ukraine by sending its own Leopard 2 tanks and confirming it will allow other countries to re-export theirs. Heritage Expert: Maiya Clark <[link removed]>

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