Better off? President Biden is now halfway through his term as president, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any way he’s helped the everyday American.  

• As Biden prepares his second State of the Union address, Heritage’s news site, The Daily Signal, put together its own update on how things went in year two. Spoiler alert: not well.  

Decline: Biden’s disastrous policies set the nation on a steep decline almost from the moment he took office, and things only escalated from there.  

• “From COVID-19 tyranny to a foolhardy retreat from energy independence to a vicious war on parents, the 46th president has proved to be far from the healing uniter he was promised to be,” writes Jarrett Stepman, a columnist with The Daily Signal. 

Find out what’s on our list of Biden’s six biggest failures in year two of his administration here.  

The biggest year for school choice. That’s what 2023 is shaping up to be now that Iowa, Florida, and Utah have advanced major education choice reforms this month.  

• Iowa’s Students First Act lets families who opt out of public schools access $7,600 per school year for their children’s educational needs. Utah has a similar bill and Florida unveiled a path to universal education choice.  

Find out more here. 

Three years into COVID-19, lawmakers need to mount a comprehensive investigation of the government’s responses.  

• “Congress has a duty to reform government agencies and hold them accountable with a view to restoring public trust in America’s public health agencies,” write Robert Moffit and Doug Badger (current and former senior research fellows, respectively). 

 Read what their roadmap includes here. 

Jerry Hume, a member of Heritage’s board of trustees since 1993 and the Heritage Action for America board of directors since 2013, passed away on Jan. 23. 

“Many people have worked behind the scenes to make The Heritage Foundation a world-class think tank, but few have contributed more than Jerry Hume,” said Heritage Board Chairman Barb Van Andel-Gaby and Heritage Action Board Chairman Nersi Nazari in a statement. More here. 

• GDP report reveals ominous Great Depression warning sign not seen since 1932—EJ Antoni 
• Lawmakers, Let Parents Have a Say in Their Children’s Life-Changing Decisions—Jonathan Butcher and Jason Bedrick 
• Biden’s California Waiver: An Assault on Federalism—Steven G. Bradbury 
• As Media, Biden Scramble to Explain Document Scandal, the Real Issue Is Unaccountable Bureaucracy—Jarrett Stepman 
• DeSantis Exposes Marxist Slant of African American History Course, Demands Rewrite—Lindsey Burke and Mike Gonzalez 
• Breaking the K-12 Education Monopoly—Kevin Roberts 
• Joint Ford-China Electric Vehicle Battery Plant Contrary to American Interests—Diana Furchtgott-Roth 
• A Sorry Set of Anniversaries That Will Cost Americans—Katie Tubb 
• British ‘Single-Payer’ Health Care Program Is Cratering. That Should Be Wake-Up Call for U.S. Liberals—Robert Moffit 
• Combat the Inflation Reduction Act’s Central Planning—Richard Stern and Daren Bakst  
• DeSantis Deals Blow to Woke Takeover of Education—Jarrett Stepman 
• ‘Asleep at the Wheel’: DeSantis Highlights Justice Department’s Abortion Double Standard—Katrina Trinko

China expert Michael Pillsbury, who joined Heritage as a senior fellow fewer than two weeks ago, appeared on Fox Business to talk about how the U.S. should respond to China’s increasing belligerence toward Taiwan. Watch the clip here. 

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