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Senate Judiciary Committee to Ponder Congress’s Non-Existent Power to Revive Long-Dead ERA <[link removed]> - The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an unusual hearing on February 28 titled,
“The Equal Rights Amendment: How Congress Can Recognize Ratification and Enshrine Equality in Our Constitution.” It’s unusual because it focuses on a power that Congress doesn’t possess and a proposed amendment that doesn’t exist. Heritage Expert: Tom Jipping <[link removed]>and Emma Waters <[link removed]>
Index of Economic Freedom Reveals ‘How Fragile the World’s Economy Has Become,’ Even as Taiwan Rises <[link removed]> - Taiwan’s economic freedom ranking has risen to an all-time high,
according to The Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of Economic Freedom <[link removed]> released on Monday. The index ranks Taiwan No. 4 <[link removed]> with an overall economic freedom score of 80.7 and No. 2 out of the 39 economies in the Asia-Pacific region. The region’s average overall economic score is 58.2 while the world’s average is 59.3, or “the lowest it has been over the past two decades,” according to the index’s executive summary. Heritage Expert: Samantha Aschieris <[link removed]>
Biden’s Student Loan “Forgiveness” Plan Is a Raw Deal for Taxpayers <[link removed]> - Biden’s student loan debt cancellation plan is an abuse of power and a costly one, which must be stopped. This program punishes Americans who decided not to go to college or who responsibly paid off their student loans—forcing them to take on the debt of others who willingly took out loans. Biden’s student debt cancellation is based entirely on a 20-year-old statute (the HEROES Act) that has never been used to forgive any student debt and nowhere mentions a unilateral executive
power to cancel debt. A strong decision from the Supreme Court holding that the Constitution gives the power of the purse to the legislature alone might stop presidents from treating the federal budget like a slush fund. Canceling student loan debt overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the poor and working class. More than half (56%) of student loan debt is held by households whose borrowers earned graduate degrees. Canceling these loans will make college more expensive, as schools hike tuition because future loan cancellations are factored into students’ financial decisions. Biden’s irresponsible policy will exacerbate costs without improving the value of degrees. American workers, who make this country great, largely reject these radical bailouts that reward woke universities, and they will make their voices heard. Heritage Expert: Jack Fitzhenry <[link removed]>, GianCarlo Canaparo <[link removed]>, Adam
Kissel <[link removed]>
Earmark Spending: Bad Fruit from Rotten Trees <[link removed]> - The return of earmarks to appropriations legislation, following a decade-long absence, is part of a troubling trend of fiscal irresponsibility in
Washington. Earmarks are used almost exclusively on local projects that have no connection to true federal responsibilities. An increase in transparency does not meaningfully change the inherently corrupt nature of earmarks. Congress should reinstate the earmark ban and reduce or eliminate spending on the programs and bureaus that are subject to the most earmarking. Heritage Expert: David Ditch <[link removed]>
Why the U.S. Should Oppose the New Draft WHO Pandemic Treaty <[link removed]> - The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) “zero draft” of a new agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, called WHO CA+, is significantly flawed. Even though the WHO failed miserably in preventing the spread of COVID-19, the WHO CA+ draft would dramatically expand WHO authority to declare a pandemic and, thereby, trigger provisions in the treaty that would re-allocate resources and encourage governments to waive intellectual property rights. If the U.S. joined the treaty, it would be required to increase its domestic funding by “allocating in its annual budgets not lower than 5% of its current health expenditure to pandemic prevention,” resulting in the annual expenditure of tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars on treaty compliance. Heritage Expert: Brett D. Schaefer <[link removed]> and Steven Groves <[link removed]>
Bad Research Mars Legal Briefs at Supreme Court, as 2 Racial Admissions Cases Show <[link removed]>- In the two cases challenging the race-based admissions practices of Harvard College and the University of North Carolina,
more than a dozen briefs cite “The Shape of the River,” a 1998 book by William Bowen and Derek Bok, to support such race-based admissions. That research, however, largely has been discredited. The authors of the briefs citing it either haven’t done their research or think they can pull a fast one on the Supreme Court as the justices consider the two cases, Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. Heritage Expert: GianCarlo Canaparo <[link removed]>
Biden’s Misleading New Asylum Rule Is a Gimmick Atop a Shell Game <[link removed]> - The Left is wrong to complain about the rule, and the Right is wrong to praise it. President Joe Biden may be happy with those reactions as he prepares to announce his reelection campaign, but for everyone else, some explanation is sorely needed about the compounded mess his administration is creating. For two years, the Biden administration has denied <[link removed]> there was a border crisis <[link removed]> despite monthly record numbers of illegal alien crossings at our southern border. However, when the December numbers hit yet another new high of nearly 252,000 encounters <[link removed]> just between the ports of entry on the southern border, the administration tried a new tactic. Heritage Expert: Lora Ries <[link removed]>
On the debt limit fight, it’s time to end business as usual <[link removed]> - President Joe Biden has called for an increase in the debt ceiling. But Biden does not simply want a higher debt limit. He wants it to be “suspended,” unaccompanied by reforms. Congress should reject Biden’s bid and instead use the debt limit to strengthen the economy. Heritage Expert: Paul Winfree <[link removed]>
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