- Jan 14

Swamp News: Where's The Money?

The anger Americans rightfully have regarding rampant spending and open borders has only intensified during the Biden years.

The frustration is made worse because these are not complex problems to solve. A first step would be for Congress to simply NOT increase spending — but they can’t even manage that.

And at the border, the solution is to buy border crossers plane tickets to their home country, not the city of their choice in America. The law to make these changes has been passed in the House — it’s H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. The solution is there, but the Senate won’t vote on it.

Such easy solutions, and so little progress in Washington. This is why Americans are angry about how the spending debate has unfolded in Washington over the past six months.

Where's the Money

On January 19th, several federal departments and agencies will run out of funding if 4 of the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government (Agriculture-FDA, Energy and Water, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD) are not passed. The remaining federal agencies will also run out of money on February 2nd if the other 8 appropriations bills (Commerce-Justice-Science, Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, State and Foreign Operations) are also not passed.

And ideally Congress would work to debate and pass these bills separately, in a transparent and open manner, through committees, with opportunity for members to weigh in. That’s a good process, with the hope of pushing some good policies to the President’s desk. But this hasn’t happened, even though there has been more than enough time.Instead, Washington is gearing up to do what it always does—follow a broken process and lump all of government funding into one bill, either a CR or an Omnibus. The deal will be written behind closed doors. Transparency will be minimal. Conservatives will be asked to “compromise” on the policy, which will really mean “give in on everything, and get nothing in return.”Last weekend a spending deal was announced which has a topline spending of $1.659 trillion and fails to make the necessary spending cuts to repair the financial shipwreck we find ourselves in.

Spending-induced inflation has left millions of Americans struggling to afford basics like groceries and gas. Heritage Action will continue to work with you to encourage Congress to kick its spending addiction.And this spending deal funds the Department of Homeland Security without making the changes needed to secure our border. DHS Secretary Mayorkas will continue to use YOUR taxpayer dollars to process more illegal immigrants across the border and into your community.

The Time is Now: Impeach Mayorkas

DHS Secretary Mayorkas has has twisted the law to turn border patrol into a resettlement program:

Over 300,000 illegal immigrants in December
Over 2.5 million illegal immigrants in 2023
Over 8 million illegal immigrants since Biden took office.

While we fight for a better spending bill to close the border, Congress can also take action to remove Biden’s chief architect of the border crisis. The stark contrast between his sworn duties and his actual actions is plain for all to see. It’s worse than a dereliction of duty; it’s a purposeful corruption of our laws and the mission of Border Patrol. >>>Get the facts HERE<<<

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Homeland Security held its first hearing as part of House Republicans’ efforts to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.

Congress needs to know that the American people won’t stand for Washington’s attack on the heartland. And it is an attack—over 110,000 Americans have died from fentanyl deaths in the last 12 months. For perspective, 58,220 Americans died in the Vietnam War, a war which lasted over 10 years.

>>>Call Congress to Impeach Secretary Mayorkas<<<

As Congress continues to fight over spending and border security, it must recognize that the two are not separate issues. Both of them stifle opportunity and make it harder for Americans to live their lives. Both are the consequence of a lack of political will. And both have easy solutions, if Congress and the President will just act.

State legislatures are gearing up

Heritage Action is just as concerned with winning in the states as we are with finding solutions in Washington, D.C.Here are some of the state policy fights our grassroots activists are engaging on:OhioIn December, the Ohio General Assembly passed HB 68, a bill that would protect children from experimental surgeries on minors, cross-sex hormone therapy, and ensure fairness in Women’s sports. But Ohio Governor Mike DeWine vetoed this common sense and popular bill.This week, the Ohio House of Representatives fired back and overrode Gov. DeWine’s veto. We now urge the Senate to follow their House colleagues and override Gov. DeWine’s outrageous veto and enact this legislation to protect the children of the Buckeye State.

GeorgiaLast year, thousands of Heritage Sentinels engaged their state lawmakers to pass12 education freedom laws across 11 states. The Heritage Foundation's Education Freedom Report Card tracks the progress that has been made and what more can be done in your state to allow parents to make the best choices regarding their child’s education. This will be an important policy issue to follow as state legislative sessions continue.Already in Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp called for the Georgia legislature to make education freedom a priority. Heritage Action is committed to legislation that will provide Georgia’s students and their families with the best options that suit their needs.