Republicans, it is time to deliver results
[Ryan Walker is executive vice president of Heritage Action for America, the grassroots advocacy arm of The Heritage Foundation.]
With President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration , Republicans in Congress have a golden opportunity to pass a slate of policies that would improve the lives of everyday Americans. As always, however, Washington is hung up on the details instead of the outcomes, with members currently arguing whether to deliver on the president-elect’s policy mandate with one bill or two bills.
The truth is that after four years of Democratic incompetence, Americans don’t care what legislative form or bill relief comes in. They simply need it delivered quickly and in full. To that end, lawmakers on Capitol Hill should start focusing all their energy on getting results as fast as possible in these three policy areas: securing the border, unleashing American businesses, and supporting growing families.
First, we have to secure the border. Since President Joe Biden took office, the Border Patrol has encountered nearly 11 million inadmissible immigrants, seized almost 10,000 pounds of fentanyl, arrested more than 55,000 immigrants with criminal convictions or outstanding warrants, and apprehended 385 illegal immigrants on the terrorist watch list between ports of entry. And that only accounts for the illegal immigrants that we know about. In other words, our system has been overwhelmed, and countless Americans have suffered as a result, including many who have lost their lives, such as Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, and Jocelyn Nungaray.
Congress can stop the bleeding this year by enacting a bill that would secure the border, finish the wall, require employers to verify that their workers have proper documentation, and put asylum claims under greater scrutiny. The 118th Congress’ work on H.R. 2 would be a great place to start, but the 119th Congress should go further and also enact strict interior immigration enforcement that would forcibly prevent sanctuary jurisdictions from shielding illegal immigrants.
Moreover, to empower Americans and undermine Democrats’ efforts to achieve a permanent electoral majority by importing millions of illegal immigrants, Republicans in Congress should pass legislation that would require voters to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote. They should also pass a bill that places a citizenship question on the decennial census and ensure that the apportionment of the House is based solely on the citizen population.
Congress should then turn its attention to helping American businesses boom again and lowering costs for all Americans. The best place to start is the United States’ powerful energy sector. To unleash America’s energy industry, Congress should act quickly to cut these regulations and pass reforms to the permitting and environmental review process so it is easier for companies to build oil drills, power plants, mines, ports, highways, and other invaluable economic infrastructure. Likewise, members should look to roll back IRA tax credits for climate-related schemes, such as subsidies for ineffective wind and solar projects or ridiculous rebates for Americans to remove their gas stoves and replace them with ineffi cient induction stoves. Those savings could then be used to cut the deficit, pay for pro-growth tax reform, or fund important priorities such as border enforcement.