The Checklist

Changing Americas Course

THE SOLUTIONS:

THE HERItAGE FOUNDAtION welcomes the choice made by our countrys conservative majority. The voters decided to send to Congress men and women pledged to act upon the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual compiled An Increasingly Dangerous World. Transnationa freedom, traditional THE American values and a strong national defense. Heritage has this checklist of ve overridISSUE: rampant anti-Americanism, unaccountable ing actions, representing the BARE MINIMUM REQUIRED for Washington to fulll its electoral mandate, meet its consti- intern The United States is the worlds strongest, most prosperous, tions, nuclear proliferation, and regional conict a tutional responsibilities and get America started on the right track. We must now hold our representatives, senators and most just, and freest nation. Yet the path we have been folour security, our liberties, and our prosperity. The President accountable and tell them: GET TO WORK! lowing is turning America into a very different place: a country rogue nations and hostile non-state actors to use

stied by a highly regulated economy, nationalized industries, mass destruction against the United States creat and government-run health care, ruled more by bureaucrats HOUSE SENATE PRESIDENT compelling interest in Americas actively defendin FREEZE AND CUT SPENDING: Congress must immediately freeze and judges than by the consent of the governed and with a pelling interest in Americas actively defending its discretionary budget authority at 2010 levels; and cut at least $170 billion foreign policy that pays far too much deference to international from the federal budget for scal year 2012. This is only a rst step. In the organizations and erodes American sovereignty. The American past four years, Congress has approved more spending than even the people now face the choice of either continuing the policies of bureaucrats can handle. Congress must immediately unobligated progressive liberalism or changing survey course to a new direction that Reset Americas Compass. Despite constant cri balances of all appropriations in theand past four years andrenewing should Americas is guided made by principle oriented toward scorn by academic elites, politicians, and the pop reclaim these unspent taxpayer fundsand and use them to reduce the decit. greatest purpose promise. most Americans still believe in the uniqueness of and respect the principles that dene its meaning REPEAL OBAMACARE: Congress THE FACTS:must immediately pass a bill that repeals look to the principles and practices of the Americ Obamacare. Until Congress is able to get the President to sign a law not as a matter of historical curiosity, but as a sou it We Hold These Truths. America unique in its dedication to repealing Obamacare, must withhold funding, block is key provisions and ance and direction for our times. the principles of liberty and constitutional government. The override regulations carrying out Obamacare. Only after Obamacare is United States stands for the propositionproclaimed in the Take Back Our Fiscal Future. The rst step towa rejected, can Congress undertake a careful, thoughtful legislative process to Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Constitubudget responsibility is to reform the budget dec make practical adjustments that allow the free market to provide affordable, tionthat all are created equal and endowed by their Creator so that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid effective health care insurance choices. with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happidrivers of escalating decitsare no longer on au ness. Government exists to secure these rights, and its legitiorder to ensure a scally sustainable future and b STOP THE OBAMA TAX HIKES: Congress must from reject the Obama tax hikes, mate powers are derived the consent of the governed. ardship for younger generations, entitlements mu and make permanent the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, thereby helping the formed away from subsidized benets to everyon Liberalisms Rejection of Americas Principles. Over the course economy grow and create more jobs. less of need toward real insurance whereby the g of the 20th century, modern liberalism repudiated Americas core spreads risk and protects people against unexpec principles, holding that there are no self-evident truths but only devastating occurrences. PROTECT AMERICA: Congress must pass a budget resolution that wont put relative values, no permanent rights but only changing rights held our troops at risk or leave Americans vulnerable. It can The do this by providing at the indulgence of government. Constitution is a living Restore the Institutions of Civil Society. Liberty for defense an average document of $720 billion per year (to be adjusted for ination) that endlessly evolves and grows with the times, government rest on the strength of institutions tha for each of the next ve scal years, in addition funding needed for a betand it is the new purposeto ofthe government to engineer our constitutional order. Rather than expanding go ongoing contingency operations. must make the defense budgetwealth as ter society,Congress assuring equal outcomes and redistributing intervention in family life and curtailing religious in efcient as possible and reinvest dollarsand achieved fromwelfare reforms in the military through a distant patronizing state that regulates public square, we must advance policy changes th more and more of Americas economy, politics, and society. marriage and the family and recognize a robust un to offset the cost of modernizing and developing next-generation equipment. of religion in society. Unlimited Government. As a result, the federal governGET CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT: Congress must immediately reestablish ment now dominates virtually every area of life, and we are Look to the States. Self-government cannot be re legislative accountability by posting legislation, ending earmarks, wrapped in ancomplete intricate web of its policies and procedures. out a decided reversal of administrative centralizat reviewing all unauthorized programs and respecting constitutional limits with While Congress passes massive pieces of legislation United States, and that means a signicant decen on government. Congress check executive branch overreach with littlemust serious deliberation, the majority of laws are promulpower and vast areas of policymaking from the fede aggressive oversight, roll back government interventions, stop gated in recent the guise of regulations by administrators who are ment to states, local communities, neighborhoods, mostly unaccountable and invisible to the restrict public. The United unnecessary administrative regulations and sunset new ones, and citizens. Education, health care, transportation, States government now controls formerly private banks, a enforcement, and homeland securityall issues th bureaucrats rulemaking authority and override expansive executive orders. major insurance rm, and signicant lenders of home loans, decades have become federal concerns but are be and has stock ownership in leading automobile companies, with at the state and local levels of government assuring equal outcomes and redistributing wealth through. this kind of reform.

heritage.org/solutions