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EXCLUSIVE: Conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation is releasing a new list of priorities in order to spread conservative ideals across the country ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Heritage previewed its new “Fighting for America’s Future” agenda with Fox News Digital. The think tank hopes it will not only resonate with voters as the 2022 elections draw nearer, but also be the go-to roadmap for the Republican Party moving forward.
The agenda includes seven main points: education, including school choice and parental rights; Big Tech accountability; holding Communist China accountable as a threat to democracy; fiscal restraint; surging issues at the border, including immigration and rising crime; election integrity; and pro-life issues.
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Fox News Digital spoke exclusively with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts and Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson on a phone call on Wednesday ahead of their seven-point policy plan announcement.
Roberts said the plan was designed to ensure that “for the rest of the 2020s there is a governing agenda that focused on conservative principles and policies.” And this includes being “profoundly involved” at the state level.
Dr. Kevin Roberts serves as the seventh president in Heritage’s 48-year history.
(Heritage Foundation)
“When we put together these certain issues [we asked] ‘What does a true, conservative generational shift look like from a public policy standpoint?'” Anderson said. “To do that well, we had to tackle issues that maybe hasn’t been above the fray.”
Heritage, a 501c(3) organization, is kicking off its policy focus on the subject of education, which Roberts called “the issue of our age.” It will include an aggressive push for American patriotism in public schools.
“Our kids will say the Pledge of Allegiance, salute the flag, learn that America is a great country, and choose the school that best fits them,” Roberts said.
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Anderson told Fox News Digital that the organization’s target priorities list has been shared on Capitol Hill, mainly through policy task forces run by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
The organization identified its top seven issues, and then conducted polling throughout states.
“The American people crave a plan,” said Anderson, adding that Heritage’s roadmap will put America’s “best foot forward.”
Sen. Rick Scott speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 26, 2022, in Orlando, Florida.
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
Roberts also said the issue of fiscal restraint has somewhat “fallen out of fashion” in Washington, D.C., Republican circles, but he aims to make it a top priority again through Heritage’s plan.
His comments come after National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced his own 11-point “Rescue America” plan in recent weeks, and received criticism from members of his own party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for not properly reflecting conservative values.
Referring to Scott and McConnell, the Heritage president said, “We’ll let them have that political squabble,” but noted it is a long-held Republican principle for the nation to live within its means and have a “fair and broad taxation system that reflects that.”
“All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount,” the plan from Scott states. “Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax.”
“Now let me tell you what will not be part of our agenda,” McConnell retorted after the release of Scott’s plan. “We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people, and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years. That will not be part of a Republican Senate majority agenda.”
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Scott will also be discussing his 11-point plan during a joint media event with Heritage Thursday afternoon.
Former Vice President Mike Pence’s advocacy organization also released a “Freedom Agenda” Thursday for conservatives that focuses on promoting a positive and traditional view of America, and pushing back against progressive policies backed by the Biden administration.
