The Checklist

Changing America’s Course

The Heritage Foundation welcomes the choice made by our country’s conservative majority. The voters decided to
send to Congress men and women pledged to act upon the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual
freedom, traditional The Issue:
American values and a strong national defense. Heritage has • compiled
An Increasingly Dangerous
this checklist World.
of five Transnationa
overrid-
ing actions, representing the bare minimum required for Washington to fulfill its electoral mandate, meet its consti- intern
rampant anti-Americanism, unaccountable
The United States is the world’s strongest, most prosperous, tions, nuclear proliferation, and regional conflict 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 fol- our 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
stifled by a highly regulated economy, nationalized industries, mass destruction against the United States creat
and government-run health care, ruled more by bureaucrats HOUSEcompelling interest
SENATE in America’s actively defendin
PRESIDENT
FREEZE AND CUT SPENDING: Congress must immediately freeze
and judges than by the consent of the governed and with a pelling interest in America’s 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 fiscal year
organizations 2012. This
and erodes is onlysovereignty.
American a first step.The In the
American
past four years, Congress has approved more spending than even
people now face the choice of either continuing the policies of the The SoluTionS:
bureaucrats can handle. Congress
progressive must immediately
liberalism or changing survey
course to unobligated
a new direction that
• Reset America’s Compass. Despite constant cri
balances of all appropriations
is guided made in theand
by principle past four years
oriented towardandrenewing
should America’s
scorn by academic elites, politicians, and the pop
reclaim these unspent taxpayer
greatest fundsand
purpose andpromise.
use them to reduce the deficit.
most Americans still believe in the uniqueness of
and respect the principles that define its meaning
REPEAL OBAMACARE: The Congress
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
repealing Obamacare, • it
We Holdwithhold
must These Truths. America
funding, block is keyunique in its dedication
provisions and to
ance and direction for our times.
the principles
override regulations carrying of liberty and
out Obamacare. Only constitutional
after Obamacaregovernment.
is The
United States stands for the proposition—proclaimed in the • Take Back Our Fiscal Future. The first step towa
rejected, can Congress undertake a careful, thoughtful legislative process to
Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Constitu- budget responsibility is to reform the budget dec
make practical adjustments that allow the free market to provide affordable,
tion—that all are created equal and endowed by their Creator so that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—
effective health care insurance choices.rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi-
with unalienable drivers of escalating deficits—are no longer on au
ness. Government exists to secure these rights, and its legiti- order to ensure a fiscally sustainable future and b
STOP THE OBAMA TAXmate HIKES: Congress
powers must from
are derived rejectthe theconsent
Obamaoftax thehikes,
governed. ardship for younger generations, entitlements mu
and make permanent the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, thereby helping the formed away from subsidized benefits to everyon
economy grow and create• Liberalism’s
more jobs. Rejection of America’s Principles. Over the course
less of need toward real insurance whereby the g
of the 20th century, modern liberalism repudiated America’s core
spreads risk and protects people against unexpec
principles, holding that there are no self-evident truths but only
PROTECT AMERICA: Congress must pass a budget resolution that won’t put devastating occurrences.
relative values, no permanent rights but only changing rights held
our troops at risk or leave Americans
at the indulgence vulnerable. It can The
of government. do this by providing
Constitution is a “living” • Restore the Institutions of Civil Society. Liberty
for defense an average document
of $720 billion per year (to be adjusted
that endlessly evolves and grows for inflation)
with the times, government rest on the strength of institutions tha
for each of the next fiveandfiscal
it isyears,
the new in addition
purposeto ofthe funding needed
government to engineer for a bet- our constitutional order. Rather than expanding go
ongoing contingency operations.
ter society,Congress mustoutcomes
assuring equal make theand defense budgetwealth
redistributing as intervention in family life and curtailing religious in
efficient as possible andthrough
reinvest dollarsand
a distant achieved fromwelfare
patronizing reformsstate
in thethatmilitary
regulates public square, we must advance policy changes th
to offset the cost of modernizing
more and more and developing
of America’s next-generation
economy, politics, equipment.
and society. marriage and the family and recognize a robust un
of religion in society.
• Unlimited Government. As a result, the federal govern-
GET 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 accountabilitywrapped in ancomplete
by posting legislation,
intricate web ending
of its policies andearmarks,
procedures. out a decided reversal of administrative centralizat
reviewing all unauthorizedWhile programs
Congressand respecting
passes massive constitutional limits with
pieces of legislation United States, and that means a significant decen
on government. Congress littlemust
serious check executive
deliberation, thebranch overreach
majority of “laws” withare promul- power and vast areas of policymaking from the fede
aggressive oversight, rollgatedbackin recent
the guisegovernment interventions,
of “regulations” stop
by administrators who are ment to states, local communities, neighborhoods,
unnecessary administrativemostlyregulations
unaccountable and sunset new ones,
and invisible to the restrict
public. The United and citizens. Education, health care, transportation,
bureaucrats’ rulemaking States government
authority now controls
and override expansive formerly private
executive banks, a
orders. enforcement, and homeland security—all issues th
major insurance firm, and significant 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