When Congress gets back to work today, their schedule is more stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey. After six weeks on the campaign trail, the House and Senate left plenty to do in the holiday frenzy — including keeping the government funded past December 9, when the latest spending resolution runs out. For a jubilant GOP, the strategy for passing a new spending bill has almost certainly changed since last Tuesday. With President-elect Donald Trump set to usher in the first GOP Congress under a new administration since 1928, Republican leaders have the opportunity to start tackling a big portion of their wish list now. After six years of trying, that means finally dealing a knock-out punch to Obamacare and replacing it with something more affordable and effective. After more than 50 votes to repeal the health care failure, conservatives (and plenty of Democrats who sided with them) have the chance to scrap a law that’s stripped Americans of their jobs, options, policies, doctors, freedom, and hard-earned money.

And not a moment too soon. With enrollment barely scratching the surface of solvency and major insurance companies looking for the escape hatch, the country literally can’t afford another year of the president’s namesake. To the delight of pro-lifers, Obamacare isn’t the only thing on the chopping block. The president-elect also has a chance to follow through with his promise to defund Planned Parenthood — something Congress managed to do last year, only to watch Obama veto the bill and continue taxpayers’ forced partnership with the abortion business. On “Fox News Sunday,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) hinted that the GOP might dust off that strategy in the next few months and give the budget reconciliation another try. “Look, we put a lot of thought into this, and we’ve worked hard to repeal it in the past. We know there’s also reconciliation, as you know, Chris, that’s maybe a little inside Washington, allows with 51 votes to be able to do something in the Senate. In the House we could move forward.”

Although it’s sporadically used, reconciliation allows the majority party to fast-track a funding bill through Congress — clearing the path of Senate filibusters and the 60-vote threshold usually required by the upper chamber. Last time, the House and Senate used the approach to topple the president’s twin mistakes: Obamacare and Planned Parenthood funding. And although reconciliation can’t be used to repeal all of Obamacare or completely sever ties with Cecile Richards’s group, it’ll go a long way to accomplishing both. In a letter to congressional leadership, FRC calls on the House and Senate to make this a priority under the new administration.

“With a pro-life president and pro-life majorities in the House and Senate in 2017, Congress should again pass these provisions in a new budget reconciliation bill and send it to President-elect Donald Trump for signature in law… The pro-life community stands united in its desire to see legislation signed into law to stop funding for abortion providers and to remove Obamacare provisions which subsidize plans with elective abortion coverage… [Instead, we should reallocate] their funding to community health centers that provide comprehensive health care for women.”

In the meantime, your job didn’t end when the election did! Encourage your leaders to seize the day for life. Contact your members and ask them to get taxpayers out of the abortion business — in health care and beyond!

Originally published here.

GrubSnub: CEO Can’t Stomach Trump Voters

Grubhub offers take out, but not before telling conservative employees to get out! The food delivery service ordered something to go alright — workplace freedom. In the wake of last Tuesday’s stunning results, 40-year-old Matt Maloney managed to catapult his company to the top of the trending storylines, and not for a good reason. The young entrepreneur had penned an angry letter to employees urging Trump supporters to show themselves out of the company. In an email to staff that was leaked to the press, Maloney fumed:

“I absolutely reject the nationalist, anti-immigrant, and hateful politics of Donald Trump and will work to shield our community from this movement as best as I can… I want to be clear that this behavior — and these views — have no place at Grubhub. Had he worked here, many of his comments would have resulted in his immediate termination… If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation, because you have no place here. We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.”

If Maloney had bothered to look at the electoral map, he might have guessed at the outrage his comments would spark. In many ways, his email only managed to reaffirm the frustration that led to Trump’s stunning win. On Twitter, voters on both sides slammed the young CEO. “One day, these arrogant [liberals] will realize we deplorables are done being silent. @Grubhub we’re done with you. #BoycottGrubhub.” Others could only shake their heads at the ignorance of such a stance. “Congrats, Grubhub. You just alienated half of your customers!” The backlash was so intense that the company’s stock dropped five percent overnight. As of this morning, shares were down nine points — hardly the news executives were hoping for after October’s bleak financial report. “The stock is down by one-fifth since its earnings report late last month on concerns of slowing growth,” The Wall Street Journal warned. “Perhaps Mr. Maloney was trying to get his customers so angry that they worked up an appetite.”

Desperate to end the PR nightmare, Maloney insisted on Friday that his comments were “misconstrued” (how, no one knows). “I want to clarify,” he told reporters, “that I did not ask for anyone to resign if they voted for Trump. I would never make such a demand. Grubhub welcomes and accepts employees with all political beliefs, no matter who they voted for in this or any election. We do not discriminate on the basis of someone’s principles, or political or other beliefs.” For customers, the damage control was too little too late. “There is something truly ironic about the way some executives say they support diversity and inclusion, unless of course you happen to disagree with their narrow point of view on the topic,” Fox Business’s Steve Tobak points out. “In that case, tolerance be damned, don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

And while we’re 100 percent supportive of corporations making their own decisions and setting their own policies, we believe that consumers have choices too — like taking their business elsewhere. That’s the beauty of the free market. If CEOs want to enter the culture wars, that’s their prerogative. But they shouldn’t be surprised when the market fires back — as it has with Target, Lands’ End, J.C. Penney, and others who’ve taken socially extreme positions. A year and a half after Angie’s List decided to fight a bill protecting religious liberty, their company is also on the brink. Last month, Angie’s List laid off 150 employees — with plans for more. The CEO who decided it was a good decision to support the bullying of Christians is gone, and so is the revenue. Sales have been sliding, thanks to a nationwide boycott that kicked off in 2015. With losses of more than $16.8 million, it’s pretty clear now that the company is paying for its radical agenda.

Let this be a lesson to other CEOs — and the Americans they’re trying to bully. When places like Grubhub draw a line in the cultural sand, it’s time to take your business elsewhere. Brendan Eich did, when he was forced out of his job at Mozilla Corporation for holding views on marriage that more than half of the country still does! Now, two years after liberals chased him out of the company he built, Eich is back and stronger than ever. He’s created a revolutionary ad-free web browser that experts say is blowing away the competition. But because of Eich’s history, LifeSiteNews explains, Brave “was opposed before it was officially launched. Major media websites took legal action to stop it.”

But that didn’t slow down Brendan Eich any more than the Left’s smear campaign did. He defended the concept and won. “Brendan picked the name ‘Brave,’” a spokesman said, “because we need users who will take a stand and fight back.” Well, users/consumers are fighting back all right. And you can join them! Download the 2nd Vote app to see where the companies you do business with stand. The election may be over, but you can keep voting with your dollars!

Originally published here.

The Right Man for the Job

If personnel is policy, then Donald Trump is off to a great start with the hiring of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. Over the weekend, the president-elect announced that he’d filled one of the most important jobs in his administration: White House chief of staff. As someone who’s worked closely with him over the last five years, I can say that Reince has revitalized the GOP by returning the party to its true conservative roots. Behind the scenes, he was instrumental in helping the RNC craft the most conservative platform in its party’s history. And, as the polling now shows, it was that platform that helped sway voters to Trump’s camp.

During his tenure at the helm of the Republican Party, Reince has managed to make the GOP more effective without sacrificing the core principles that unite conservatives. In fact, it was his leadership that helped drive the near-record evangelical turnout last Tuesday. He works well with every facet of the Republican Party and we look forward to continuing that solid relationship in his new role. Our congratulations to Reince as he embarks on this new chapter. Under leadership like his and Stephen Bannon’s, his top advisor, the nation has an opportunity to make freedom mean something again.

Originally published here.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.