Even in Hershey, there’s no sugar-coating the tough job ahead for the GOP majority. But that isn’t deterring Republicans, who trekked to Pennsylvania’s chocolate capital to map out the next few months. For the House and Senate GOP, the retreat couldn’t have come at a better time, as the two chambers try to hammer out a strategy on big-ticket issues like immigration.

The break from D.C. may be exactly what the doctor ordered for House Republicans, who were still stinging over the rift in the Speaker’s election. Fortunately, some of those wounds may be starting to heal, thanks to John Boehner’s gutsy move to the right on the President’s amnesty order. Making good on a promise he made before Christmas, the new Speaker didn’t budge on his commitment to conservatives to take a hard line against the White House’s lawlessness.

Before the drive north, 236 members showed him how appreciative they were by voting for the conservatives’ $40 billion Homeland Security bill. Although the measure does fund the agency, it strips out the President’s safe harbors for lawbreakers who entered the country illegally. While the country may have boundaries, President Obama apparently does not, as Boehner rattled off 22 instances of this White House’s trespasses on immigration.

“We do not take this action lightly, but simply there is no alternative,” the Speaker told members in a rare floor speech. “It’s not a dispute between the parties or even between the branches of our government. This executive overreach is an affront to the rule of law and to the Constitution itself.” Under this White House, the administration has all but stopped deportations, which I suppose shouldn’t be a surprise for a man who also has no regard for laws he does not like.

While a handful of Republicans argued that the House should moderate its approach to gain the Senate’s support, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) said conservatives should never legislate out of fear of what the President or Senate will or won’t do. “Does a veto threat mean that we don’t pass anything?” he challenged. “We have to do our work and the Senate has to do their work. The President will do what he does, but we have this process.” In an encouraging sign of this young House, Republicans – including leadership – did what was right, not what was easy.

As for the future, at least one Senator is willing to do the heavy-lifting that the House’s bill will take. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) thanked his House colleagues for “fulfilling our promise to the American people that we will put a stop to President Obama’s unconstitutional actions.” While the Senate huddles over its next move, we applaud the House GOP for having the political stomach to do what voters wanted all along: unite to combat the President’s imperialism.

The Christian Inquisition

Well, that didn’t take long! Less than two weeks after we warned families to be on alert about new regulations for homeschooling, a Virginia district made prophets out of us. In a serious swipe at parents’ rights, the Goochland School Board tried to slip a new rule past homeschoolers that would have given the district the right to question homeschoolers about their religious beliefs. Starting at 14, students would be hauled before the Board and interrogated about the sincerity of their faith and whether they really want to be homeschooled.

Goochland insisted it was doing this – not to interrogate kids – but to “update procedures” on the religious exemptions for homeschoolers. But “updating procedures” shouldn’t require a religious cross-examination. “The School Board reserves the right to schedule a meeting with the parent(s) and, in the case of a student age 14 or older, with the student… The purpose of the meeting is for the School Board to determine whether the request for exemption is based upon a conscientious opposition to attendance at a public school or at a private, denominational, or parochial school due to bona fide religious training or beliefs. Such meeting will be conducted in a closed meeting of the School Board.”

Fox News’s Todd Starnes, who broke the story about the District’s subversive tactics, said at least one family took Goochland to task. Parents of seven children, the Pruietts saw right through the charade. “When I spoke with the school superintendent about this issue, he stated that part of the rationale in changing the policy was to allow the board to ascertain if a home-schooled child really wants to be home schooled so that they, ‘can be given the opportunity to go to public school.’”

And the Pruietts weren’t alone. On Tuesday, people packed into the Goochland School Board meeting to speak out against the idea – bolstered by national groups like the Home School Legal Defense Association. To their credit, the Board members listened and ultimately relented, voting to drop the policy altogether. Unfortunately, this is just a sign of things to come for homeschooling families across the country, as the numbers continue to grow and threaten the government’s grip on children.

In Virginia, at least, State Senator Richard Black tweeted that he plans to keep this from ever happening again. “I have introduced legislation to stop this sort of intimidation of Virginia’s homeschooled students.” Let’s hope other legislators follow his lead and put an end to this notion that the government knows better than parents.

Religious Intolerance: Coming Soon to a Screen near You!

Is religious liberty a generation away from extinction? Senator Rick Santorum thinks so, and his new project hopes to persuade more Americans to stand up and fight for it. Like us, the former presidential candidate has heard the personal stories of men and women of faith stripped of their businesses, their livelihoods, and their reputations for the most foundational liberty our nation was founded on. “If we don’t nip it here, then things get a lot worse,” Senator Santorum said. “It starts with a gradual erosion, you don’t usually go from 0 to 60 in a few days when it comes to religious persecution. It’s something that grows over time.”

That’s where the movie One Generation Away comes in. From Hobby Lobby to the Mt. Soledad Cross in San Diego to wedding service providers in the Northwest, One Generation Away asks hard questions about the status of religious liberty in America today. On Wednesday, February 4 from 7-9:00 p.m. (ET), I’ll be joining Rick and special guests to broadcast the film in churches. We’d love for your congregation to take part in this special event and help raise awareness that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” For more information or to register, click over to our website.

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