Honoring the Heritage Foundation on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Honoring the Heritage Foundation on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Whereas, in 1972, the Heritage Foundation was conceived by Dr. Edwin J. Feulner and Paul Weyrich to deliver timely and persuasive research to Congress with facts, data, and sound arguments on behalf of conservative principles;

Whereas, on February 16, 1973, the Heritage Foundation opened its doors with the support of the Coors, Noble, and Scaife families and grew to become the most influential and most broadly supported conservative think tank in the United States;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation has played a critical role in many great legislative successes in the United States over the past 5 decades;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation published the 1,093-page “Mandate for Leadership” in 1981, which served as a “policy bible” for President Ronald Reagan, including the 1981 tax cuts that ignited the biggest economic boom in United States history;

Whereas, in 1982, the Heritage Foundation published the first comprehensive study outlining a missile defense system to defend the United States from nuclear missile attack, and 6 months later, President Ronald Reagan made his historic speech calling for a strategic defense initiative to protect the United States;

Whereas, in 1988, the Heritage Foundation authored its first candidate briefing book, which has become an essential tool to help frame policy debates;

Whereas, in 1995, the Heritage Foundation hosted its first “New Member Conference” to educate freshmen members of Congress, a program that takes place every 2 years before the new Congress takes office;

Whereas research by the Heritage Foundation formed the basis of welfare reform in the 1990s that would result in more than 5,000,000 people in the United States leaving welfare and finding work, and reducing African-American child poverty to historic lows;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation created the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, headed by former Attorney General Ed Meese, to create greater appreciation for the role of the Constitution of the United States, and, in 2005, published “The Heritage Guide to the Constitution”, which was the first examination of each and every line of the Constitution of the United States since the definitive study of Joseph Story in the mid-19th century;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation has promoted an originalist judicial philosophy, and trained and supported lawyers and judges with an originalist approach to the Constitution of the United States;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation established the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy to provide expert research and analysis of issues dealing with foreign policy, international relations, global economics, and national security;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation has published such influential indexes as—

(1) the Index of United States Military Strength;

(2) the Index of Economic Freedom;

(3) the Election Integrity Scorecard; and

(4) the Education Freedom Report Card;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation has consistently fought to defend the dignity of every human life, for marriage, the family (the foundation of society), and religious liberty;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation works tirelessly to grow and serve the conservative movement through programs like the Young Leaders Program and the Resource Bank, created in 1977 to forge a national network of conservative policy groups and experts and, most recently, the Innovation Prize;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation supports conservative organizations across the country and works to set the agenda and advance conservative policies through its 2025 Presidential Transition Project;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation launched its own news site, the Daily Signal, and has constantly expanded its reach on social media to convey conservative views to the widest possible audience;

Whereas the Heritage Foundation launched its sister organization, Heritage Action for America, to turn the conservative policy proposals of the Heritage Foundation into reality on Capitol Hill and build a grassroots community of over 20,000 sentinels and 2,000,000 activists that hold elected representatives accountable to the founding principles of the United States;

Whereas the Board of Trustees of the Heritage Foundation has provided sound guidance since the establishment of the Heritage Foundation and strengthened strategic planning within the organization;

Whereas Barb Van Andel-Gaby, the chairman of the Board, has continued the legacy of service in her family with grace and distinction and has been a trusted advisor to the leadership of the Heritage Foundation; and

Whereas for 50 years, the Heritage Foundation has worked tirelessly to build a United States where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish, knowing the people of the United States are best served by a government that understands, honors, and respects virtuous self-governance: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,