Heritage Explains

It's been 20 years since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. It's hard to describe in a short blurb what that day has meant for Americans, and all that has changed because of it. So this week, we wanted to take a special look at and acknowledge the calamity, chaos, and confusion, but also look at the tremendous heroism of first responders, men and woman in uniform, and the incredible charity displayed by everyday Americans. We also talk with Steve Bucci. He was the military assistant to Sec. Donald Rumsfeld on September 11, and recounts being in the Pentagon when the plane hit including the great story of Sec. Rumsfeld pulling wounded people out of the Pentagon. He saw (first hand) the best of Americans in the face of such incredibly dark circumstances. Given the incredibly challenging circumstances we are currently facing in Afghanistan, Bucci also calls on policymakers to be bold in addressing the threats we face today.

This week, Luke Coffey, an Afghanistan war veteran and director of Heritage’s Alison Center for Foreign Policy, answers questions about what’s happening in Afghanistan and what could come next

Michelle and I have been looking back on the great success of the bi partisan welfare reform act of 1996. In Part 1, Robert Rector told us that in order to serve the 1 in 7 American children who were dependent on government aid, we needed to do two things: first: require work in exchange for welfare, and second: strengthen families.In part 2, we heard that as a result of achieving these, welfare caseloads (which had not dropped significantly in 50 years) promptly fell by 60%, the child poverty rate suddenly dropped by a third (after being static for a quarter century), and the poverty rate for single-parent families has dropped by two-thirds since reform. But the Biden Administration and liberals in Congress are trying to upend these incredible successes, by giving welfare to people under the name of "tax credits", and requiring virtually nothing to get it. On this episode, Former Senator Rick Santorum joins us to talk about his role in passing welfare reform in 1996, and what we must do to pushback against The Left's attempt to rob people of the dignity of work. Show Notes:Podcast: Welfare Reform: How We Got Here (Part 1)Podcast: Welfare Reform: Where We Stand (Part 2)Reversing Welfare Reform and Returning to "Welfare As We Knew It"Bait and Switch: Biden Child-Allowance “Tax Relief” Overturns Welfare ReformThe Biden Child Allowance: Examining the Impact of Welfare on Work

This week, we break down the Biden administration’s plans to expand welfare. Jason Turner, executive director at Secretaries’ Innovation Group, joins us for the second part of our series on welfare 25 years after the 1996 bipartisan reform.

It's been 25 years since President Clinton signed into law sweeping welfare reform. But while this massive bi-partisan victory did a lot to strengthen families and sanction the dignity of work from the highest levels of government, a victory 25 years ago doesn't not necessarily mean victory for the next 25 years. Today, President Biden and liberals in Congress are now looking to completely end these successful reforms, and replace them with policies that have been proven not to work. On this episode, we look at the lead up to welfare reform, the politics, the posturing, and of course the success. In addition, we look at the current situation here in DC and why it's crucial to pushback against the left's attempts to upend welfare reform.Show Notes:Reversing Welfare Reform and Returning to “Welfare As We Knew It”Bait and Switch: Biden Child-Allowance “Tax Relief” Overturns Welfare ReformCongress Should Reject Efforts to Restore “Welfare as We Knew It” by Expanding Child CreditsThe Biden Child Allowance: Examining the Impact of Welfare on Work

This week,research fellow RachelGreszlerexplains how the declining birthrate affects the U.S. economy.