Federal Judge Opens Discovery Into Clinton Email Usage [+Video]

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that, in a ruling excoriating both the U.S. Departments of State and Justice, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth has ordered both agencies to join Judicial Watch in submitting a proposed schedule for discovery into whether Hillary Clinton sought to evade the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by using a private email system and whether the State Department acted in “bad faith” by failing to disclose knowledge of the email system.  The decision comes in a FOIA lawsuit related to the Benghazi terrorist attack.

Specially, Lamberth ruled:

… the Court ORDERS the parties to meet and confer to plan discovery into (a) whether Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email while Secretary of State was an intentional attempt to evade FOIA; (b) whether the State Department’s attempts to settle this case in late 2014 and early 2015 amounted to bad faith; and (c) whether State has adequately searched for records responsive to Judicial Watch’s requests.

Terming Clinton’s use of her private email system, “one of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency,” Lamberth wrote in his MEMORANDUM OPINION:

… his [President Barack Obama’s] State and Justice Departments fell far short. So far short that the court questions, even now, whether they are acting in good faith. Did Hillary Clinton use her private email as Secretary of State to thwart this lofty goal [Obama announced standard for transparency]? Was the State Department’s attempt to settle this FOIA case in 2014 an effort to avoid searching – and disclosing the existence of – Clinton’s missing emails? And has State ever adequately searched for records in this case?

[ … ]

At best, State’s attempt to pass-off its deficient search as legally adequate during settlement negotiations was negligence born out of incompetence. At worst, career employees in the State and Justice Departments colluded to scuttle public scrutiny of Clinton, skirt FOIA, and hoodwink this Court.

Turning his attention to the Department of Justice, Lamberth wrote:

The current Justice Department made things worse. When the government last appeared before the Court, counsel claimed, ‘it is not true to say we misled either Judicial Watch or the Court.’ When accused of ‘doublespeak,’ counsel denied vehemently, feigned offense, and averred complete candor. When asked why State masked the inadequacy of its initial search, counsel claimed that the officials who initially responded to Judicial Watch’s request didn’t realize Clinton’s emails were missing, and that it took them two months to ‘figure [] out what was going on’… Counsel’s responses strain credulity. [citations omitted]

The Court granted discovery because the government’s response to the Judicial Watch Benghazi FOIA request for Clinton emails “smacks of outrageous conduct.”

Citing an email (uncovered as a result of Judicial Watch’s lawsuit) that Hillary Clinton acknowledged that Benghazi was a terrorist attack immediately after it happened, Judge Lamberth asked:

Did State know Clinton deemed the Benghazi attack terrorism hours after it happened, contradicting the Obama Administration’s subsequent claim of a protest-gone-awry?

[ … ]

Did the Department merely fear what might be found? Or was State’s bungling just the unfortunate result of bureaucratic redtape and a failure to communicate? To preserve the Department’s integrity, and to reassure the American people their government remains committed to transparency and the rule of law, this suspicion cannot be allowed to fester.

“The historic court ruling raises concerns about the Hillary Clinton email scandal and government corruption that millions of Americans share,” stated Judicial Watch Tom Fitton.  “Judicial Watch looks forward to conducting careful discovery into the Clinton email issue and we hope the Justice Department and State Department recognize Judge Lamberth’s criticism and help, rather than obstruct, this court-ordered discovery.”

Read more about 

EDITORS NOTE: This column with images is republished with permission.

Podcast: The Importance of Civics Education

On today’s show, we’re talking about civics. At a time when students across the country lack a basic understanding of government and economics, one university is doing something about it. We’ll feature an interview with Paul Carrese, founding director of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University.

We’ll also hear from Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald about what’s wrong with college campuses today. Listen to the full interview below.

Also on today’s show:

  • Your letters to the editor. Don’t forget, your letter could be featured on our show; write us at letters@dailysignal.com or call 202-608-6205.
  • A heartwarming good news story out of California following the deadly wildfires.

The Daily Signal podcast is available on the Ricochet Audio Network. You also can listen on iTunesSoundCloudStitcher, or your favorite podcast app. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review or give us feedback. Enjoy the show!


The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Donate now


PODCAST BY

Portrait of Rob Bluey

Rob Bluey

Rob Bluey is editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal, the multimedia news organization of The Heritage Foundation. Send an email to Rob. Twitter: @RobertBluey.

Portrait of Ginny Montalbano

Ginny Montalbano

Ginny Montalbano is a contributor to The Daily Signal. Send an email to Ginny. Twitter: @GinnyMontalbano.

EDITORS NOTE: This column with images is republished with permission. The featured photo is by NASA on Unsplash.

VIDEO: How the State Dept. Outsources YOUR Tax Dollars to George Soros Front Groups

On November 29, Judicial Watch Director of Investigations and Research Chris Farrell appeared on “No Spin News” on billoreilly.com to discuss the caravan and its potential source of funding.

As the migrant caravan has been developing in the news for the past few months, Bill O’Reilly has set his focus on the funding that is allowing this highly orchestrated caravan to operate. As we have reported, the money trail seems to lead back to George Soros. On today’s No Spin News, Judicial Watch Director of Investigations and Research Chris Farrell gives his expertise on Soros and specifies exactly how George Soros is operating and how it is directly impacting the American taxpayers.

EDITORS NOTE: This column with video courtesy of No Spin News is republished with permission. The featured photo is by Aidan Bartos on Unsplash.

5 Key Themes at the First Lady’s Opioid Town Hall With Eric Bolling [+Video]

FLOTUS: ‘We Need to Change’ Arc of Opioid Crisis,


First lady Melania Trump welcomed media attention to how the administration is confronting the opioid drug crisis during her appearance Wednesday at a “town hall” on the subject at Liberty University.

That would be a change of approach, she said.

“I would like that they’re focused more on what we’re doing, and what we want to achieve, and spread awareness. It’s very important for the country and the whole world,” the first lady said of the news media.

Political commentator Eric Bolling, host of CRTV’s “America,” invited Trump to the town hall discussion, which also featured Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

Pop singer Demi Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, was scheduled to appear but had to cancel. Lovato nearly died from an opioid overdose in July.

Family tragedy prompted Bolling to raise awareness of the opioid crisis and to look for solutions after his 19-year-old son Eric Chase died in September 2017 from an accidental overdose of Xanax laced with fentanyl.

“The fight against opioid deaths in America just took a turn for the better,” Bolling told The Daily Signal before the town hall. “There is no doubt in my mind that first lady Melania Trump joining me in this war on the deadliest health crisis to ever hit the United States will have a significant and positive effect.”

In a statement provided to The Daily Signal, the first lady’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, said of Bolling:

The first lady has been inspired by his commitment to combating the opioid epidemic. To use his own personal family tragedy to help save lives is the epitome of strength and selflessness

Here are five big moments from Trump’s appearance and other portions of the town hall:

1. The First Family’s Compassion

After recounting the night he found out his son had died from opioids, Bolling reiterated that it was never his desire to become an “accidental expert.”

“I’ve made it my passion to talk to people, to talk to young people,” he told the students at the university n Lynchburg, Virginia.

Bolling said President Donald Trump and the first lady called him while he and his wife Adrienne were in Colorado to retrieve their son’s body.

The president, he said, told him: “I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but whatever you need we’ll take care of it.”

The Trumps called again on Thanksgiving last year to check in on the Bolling family and express their condolences.

2. The First Lady’s Motive

Melania Trump’s “Be Best” initiative aimed at American children has three prongs: general well-being, social media use, and opioid abuse.

Until recently, she has focused mainly on young mothers and babies afflicted with neonatal abstinence syndrome, which occurs when a baby is born addicted to opioids because of the mother’s use of the drugs while pregnant.

“When I took on opioid abuse as one of the pillars of my initiative Be Best, I did it with the goal of helping children of all ages,” Trump said.

The first lady commended the Bolling family for their activism in the wake of Eric Chase’s death:

It takes such a strength and grace to take the grief I know you and Adrienne deal with each day and use the loss of your son Eric as a catalyst for good. You honor him every day through the lives that you are saving. I am inspired by the work you are doing, and hope you know that my husband and his entire administration are committed to fighting the opioid epidemic.

And, Bolling asked, what about those red Christmas trees inside the White House that have drawn some criticism?

“We are in [the] 21st century, and everybody has a different taste. I think they look fantastic,” the first lady said with a laugh.

3. The Demographic Is Everybody

Azar, the president’s health and human services secretary, told the audience that addiction awareness is key.

The administration has released a series of public service ads in a campaign called “The Truth About Opioids.”

“Frankly, they ought to scare you,” Azar said of the ads.

Azar, who has a pharmaceutical background, said the targeted demographic is “everybody,” unfortunately, with nearly 133 Americans dying each day from opioids.

He did point out one optimistic statistic, saying that under the Trump administration, legal prescribing of opioids is down by 23 percent.

“The majority of people who become addicted to opioids today were prescribed a legal painkiller for wisdom teeth, a knee surgery, something like that,” Azar said.

4. A Pound of Fentanyl Can Cause 150,000 Deaths

Nielsen said the Department of Homeland Security is focused on stopping illicit drugs from coming across the border, including on ships or airplanes.

She singled out fentanyl, one of the most dangerous opioids on the streets.

“The most difficult part to get at is most of the fentanyl is still coming from China through the mail,” Nielsen said.

The president signed legislation called the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, which gives the U.S. Postal Service the ability to prescreen international shipments for illegal substances.

To help private mail companies such as FedEx or UPS, homeland security officials use the agency’s National Targeting Center to spot shipping patterns that seem off. China also has cooperated by providing advance information about shipments so the department can better target resources.

5. Getting Rid of the Stigma

The first lady also addressed a major obstacle in the battle.

“We must commit to removing the stigma of shame that comes with addiction and helping change public opinion, so that people find evidence-based treatment before it is too late,” she cautioned.

It’s a sentiment that Bolling has shared and discussed in depth over the past year.

Addiction “is not a moral failing, it is a medical issue,” Azar said.

COLUMN BY

Portrait of Ginny Montalbano

Ginny Montalbano

Ginny Montalbano is a contributor to The Daily Signal. Send an email to Ginny. Twitter: @GinnyMontalbano.


The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Donate now


EDITORS NOTE: This column with images is republished with permission. Photo: Douliery Olivier/Abaca/Sipa USA/Newscom.

PODCAST: Facebook Is Awful, but What’s the Alternative?

It’s no secret that social media is in a bit of a shambles. The big players like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are purging accounts, censoring content, and mining data. Many users are very unhappy with them.

But what alternatives do we have? Maybe more than you think.

Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies along with Minds.com founder Bill Ottman as they talk about social media alternatives and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

VIDEO: The Media Is Omitting The Reason Why Border Officials Decided To Use Tear Gas Against The Caravan

WATCH:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials were forced to use tear gas against the migrants in response to their attempt to storm the border, but many outlets focused more heavily on the U.S.’s response and less on what prompted it.

Many outlets including the New York Times and Associated Press chose to focus on the agents’ decision to use tear gas instead of explaining why they felt that they had to resort to such tactics.

“The truth is, the majority of the people that are in this caravan, especially outside — if we can make our way all the way over there, we’ll show you the majority of them are men,” MSNBC’s Gadi Schwartz stated earlier on Monday. “From what we’ve seen, the majority are actually men and some of these men have not articulated that need for asylum.”

Schwartz’s reporting goes against the narrative that the caravan is filled mostly with women and children.

“Unfake the News” is a Daily Caller program dedicated to debunking the mainstream media narratives that dominate our news cycle.

That’s where TheDC’s Vince Coglianese steps in to cut through the PC bull. Each week, Vince takes a closer look at how cable news outlets are telling the top story and then gives you his own unadulterated take.

This is “Unfake the News.”

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

NOW CHECK OUT this “Unfake The News” video — WATCH: Should The FBI Investigate Kavanaugh’s 36 Year-Old Sexual Misconduct Allegation

NOW CHECK OUT another “Unfake The News” video — WATCH: Unfake The News: Media Ridiculously Spins Trump Meeting With Kim Jong Un

COLUMN BY

Mike Brest

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Brest

Reporter

Follow Mike on Twitter

RELATED ARTICLES: 

I Was Tear-Gassed, Along With 60 Of My Closest Friends, In An Enclosed Space

Democratic Rep Jim Himes Bashes Fox News For Covering Migrant Caravan

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column with images is republished with permission. The featured image is by Unfake The News.

VIDEO: U.S. Judge Condoning Female Genital Mutilation puts 513,000 girls and women in the U.S. at risk

Female genital mutilation or cutting

The Office of Women’s Health defines Female Genital Mutilation as follows:

Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) means piercing, cutting, removing, or sewing closed all or part of a girl’s or woman’s external genitals for no medical reason. Researchers estimate more than 513,000 girls and women in the U.S. have experienced or are at risk of FGM/C.1 Worldwide, as many as 140 million girls and women alive today have been cut.2 FGM/C is often a part of the culture in countries where it is practiced. But FGM/C has no health benefits and can cause long-term health problems. FGM/C is against the law in the U.S. and many other countries. [Emphasis added]

A Michigan Judge has ruled that outlawing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is un-Constitutional. In this Jamie Glazov Moment, Jamie focuses on horrific surrender to Sharia is accelerating in the U.S.

Female Genital Mutilation is Illegal in the United States

According to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Women’s Health:

FGM/C is against the law in the United States. The United States and many other countries consider FGM/C a violation of women’s rights and a form of child abuse. Federal law makes it a crime to perform FGM/C on a girl younger than 18 or to take or attempt to take a girl out of the United States for FGM/C. Girls and women who have experienced FGM/C are not at fault and have not broken any U.S. laws.

Why is Female Genital Mutilation Against the Law?

FGM/C can cause immediate and long-term medical problems. How bad these problems are depends on:7

  • How clean (sterile) the place is where cutting happens. FGM/C is illegal in most countries and must be done in secret. In most of these countries, FGM/C is usually done on a floor, table, bed, or the ground. But, in some countries, such as Egypt, a loophole in the law allows doctors to do FGM/C in a sterile, medical site.4
  • The experience of the person performing FGM/C and the tools used. The cutting is often done with glass, razor blades, or knives. The tools may not be sterilized between cuttings. In type 3 FGM/C, the sewing may be done with thorns and without sterile thread.
  • The type of FGM/C. Type 3 causes more health problems than type 1 or type 2.
  • The general health of the girl or woman

The type of FGM/C done may affect how much and how serious health problems are after FGM/C. Type 3 causes more health problems than type 1 or type 2.

Immediate medical problems can include:7

  • Severe pain. Girls usually don’t get any pain medicine before or after they are cut.
  • Serious bleeding
  • Infection of the wound. Girls can get fever, shock, and even die if the infection is not treated.
  • Trauma. Girls are held down often against their will and may not understand why.
  • Problems going to the bathroom, including burning and pain
  • Tetanus and other infectious diseases, such as HIV, from unsterilized cutting tools
  • Death. Researchers do not know how many girls die because of FGM/C. Few records are kept, and deaths that may have been caused by FGM/C are often not reported as related to FGM/C.8

FGM/C can cause long-term problems with a girl’s or woman’s physical, mental, and sexual health. The type of FGM/C done may affect how much and how serious the health problems are. Type 2 and type 3 cause more serious health problems than type 1.

Long-term health problems include:9

  • Infections, such as genital abscesses (sores filled with pus that must be drained) and infectious diseases such as hepatitis B. In one large study, more infections and infectious diseases such as urinary tract infectionsbacterial vaginosis, and HIV were found in women with type 3 FGM/C.10 This is probably because the damage caused by FGM/C can make vaginal tissue more likely to tear during sex. This increases the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
  • Problems having sex. Extra scar tissue from FGM/C (most common after type 2 or type 3) can cause pain, especially during sex. This can lead to a lack of interest in sex, vaginal dryness, and lower overall satisfaction.11 Scarring can also cause vaginal tissue to be less elastic than normal vaginal tissue. It might not stretch as easily for sex or childbirth.
  • Depression and anxiety. Girls may not understand what is being done to them or why. The effects of this painful experience are similar to those of post-traumatic stress disorder. Girls or women who have already been cut and are living in the United States may be disgraced or humiliated when they receive medical care.12,13 They may also fear that health care providers in the United States do not know how to take care of them.14 This can make adjusting to a new country more challenging.
  • Painful and prolonged menstrual periods. Type 3 FGM/C may cause some girls and women to have painful menstrual periods. Some women are left with only a small opening for urinating and menstrual bleeding. They may not be able to pass all of their menstrual blood. This can cause pain and periods that are longer than normal. Some women may also have infections over and over again.
  • Urinary problems. Type 3 FGM/C may slow or strain the normal flow of urine, which can cause urinary tract infections. Urine can also get trapped behind the scar and crystallize, forming hard masses called bladder, or urinary, stones.
  • Fistula, an opening between the urethra and vagina that lets urine run into the vagina. This can happen when the urethra is damaged during FGM/C. Fistula causes incontinence and other problems, including odors, and can cause girls and women to become social outcasts.

Girls and women who come to the United States and have already been cut may face additional health problems. Doctors and other health care providers may not know how to adequately treat the girls’ and women’s unique health needs. In some cases, health care providers lack training on counseling and caring for girls and women who have been cut.9

To learn more about FGM visit U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Women’s Health.

RELATED ARTICLE: New York Times Reveals Painful Truths About ‘Sex Change’ Surgery

EDITORS NOTE: The featured photo is by Eye for Ebony on Unsplash.

VIDEO: Magatte Wade on Eliminating Global Poverty

Entrepreneur and star of the groundbreaking documentary, “Poverty, Inc., Magatte Wade shares her views on how to help places like her home-country of Senegal escape poverty.

The secret? Institutions that allow free people to create their own businesses without relying on handouts from the international community.

NOTE: We’re already gearing up for FEEcon 2018, where you’ll get to experience more talks like this firsthand. Sign-up to get email alerts and be the first to register at www.feecon.org.

EDITORS NOTE: This column with video and images is republished with permission.

VIDEO: Americans now see immigration as the top issue going into 2020

I was a guest on Fox & Friends on November 22, 2018, to discuss the latest poll that shows a significant increase in the number of Americans who believe that immigration is the most serious problem confronting America and Americans.

EDITORS NOTE: This column with images is republished with permission. The featured photo is by Radek Homola on Unsplash.

VIDEO: D.C. Carry Permits Skyrocket After Recent Move From “May Issue” to “Shall Issue”

Washington, D.C. concealed carry permits jump over 1440% since District went ‘shall issue.’

NRATV’s Kerry Picket joins Dana Loesch with the latest.

VIDEO: A Former INS Senior Special Agent’s take on the “Caravan of Migrants”

On November 15, 2018 I was a guest on The Daily Ledger that is broadcast on the One America News Network.  My segment focused on the so-called “Caravan of Migrants” comprised of thousands of foreign nationals that is headed to the U.S./Mexican border with the apparent goal of enabling the members of the caravan to enter the United States either by running our borders and thus evading the inspection/vetting process conducted at ports of entry or by presenting themselves at ports of entry to make “Credible Fear” applications for asylum in the United States.

Where those applications for asylum are concerned, the majority of aliens who have made such applications never followup on those applications but merely use those applications and the claims of credible fear as a means of gaming the immigration system to head for towns and cities across the United States where so-called Sanctuary Cities shield them from detection by ICE agents and where the lack of ICE agents enable them to hide in plain sight with little fear of being caught or deported.

What is being blithely ignored by the mainstream media and the globalist politicians is that aliens who seek entry into the United States are supposed to apply for and receive visas before they present themselves at ports of entry and apply for admission. The tactic of making credible fear applications at ports of entry is simply a ploy to circumvent the established laws.

RELATED ARTICLES:

PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION ADDRESSES MASSIVE ILLEGAL ‘MIGRANT’ CARAVAN A dire national security threat.

TRUMP CONNECTS THE DOTS ON DANGERS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: But the Left attacks him for the picture it creates.

THE THREATS POSED BY THE IMPENDING INVASIONAll Americans need to wake up and pay attention. 

THE IMPENDING ALIEN INVASION: How the Left plays the “compassion card” for destructive ends. 

RELATED VIDEO: Ami Horowitz: The Truth Behind the Caravan.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured photo is by Jorge Aguilar on Unsplash.

VIDEO: Washington State, ACLU Aren’t Letting Up in Crusade Against Florist’s Religious Liberty

How would you like to attend a political rally featuring President Donald Trump? How about one featuring former President Barack Obama?

Even better—why don’t you attend both? You get to help decorate the stage. You can even create a banner setting forth that party’s platform.

Given our polarized political climate, it’s a safe bet that most Americans would elect to participate in one rally or the other, but not both. It’s pretty easy to understand why: The whole point of those rallies is to support political positions that, for many of us, are rooted in deeply held beliefs.

This basic, logical principle seems to have eluded Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the American Civil Liberties Union. This duo sued Barronelle Stutzman, a 74-year-old floral artist from Richland, Washington, and her business, Arlene’s Flowers, because she declined to participate in and design custom floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding ceremony.

Ferguson and the ACLU say that if Stutzman creates custom arrangements for any wedding, she must create them for same-sex weddings.

But there’s more. Stutzman not only designs custom floral arrangements for weddings, but also attends and personally participates in those sacred events. She decorates the venue with her artistic creations, attends the ceremony, and participates in wedding rituals. But doing that for a same-sex marriage squarely conflicts with her faith.

This is why, even though Stutzman loved her longtime customer and friend Rob Ingersoll, she respectfully declined his invitation to help celebrate his same-sex ceremony. Instead, she referred Ingersoll to other florists in the area who, in her words, she “knew would do an excellent job for this celebration.”

The story could have, and should have, ended there for reasons completely unrelated to whether one agrees with Stutzman’s decision. It should have ended there because it is Stutzman’s decision. Because in a tolerant society, there is room for disagreement. There is room for Democratic Party rallies and Republican Party rallies. There’s even room for Green Party rallies, just don’t expect them to feature helium balloons (or, for that matter, many people).

But the story didn’t end there, because Ferguson was unwilling to allow certain beliefs to go unpunished—namely, a religious belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Despite the fact that he received no complaint from Ingersoll about Stutzman or her business, Ferguson sued this 74-year-old grandmother in her professional and personal capacity. The latter means that all of Stutzman’s personal assets, including her life savings, are at risk.

Stutzman went on to lose her case. After several years of legal proceedings, the Washington Supreme Court later ruled in State of Washington v. Arlene’s Flowers that Stutzman must pay penalties and attorneys’ fees for choosing to live consistently with her conscience.

But the story doesn’t end there, either. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Stutzman appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which vacated the state high court’s ruling and ordered it to reconsider in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop. In that case, the Supreme Court condemned the hostility that Colorado demonstrated toward the faith of cake artist Jack Phillips.

This past Tuesday, Stutzman filed her arguments with the Washington Supreme Court, asking that it reverse the government’s punishment of her, just like the high court did in Phillips’ case.

As the Washington Supreme Court considers Stutzman’s plight once again, it would do well to remember there are people of good will on both sides of the marriage debate. The government should never be hostile to sincere religious beliefs of people of faith, and it should never seek to force anyone to violate their core convictions, especially by participating in a sacred event like a wedding ceremony.

Ours is a diverse society united by a commitment to freedom of belief, not a compulsion to uniformity of thought. A win for Stutzman will reaffirm that foundational American principle.

COMMENTARY BY

Portrait of James Gottry

James Gottry is a lawyer and writer with Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal group founded to preserve and defend religious liberty. Twitter: .

RELATED ARTICLES:

Spontaneous Worship Breaks Out at White House as Top Christian Artists Gather

Campus senator labeled ‘homophobic’ for speaking her faith


The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Donate now


EDITORS NOTE: This column with images and video is republished with permission. Photo: Alliance Defending Freedom.

VIDEO: Rubio Promotes ‘Dignified Work,’ Decries Universal Basic Income

“America’s not an economy, it’s a nation of peoples and families and communities, and our economy works for the people, not the people for the economy,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said as keynote speaker of the Antipoverty Forum hosted by The Heritage Foundation on Thursday.

The foundation’s annual forum invites policy experts and practitioners to collaborate on how to best advance conservative antipoverty solutions in welfare, health care, education, and civil society.

“The best antipoverty program is a job,” Rubio said, beginning his speech with a quote from former President Ronald Reagan. “Good jobs are jobs that connect the work [Americans] do, not just to a paycheck, but to the dignity that comes with a productive life.”

Instead of focusing on economics when discussing poverty, we should focus on those instances where “dignified work no longer allows working families the ability to provide that kind of stability in their homes or their communities,” Rubio said.

Rubio spoke of his own family’s rise from poverty to prosperity when they left communist Cuba, “trapped by the circumstances of their birth,” for capitalist America, where “through hard work and perseverance anyone … could get ahead.”

Rubio said this version of the American dream wasn’t about his family’s work ethic or the economy, but a defining feature of American life, “dignified work,” which he called a source of stability in a society.

Rubio suggested a number of possible policy proposals to reinvigorate the dignity of the millions of “missing men”—described by The Atlantic as prime-age men who are able-bodied but unemployed and not currently seeking employment—back into the labor force.

He suggested reforming the earned income tax credit to more clearly reward each hour of work, and antipoverty programs like the federal disability insurance entitlement and food stamps to mandate, rather than just encourage, work.

Rubio also said we need to also expand opportunities for working-class students, which means accrediting vocational degree programs rather than reforming student loans to support traditional four-year degree programs.

The Florida Republican pushed back against two proposals the left promotes as solutions to solve poverty, but undermine the dignity of work: a universal basic income and a federal jobs guarantee.

If the federal government were to institute a universal basic income, Rubio explained, all American citizens would receive a check regardless if they worked or not. A federal jobs guarantee would mean that the federal government would ensure all American citizens seeking employment get a government job for which they would be compensated with a $15 minimum wage, with full benefits.

These approaches, in the senator’s view, only double down on the flaw of paying low-income workers to be “unproductive.”

>>> Watch the full Antipoverty Forum event:

COLUMN BY

Troy Worden

Troy Worden is a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation.


The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Donate now


EDITORS NOTE: This column with video and images is republished with permission. Photo: Erin Granzow for The Heritage Foundation.

VIDEO: Californians Embrace the Second Amendment

John Von Colln: California Gun Store Flooded With New Customers. Even Californians Want to Be Safe.

Owner of Thousand Oaks VC Defense John Von Colln joins Dana Loesch to tell her why.

Dave Eubank: Soldier of God [Video]

Dave Eubank is a father, a husband, a Christian, a veteran, and an all-American hero. For more than 20 years now, Dave Eubank and his family have lived in some of the most dangerous areas of the world: Burma, Sudan, and Iraq. He’s gathered the things he learned as a member of the U.S. Special Forces and from the Bible as a Christian and has put all of his energy into administering aid, providing nourishment, saving lives, and bringing hope.

Dave exemplifies heroism, and his example of what it means to be an American and a Christian impacts the lives of people he serves.

In the inaugural episode of Oliver North’s American Heroes, LtCol Oliver North tells the amazing story of a truly heroic man who has risked life and limb to bring hope and happiness to oppressed people around the world.