Following a decade of nearly unprecedented expansion in energy production, news agencies in mid-2019 cheered the approach of long awaited “energy independence.” Yet, by the end of the year, pundits were arguing that the “myth of U.S. energy independence” had evaporated. What happened? In short, both were correct. Although America is approaching total energy independence, we are still far from achieving this goal.

America’s student population of around 67.8 million have been hit hard by the changes caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent government responses to it. Primary, secondary, and college students have had to shift their learning from the traditional classroom, to an unfamiliar virtual one. If there’s one thing for certain however, it’s that children are very adaptable to changing circumstances, while the educational system very much isn’t.

Democrats are expected to vote early next week on a bill, H.R. 1425, entitled the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act.” The bill is exactly what it explicitly claims to be - a doubling down on the original structure of ObamaCare, with some extra patches added in. This is likely a foreshadowing of the push we’ll see to take the next step in expanding government control of health care should Democrats succeed in taking the White House in 2020.

On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and senators ask them to cosponsor the American Healthshare Plans Act, H.R. 6712 and S. 3610, introduced in the House by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) and in the Senate by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). This bill would allow non-employer membership organizations to offer health insurance to individuals, including across state lines, opening up a much-needed alternate path to coverage.

Now that we are months into quarantine for COVID-19 with no immediate end in sight, school districts across the nation have begun accepting the reality that they won’t be returning this year. As of April 26th, 43 states, along with 4 U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia, “have ordered or recommended school building closures for the rest of the academic year, affecting approximately 45.1 million public school students.” These sudden and mass closures have forced schools to reevaluate everything.

At his State of the Union address last week, President Trump highlighted the need for school choice across America, and rightly so. There is nobody who knows better what education is most suitable for their children than parents and the student themselves. Certainly, the government does not know best and we should do all we can to put this decision in the hands of those closest to the students in our communities.