“And at the U.S. Department of Education, Common Core is dead.” This is music to the ears of advocates for federalism, school choice, and, frankly, for student success everywhere. These words came directly from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos last week at a conference in DC titled “Bush-Obama School Reform: Lessons Learned,” held by the free-enterprise think tank American Enterprise Institute.

FreedomWorks recognizes Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.) as Member of the Month for January. Representing Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district, Rep. Lewis was elected in November 2016 to succeed now-retired Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), who had held the seat since 2003.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

Time and time again, the federal government has encroached into a sector of the economy and imposed a one-size-fits-all regulation that stifles competition, hurts small businesses, and creates troubling criminal penalties for lack of compliance. This is epitomized in federal involvement in menu labeling -- regulations and requirements for private businesses to disclose caloric information on physical menus.

FreedomWorks recognizes Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) as Member of the Month for December. Representing South Carolina’s 5th congressional district, Rep. Norman was elected in a June 2017 special election to succeed former Rep. Mick Mulvaney’s following his confirmation to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget.

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our Bill of the Month for December 2017 is the Regulatory Fingerprints Act, H.R. 1460, sponsored by Rep. David Young (R-Iowa).

The fight for deregulation and transparency in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), spearheaded by Administrator Scott Pruitt, charged on this week in an agency-wide directive on Monday. Aiming to terminate the regulation-through-litigation practice known as “sue and settle,” Pruitt’s directive opens up this formerly closed process to public comment and influence.