On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) put out a release outlining its intentions for and the status of the implementation of the First Step Act. Signed into law on December 21, 2018, the First Step Act is a comprehensive overhaul of the federal prison system, run by the Bureau of Prisons. Certainly, it is encouraging to see the department taking affirmative steps toward implementing the law.

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for April 2019 is the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act, H.R. 1917 and S. 565, introduced by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), joined by cosponsors Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and James Lankford (R-Okla.). The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act would require the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to submit an annual report detailing the costs and timelines of projects that are behind schedule, over budget, or both.

When President Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2020 was released, many advocates of school choice were thrilled to see the cuts recommended for the Department of Education, to the tune of $7.1 billion. For those who believe that the federal government has no place in determining education policy, a $64 billion budget for the Department of Education is certainly preferable to a $71 billion budget.

Following the Senate’s passage yesterday of the joint resolution to disapprove of President Trump’s recent emergency declaration to use existing funds to construct a barrier along some portions of our southern border, it is clear that some in Congress are finally picking up an important message. Congress has to put a stop to and reverse course on its slow-but-steady ceding of its constitutional powers to the executive branch. On everything from trade and regulation to war and now the power of the purse, the executive branch and the president are much more powerful than was intended as outlined in Article I of the Constitution.

FreedomWorks’ activist-chosen dumpster fire of the month for March 2019 is the “Green New Deal” Resolution, H.Res. 109 and S.Res. 59, introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). The resolution, touted by the progressive left as a “solution” to the “climate crisis,” is no more than an overt attempt to entirely upend the concept of liberty in America. By turning our economy into a socialist’s dream, the Green New Deal would ruin what we have of a free-market society here in America and put us on a fast track to collectivism.

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for March 2019 is the End Pensions in Congress (EPIC) Act, H.R. 191 and S. 438, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.). The EPIC Act would terminate pensions for members of Congress, and force them to save for retirement in the same way that most private Americans do, by responsibly contributing to 401(k)-type plans.

As Congress reflects on its success in passing the First Step Act at the end of 2018, it must look toward ways to build on the existing momentum. The First Step Act was constructed to shift our justice system toward ensuring that we are incarcerating the right people for the right amount of time and that while people are incarcerated, our correctional system is using resources wisely to rehabilitate inmates. It makes steps toward reentry initiatives following incarceration by reauthorizing the Second Chance Act but leaves much still to be done in the space of breaking down barriers to reentry to allow rehabilitated inmates to be successful in society.

Debatably the most important power delegated to Congress is its power of the purse. However, it never uses this power correctly. This week, the United States’ national debt surpassed the $22 trillion mark. Also this week, Congress passed a multi-hundred-billion dollar spending bill in order to cover for its inability to do its job properly. Congress was behind schedule by nearly half of an entire year on funding the government for this fiscal year.