The Heritage Foundation think tank is urging the federal government \u201cto save and restore the American family,\u201d kicking off the midterm election year with a call for conservatives to focus on domestic issues.<\/p>\n
Among its recommendations? A \u201cmarriage bootcamp,\u201d designed to prepare cohabitating couples for marriage; a \u201cuniversal day of rest\u201d that would build upon blue laws that limit alcohol sales in some municipalities; and discouragement of online dating, in part because of research showing that \u201ccouples who meet online are also less likely to get married in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
The full plan, published Thursday and first reported by The Washington Post, marks the foundation’s evolution from its small government roots to a pillar of the populist right. During President Donald Trump’s<\/a> second term, Heritage has demonstrated its impact with Project 2025<\/a>, which has been used as a blueprint to overhaul U.S. policy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government\u2019s primary role is to clear the weeds and prevent its policies and programs from poisoning the ground,\u201d wrote the new report’s authors, led by Roger Severino, Heritage\u2019s vice president of economic and domestic policy. \u201cUnfortunately, except for radically redefining the institution, marriage is not currently a federal priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Heritage President Kevin Roberts roiled conservative corners<\/a> when \u2014 as Democrats accused Republicans of tolerating antisemitism in their party \u2014 he defended prominent conservative commentator Tucker Carlson<\/a> for his friendly podcast interview with far-right activist Nick Fuentes<\/a>, known for his antisemitic views. The comments sparked outrage and the resignations of Heritage board members, staffers and executives.<\/p>\n The ultimate guidance in the new Heritage report is that U.S. policy “encourage and protect the formation of families, not mere fertility,\u201d recommending against any policies \u201cthat undermine marriage and the formation of families, or reward or encourage needless delay in marriage and out-of-wedlock births.\u201d <\/p>\n Tax codes, Heritage writes, \u201cshould not penalize marriage and encourage single parenthood,\u201d and education policy \u201cshould not coax young Americans to delay marriage while pursuing needless credentials.\u201d<\/p>\n The report also calls on Trump to issue \u201ca series of executive orders requiring every grant, contract, policy, regulation, research project, and enforcement action involving the federal government to do the following: Explicitly measure how it helps or harms marriage and family, block actions that discriminate against family formation, and give preference to actions that support American families.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Rosswood, author of \u201cJourney to Parenthood: The Ultimate Guide for Same-Sex Couples,\u201d said he concurs with some of Heritage’s arguments, like the threats posed by food insecurity and the lack of affordable childcare. But he disagreed with the report’s recommendation that subsidies go toward married families, or that children are best-suited to being raised by their biological parents.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what\u2019s due to them is a family that\u2019s going to provide for the children and take care of the children, make sure they have a roof over their head that they have meals, they\u2019re getting to school, parents that support their hobbies and motivate them,” said Rosswood, who is raising two children with his husband. <\/p>\n “I don\u2019t think that those are gender-based. I don\u2019t think that that\u2019s tied to biological genetics. I think that\u2019s what a parent does, regardless of who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 \u2014 a nearly 900-page guidebook<\/a> written by many conservatives who worked in or with Trump\u2019s first administration. Still, some of its tenets have become hallmarks of his second term thus far, including the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency and the dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.<\/p>\n During the 2024 race, it came to light that JD Vance \u2014 who by then was Trump\u2019s running mate \u2014 had praised Roberts\u2019 vision in the forward of the Heritage chief\u2019s forthcoming book, \u201cDawn\u2019s Early Light,\u201d calling Heritage \u201cthe most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n Now-Vice President Vance, who at times references his personal struggles<\/a> when describing policies he says would help make parenting easier, has long been clear about making family formation a policy priority, suggesting ideas such as allowing parents to vote on behalf of their children or giving low-interest loans to married couples with children.<\/p>\n Acknowledging that in vitro fertilization \u2014 a medical procedure that helps people facing infertility build their families \u2014 has its benefits, the report argues against the practice outside of marriage.<\/p>\n \u201cA babies-at-all-costs mentality would come at too great a cost, and not just financially, but morally and spiritually\u201d and \u201cintentionally denies a right due to every child conceived \u2014 to be born and grow in relationship with his or her mother and father bound in marriage,\u201d Heritage writes.<\/p>\n In the first month of his second term, Trump signed an executive order<\/a> aiming to reduce the costs of IVF, requesting a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and \u201caggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.\u201d In October, Trump followed that up with new federal guidance he said would allow companies to offer fertility benefits separate from major medical insurance plans. Costs for a common fertility drug would also come down through a deal struck with drugmaker EMD Serono.<\/p>\n IVF became a talking point during the 2024 presidential campaign when Alabama agreed to protect in vitro fertilization providers<\/a> from legal liability a couple of weeks after the state Supreme Court ruled<\/a> that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.<\/p>\n Alongside the drug price-related negotiation, Heritage commended Trump for promising \u201cto address the \u2018root causes\u2019 of infertility.” The White House did not immediately comment Thursday on the report, or if anyone in the administration had collaborated on it.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n