This July 4th, House GOP pledges to honor our fundamental freedoms

The United States of America is the greatest country in the history of the world. Republicans in the House of Representatives want to keep it that way. 

This Fourth of July marks 246 years since the Founding Fathers declared three self-evident truths: that we are all created equal; that God has endowed us with unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed. The founding generation fought to secure these principles and successive generations have bled to defend them. 

As Americans celebrate Independence Day with parades and fireworks, we should recognize what makes our country special. America is great because of the founding ideals and fundamental freedoms first articulated in our Declaration of Independence and later guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights.  

FOX NEWS TO CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH SPECIAL PROGRAMMING THROUGHOUT HOLIDAY WEEKEND

We should never take these rights for granted. Over the past several years, Americans have seen how the radical left has worked to erode Americans’ fundamental freedoms and most basic rights. From freedom of speech to the right to bear arms, almost every sacred American right is at increased risk today from woke liberalism. Even the most basic right — the right to life itself — is under a renewed and more vicious attack from blue-state progressives. 

Democrats seek to erode our rights because they don’t see those rights, or even America itself, as special. Instead, they believe that America is a fundamentally flawed country. Just look at how President Biden apologizes for America’s actions abroad and lectures Americans at home. Or see how Democrats push radical propaganda designed to indoctrinate our youth and teach them to hate our country. 

At every turn, Democrats and the radical left attack our rights because they want to radically transform our country and tear down American institutions. They want to curtail the First Amendment and repeal the Second Amendment. Democrats want to pack the Supreme Court with liberal judges, add two new left-leaning states to give them a permanent majority in the United States Senate, and reform how we elect our presidents to rebalance political power in their favor. It’s not hard to see why. Democrats don’t trust Americans to govern themselves. That’s why they push online censorship of dissenting views and set up disinformation boards run by faceless bureaucrats and so-called experts. 

Republicans believe in America and its people. We believe in American exceptionalism and the American dream. We understand that Americans have done more to promote freedom and spread prosperity than any other people in any other country on Earth. Republicans know that Americans are generous and tolerant, altruistic and optimistic. And although America isn’t always perfect, Americans are always striving, in the immortal words of the Constitution, toward "a more perfect Union."  

If the American people choose to entrust Republicans with a majority in the House of Representatives, we will be ready to lead in defending time-honored American freedoms and restoring American ideals. Last June, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy announced the formation of a Republican Task Force on the Future of American Freedoms.  

For the last year, my colleagues and I have heard from Americans around the country about what Congress can and should do to protect American freedoms, restore American ideals, and preserve freedoms for the next generation. Our Task Force has engaged in rigorous fact-finding that has included listening to citizens and stakeholders in 19 meetings and roundtables on topics ranging from the threats of cancel culture to the abuses of the modern administrative state. 

Our fact-finding has provided clarity about specific actions Congress can take to protect fundamental rights and freedoms. Republicans will pass legislation to reaffirm the First Amendment, protecting free speech online and free speech on college campuses. We will act to protect Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms. Republicans recognize that life is precious, and we will pass legislation to build on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to protect the unborn. We will protect judicial independence — rejecting Democrat calls to pack the Supreme Court — and act to rein in the out-of-control administrative state. Republicans will move swiftly to reaffirm the fundamental right of parents to raise their children as they see fit and Republicans will prioritize school choice legislation. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE OPINION NEWSLETTER

Republicans will also conduct vigorous oversight of the radical Biden administration. We will fight back against President Joe Biden’s anti-parent agenda and his administration’s targeting of parents for speaking up at school board meetings. Republicans will hold the Biden Justice Department and FBI accountable, and we will shed light on how partisan actors have abused federal law-enforcement authorities to harass political opponents and spy on American citizens. We will investigate how the Biden administration has colluded with Big Tech titans to suppress conservative views online. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Americans should always remember that our country is special. It is, as Ronald Reagan famously said, "the shining city on a hill." What makes America unique is also what makes America great: our unalienable rights and fundamental freedoms as embodied in our founding documents. If entrusted to govern, Republicans will defend our freedoms and always work to keep America the greatest country in the history of the world. 

 CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM REP. JIM JORDAN