Washington Watch Reporter Mary Stackhouse explains how the anti-weaponization fund language in the reconciliation bill is delaying the Senate vote, where things stand with the War Powers Resolution in the House, and an update on Iran. Mark Harris,
SPEAKER 07 :
from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
SPEAKER 15 :
The only way for Republicans to get out of this box is to stop backing the slush fund, stop pushing the ballroom, And as soon as we get back, join Democrats in fighting to lower Americans’ costs and to join us in fighting the corruption that Trump just revels in.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier today after the Senate Republicans canceled their plans to begin voting this week on the second budget reconciliation package. Welcome to this Thursday, May 21st edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Jody Heiss. An honor to be sitting in for Tony Perkins today, and thank you so much for joining us. All right, coming up today, while the Senate has been busy with reconciliation, The House has been busy with other legislation, and North Carolina Congressman Mark Harris will join us live by phone from the House floor in just a few moments to discuss what they have been considering. Plus, lawmakers in Louisiana’s legislature. They’ve been busy at work advancing some legislation before their session ends, and we’ll discuss two of those bills, one of which… FRC has been encouraging states to take up regarding released time Bible education. So all that and much, much more coming your way in the next hour right here on Washington Watch. Senate leaders have officially postponed the vote on reconciliation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security immigration agencies through 2029. And joining us now to discuss this is Washington Watch reporter Mary Stackhouse. Mary, this is kind of all over the map. Last I heard, they were about to get ready to vote, and then next thing you hear, it’s canceled. Why has this vote been delayed?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, Jodi, this is a significant setback for Senate Republicans. They’ve canceled their plans to vote on this reconciliation package that would have offered $70 billion to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the rest of President Trump’s term. This delay is reportedly fueled by opposition over the Justice Department’s anti-weaponization fund. which is over $1.7 billion that would compensate people who said that the government unfairly targeted them. This is something that some Republican senators were not comfortable with. Earlier today, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch met with Senate Republicans to discuss how the compensation fund for DOJ victims would work. Senate Republicans are reportedly in talks about adding language to the reconciliation bill to put guardrails on the distribution of the legal compensation funds. Another major sticking point in the bill is a $1 billion request for security upgrades for the White House ballroom. There’s definitely been resistance among Republicans over this. Now, the House is preparing to vote on a War Powers resolution that would put limits on President Trump’s military authority. A small number of Republicans have sided with Democrats to end military action in Iran. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who lost his primary over the weekend after catching heat from the president, voted to advance the measure for the first time. This could be an incredibly tight vote, Jody.
SPEAKER 06 :
Wow, a lot, lot going on there. Let’s turn now to some international news before I let you go. Today, the U.S. and Iran are still at odds over the uranium stockpile that they have there, as well as control over the Strait of Hormuz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in the meantime, is saying that some good signs are being seen in negotiations. So what’s the latest that you’re hearing, Mary, with what’s happening in Iran?
SPEAKER 18 :
Well, earlier today, Secretary Rubio told reporters that he doesn’t want to be overly optimistic about talks with Iran, but he did say, let’s see what happens over the next few days. He added that a deal would not be reached if Iran employs a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz. Today, President Trump made it very clear what he wants for the Strait.
SPEAKER 19 :
We want it open. We want it free. We don’t want tolls. It’s international. It’s an international waterway. They’re not charging tolls. Right now, they are losing $500 million a day is what it’s projected. I don’t know. It sounds like a lot of money. But whether it’s 500 or 200 or 300, they’re losing a lot of money. There hasn’t been a ship that’s been able to get through without our approval.
SPEAKER 18 :
President Trump said that the U.S. will retrieve Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and he said that the U.S. will more than likely destroy it. And this, of course, is one of the president’s key objectives in the war on Iran, which is to stop them from developing a nuclear weapon. This is something that we will certainly continue to follow. Jodi.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, Mary, as always, thank you so much for these updates. We appreciate it. I want to turn now our attention to Capitol Hill, where there is a flurry of activity taking place. And all right, I’m just heard we’re trying to get someone live on the House floor, Congressman Mark Harris, and having trouble getting him right now. So while we wait to get Congressman Harris… I want to bring in Casey Harper. Casey, thank you for joining me right now. Mary was just talking about some of the incredible issues taking place in Iran right now. It seems the ceasefire is largely holding, but it’s still very much kind of tenuous at the same time. What’s the latest there?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, that’s right. You have to kind of read between the lines because President Trump is making statements almost daily about the Iran war, about his position on it. And it’s also hard to tell how much he’s being entirely transparent about what he thinks in the position of those within the close inner circle who are helping make these decisions. And how much he’s just saying things to message or signal to Iran, maybe to put up a front in one area to Iran. to basically smoke signal to help with negotiations and not actually meaning what he’s saying. So that’s, you know, you have to set that stage when you talk about what he’s saying. But what we saw earlier this week is that President Trump said he was within an hour of resuming the Iran war, resuming the strikes, but the Arab nations told him not to do it. They wanted to give more time for negotiations. Trump said at the time, which was Tuesday, that he would allow at least two or three days for those negotiations. We’re coming up on the end of those two or three days. But of course, as we’ve seen that, you know, the president is taking it day by day, sometimes hour by hour in what he is deciding. But we did also see one more update, Jody, which is conflicting statements from President Trump and the Ayatollah on that enriched uranium. So I think that’s really a stick point. President Trump’s made clear that the nuclear issue is a red line for him.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, and there’s all sorts of mixed messages. I’m reading and hearing about the uranium is buried so deeply no one can get to it. I’m hearing that other reports saying that it’s pretty much available still. The stockpile still exists. What is the latest? How much uranium are we talking about? And from the best you can discern, where is the reality here?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I mean, we’re talking about 900 pounds of uranium. This is near military grade, not at the level that you need for making a nuclear weapon, but really beyond what is often commonly thought of for non-military uses for uranium. So it’s pretty suspicious as far as uranium goes, although, of course, uranium is a bit suspicious to begin with and, of course, very dangerous as well. You know, we got definitely conflicting reports. We’ve had conflicting reports about the state of that uranium from the very beginning of when that strike happened. If you remember, President Trump, the administration said it was a resounding success. They totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear program with these strikes. But here we are, you know, then like less than a year later, they started the war because Iran was on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon. So I think we’ve seen mixed messaging for a long time on that. I find it hard to believe that we actually couldn’t access that uranium. You know, the United States military, the United States government wants to get it. I think they’ll find a way to get it. Right now, the biggest obstacle is not the logistics of getting it. It is the will of the Iranian leadership. And the Ayatollah said, we’re not letting it be taken out of here. And so… With the very moment when you think they would be giving in, they’re doubling down.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right. Casey Harper, thank you so much. I want to jump back over to the House floor and the Patriot Mobile hotline. We have Congressman Mark Harris from North Carolina. Congressman, welcome back to Washington Watch. Thanks for stepping off the House floor to join us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, Jody, thank you for having me. I apologize for. It happened to be so brief, but we’re right in the middle of votes and they’re coming every five minutes. So I’ve got to jump back in there.
SPEAKER 06 :
I understand. I remember that very well. So I figured that was probably the case. So thank you for jumping off the floor for a moment to join us. Real quickly, I do want to hear what’s happening on the House floor, but you were part of the Judiciary Committee on the Southern Poverty Law Center yesterday. What were some of the key highlights that stuck out to you in that hearing?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, yesterday I think was an incredible hearing that was held by the Judiciary Committee, as you point out, really putting the spotlight on the Southern Poverty Law Center and really just pointing out the fraud that has taken place and has come to light. Of course, as you know, For me, having been involved with FRC for so many years as a pastor and then serving there before coming to the halls of Congress, it just became very clear that this is an organization that has been at the heart of creating so much hate, so much anger, misleading the American public. And as you know, of course, we had an opportunity to allow Tony Perkins, the president of FRC, to explain what happened in 2012 when Floyd Lee Corkins went into Family Research Council and opened fire. And it was so awesome to see Leo Johnson, who is affectionately known as Leo the Hero, who was sitting on the front row at the hearing yesterday, who tackled Corkins to the ground and wrestled the gun out of his hand despite being shot in the arm. And he saved lives that day. But what it really did is pointed out again, SPLC is not a true civil rights organization. They’re a well-funded left-wing machine that engages in partisan politics and tries to silence its enemies. And a lot of that was just coming to light yesterday.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yep. A powerful hearing. I wish we had more time to talk with you about that because so much came out of it. I do, in the couple of minutes that we have remaining, want to hear some of the issues that are taking place there on the House floor. Several important pieces of legislation coming up already, some of them having been voted on. Kind of give us the highlights as to what’s taking place there.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, obviously, right now there’s a bill that stepped out before you could see the final vote on what happened to the building of a women’s museum that was part of the conversation today. And that vote was losing when I stepped off, but it was out of time. And I don’t know if they were able to get a few more votes on that. I know there’s been a lot of work that was done by conservatives like Mary Miller and others that got some things put in that bill to make sure that it was not going to be a celebration of the left-wing processes that we would all expect of the Smithsonian at times, but it was going to be truly a women’s museum. I don’t know what the result of that is. Again, I stepped off. We do have a War Powers Act vote that’s next that we’re going to be voting on that, once again, I trust will go down. If Republicans stick together, that allows the president to continue in his position right now in being able to negotiate an end to this conflict in Iran. And I think that I would guess that today it would go down. Once again, we voted down this vote. Previously, and I would expect today, we don’t want to tie the president’s hands as he’s trying to bring this conflict to an end.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, that was the big one that I wanted to get your take on. I didn’t know if that had already been voted on or not. I don’t have the live feed in front of me right now, but you said that’s coming up next, so we’ll certainly be keeping a watch on that. Unfortunately, our time has run out. Thank you for joining us, North Carolina Congressman Mark Harris, on our Patriot Mobile Hotline. Thank you for coming off the floor. God bless you. All right. Coming up, we’ve got some new research on U.S. adults. And catch this. It’s being suggested that AI is becoming a spiritual authority, even among practicing Christians. Interesting news. And we’ll discuss it next. So don’t go anywhere. We’ll be right back.
SPEAKER 01 :
Join us for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action at this year’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. Hear from Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials as we work together to build a foundation based on biblical truth. Early Bird special tickets are on sale for $69 when you register by June 15th. To register, visit PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org.
SPEAKER 11 :
Exodus 9, verse 1 says, You see, America has freedom for a purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today? In Scripture, deliverance and freedom is never an end in itself. It is a liberation unto obedience, to worship, and to a covenantal relationship. God’s demand to Pharaoh was not freedom for freedom’s sake, but freedom so his people could identify with and belong to and serve him. Freedom that is not used to serve God will not endure. One of the founders actually echoed a similar warning. Thomas Jefferson wrote, Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and His justice cannot sleep forever.” See, the founders understood we as a nation would be accountable to God for what He had granted to us. They sought freedom for a purpose. And that freedom was given to us as a nation for that same purpose, to serve God, to honor Him, and to live as a people under His authority. In this 250th anniversary year, we must ask the question, are we living by that purpose today as a nation? Lord, we thank you for the godly foundation and heritage of our states. Lord, we would return to an understanding of the freedom that you have granted to us, that freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. And I pray that our nation would return to that understanding of the purpose of the freedom that you have granted to us. We thank you, Father. By faith, we pray that we would return to that purpose. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss, your host, filling in today for Tony, and glad to have you joining us. Earlier this week, the Barna Group released some new research suggesting that AI is becoming a spiritual authority, even among practicing Christians. Some of the highlights that they found was 48% of practicing Christians who they surveyed said that they would trust AI with their spiritual growth. 34% said that spiritual advice from AI is just as trustworthy as advice from their pastors. That’s pretty significant. It’s more than one out of three. So what can we draw from these findings? Joining me now to break it all down. Dr. Jonathan Lett is Associate Professor of Theology at Laterno University and Director of their Faith, Science, and Technology Initiative. Dr. Lett, welcome to Washington Watch, and let me begin with a bird’s eye perspective type question. Those who were surveyed here said that they would trust AI across a wide range of life domains, finances, mental and physical well-being, as well as spiritual growth. So from a bird’s eye perspective, what’s your reaction to what the survey found?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, in some ways, this is not surprising at all. And I think it’s because what we’re seeing in many domains with AI is that it reveals what we already think about certain things or the way that we value them. And I think most of our understanding of knowledge is that it’s basically just facts or bullet points, just data that we could get. And so AI seems really good at just giving us the data, just giving us the bullet points faster than we could get it otherwise. So in some sense, this is not surprising, though there are, I think, some interesting and surprising parts of this survey.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let me get your reaction to this, because I’ve had many conversations with individuals about AI. And of course, there’s probably very few people who have not referred to AI in one capacity or another these days. But is it fair to say, because I kind of lean this way, and I may be totally wrong, so please tell me if I am. But would it be fair to say that AI probably is at its purest sense right now? I fear that the longer this thing goes and the more control people have over the content that comes out of AI, then the more devastating it will be. But at this stage, relatively early, it probably is pretty useful for a lot of information without AI. a great sense of overwhelming bias in it. Is that true or not true, do you think?
SPEAKER 14 :
Well, I think that one of the most underestimated ways that AI is biased is that it’s engineered to please you, right? So it wants to tell you what you want to hear so that you’ll keep using it. And You know, it doesn’t have to be designed this way. It could be much more matter of fact, but it wants to affirm that you have a great question and it can tell this is the kind of way you’re looking to go. And it anticipates that because it wants more and more engagement. So it wants you to be happy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Good point. Yep, that’s very well said. There’s no question there’s a bias there. Going back to the survey, there are some concerns, and you’ve brought some of those up, nearly two in three practicing Christians, 65%, themselves express concern about AI beginning to act as a replacement for God and perhaps the scriptures as a whole. 72% of practicing Christians are concerned about AI replacing the role of pastors or spiritual leaders. What does that tell you?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah, I think that Christians are struggling to articulate why they value what we already have in some sense. Why do we value a pastor or a pastor who knows me, who walks through life with me versus an animate chat bot that can function as a kind of hack and just give me what I need in this moment. I think we are a little worried about Scripture because we see how, as you were pointing out, how politicized things are. And so we’re worried, yeah, this could mess with our interpretations of Scripture because of politics. When it comes to spirituality, that seems to be a different kind of thing. It’s apolitical by nature. It’s interior. It’s about connection with God. And so I think we’re a little more optimistic about that because we don’t see the deep connection between interpretation of scripture and the practice of spiritual life.
SPEAKER 06 :
I found it interesting and I wanted to get your take across generations. Gen Z and millennials were generations that appear to be more likely to agree that spiritual advice from AI is just as trustworthy as advice from a pastor. Was there any surprise to you with that?
SPEAKER 14 :
that tracks with what I experienced at the university level. And I think it’s as simple as people who grow up with it earlier are more used to it. I think most of us, I’m a millennial, but who lived quite a bit of life before AI and even cell phones have a greater sense of how things used to be and what’s lost there. And I think It’s one thing to have, be a fully formed person and have a sense of the world and then use AI versus someone who’s still trying to find their way and doesn’t have much wisdom or even knowledge that it’s completely impossible for them to discern. So I thought that as you know, this, this article talks about trust, right? So we trust AI more than we trust ourselves. Those of us who’ve been in the world longer, we’ve had more practice trusting ourselves.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yep, good point. Listen, we’re not against AI, but there are some concerns, and I’m glad we’ve had this discussion. Real quickly, about a minute left, how would you encourage people to navigate through this growing frontier, and what would you say to parents who have younger children with AI?
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, I do think that this is a very important question. And this is, I would give a similar response if we were talking about social media or any other time on screens, you know, children are just developmentally in a different place. It’s completely different for me to engage AI, even for my, you know, 18 and 19 year old students. I’ve already done all of that work. And what AI does is it substitutes the process of thinking, of struggling to get to an answer. you should think about it like you gotta be the one who can lift those weights or run that race. And so you don’t wanna deprive children of that or they won’t develop the capacities they need to be able to use it properly as a tool and keep it in its place in the first instance.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you so much for joining us, Dr. Jonathan Lett, Director of the Faith, Science, and Technology Initiative at Laterno University. All right, coming up next, we’re going to talk about a bill in Louisiana that would require public schools to allow students to leave campus during school hours for religious instruction. We’ll discuss it right after the break, so stay with us.
SPEAKER 16 :
Join Family Research Council for a journey through the book of 1 Samuel. Come witness the rise of Samuel, the fall of Saul, and the calling of David, and how each person’s heart posture before God shaped their path and legacy. Order Tony Perkins’ study guide, 1 Samuel, Longing for a King, to help you respond faithfully to God’s voice in every season of life. Get it now at frc.org slash store, or text Samuel to 67742.
SPEAKER 08 :
One Nation Under God, America’s undeniable foundation of faith.
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The United States Capitol, an iconic symbol of the American Republic. But few know that this building at the heart of our nation’s government was once something more, the largest church building in America. Since its inception and for decades following, several rooms throughout the Capitol, including the House and Senate chambers, were used to host church services weekly. These services were filled with individuals from all levels of government. The attendance was so pervasive that often it was standing room only. Quote, going to the Capitol on Sundays was then one of the most common things in Washington. Margaret Bayard Smith. This practice was not merely accepted, but encouraged. Quote, I consider it as one of my public duties as a representative of the people to give my attendance every Sunday morning when divine service is performed in the hall, President John Quincy Adams. Housing worship at the center of our Capitol was a living representation of the role that biblical principles played as a cornerstone of our nation’s foundation of faith.
SPEAKER 12 :
The following segment of Washington Watch is underwritten by Patriot Mobile, a champion of First and Second Amendment rights, military, veterans, first responders, and a strong supporter of the sanctity of life. To learn more about Patriot Mobile’s nationwide service across all three major U.S. networks, go to TonyPerkins.com.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony. And as you heard, this segment is underwritten by our great friends at Patriot Mobile. We appreciate their partnership and certainly encourage you to check them out. All right. We’ve got a lot happening here in Washington, D.C., as we’ve been discussing. It’s always busy, but even more so coming into a holiday weekend. But Washington is not the only place where a lot of activity is happening. The legislative session for Louisiana’s state legislature is scheduled to end on June 1st. And as you can imagine, there’s a number of notable bills trying to make their way to the governor’s desk before their time expires. And among those bills is one that FRC has been encouraging other states to consider. That’s legislation that would allow students in grades 1 through 12, if authorized by parents, to participate in what’s called Released Time Bible Education. And we want to talk more about this, and joining me now is Ian Lake. He’s the chief of staff at LifeWise Academy, which is a nonprofit organization that provides this Bible education to public school students during school hours under released time religious instruction laws. Ian, welcome to Washington Watch, and let’s begin with that question. that many are probably not familiar with release time religious instruction. So give us a brief rundown. What does that mean?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me, Jody. Yeah, we actually conducted a recent poll and found out that nearly 40% of educators and parents don’t even realize this is an opportunity. So I appreciate the opportunity to share with you a little bit more about release time. So in the 50s, 1952, in a Supreme Court case called Zorach v. Clausen, the Supreme Court ruled that release time religious instruction, which is taking students from school to an offsite location to teach them a religious study. So in our case, Bible education was constitutional. And so that law has been, or that ruling has been active for over 70 years. And we’ve not seen much activity on it until recent years when some of these organizations like ourself have popped up and tried to really take advantage of the moment for parents who are seeking something for their child’s education, something different that is contributing to their moral and character development.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, so let’s take that, which is a fantastic program I’ve heard about and been a part of LifeWise for a long time and other similar programs. It’s just absolutely incredible the outcome that this has in students and families, the school, the community across the board. But let’s hone in on Louisiana, SB 112. What is it, why is it needed, and I guess where is it right now in the process?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, absolutely. So what we’ve seen and like we talked about just briefly there was that this has been available to communities for over 70 years. And a lot of times we have states that their policies don’t match or haven’t met the ruling from the Supreme Court in 1952. And so we’ve seen a movement across the country, really, in various states, nearly 11 states. Anywhere from my own state in Ohio to Texas and Florida, different states that have enacted these laws to provide guidance to school districts for enabling communities to have release time programs. And so this is that equivalent in Louisiana. just tells school districts, school parishes there in Louisiana that they can offer release time religious instruction if it is brought to them by their community members. And we at LifeWise are seeing interest in this program from Shreveport down to New Orleans. And so a lot of interest in the state itself. And so when a district or a parish rather is approached by a community, this bill then gives them language to understand what that means and to be able to apply and work with that community implement a program.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, you referenced it. Let’s talk about some of the benefits of this, and I know it’s been widely seen, the benefits there in Ohio, your home state, and many, many other places. So for those out there who may not be familiar with it, give us some of the benefits. What are the outcomes that you’re seeing here?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, absolutely. So we’re actually in the middle of updating some of this research right now. So some of these numbers will be actually even better when we have those data points solidified. But the preliminary data looks really good. But what we’ve seen based on a study that we conducted with Thomas P. Miller and Associates back in 2023 is that we see school attendance increases in districts where LifeWise has been implemented and is operating. We see in-school and out-of-school suspensions are decreasing. And also that academic performance is increasing. And so really, we look at this as, again, this is an element of education that we don’t expect the school district to provide. This is, again, we get the comments about separation of church and state. This is an opportunity to keep those things separate. And we take students out of school to conduct these classes. But the school is seeing those benefits. of of those students coming off of site and coming back into their school with uh better character quality so our program is character focused and so students come in they hear a bible story focused on something like patience or something you know like like grace or kindness and then they’re taking those character qualities back into the classroom um and it’s shifting the culture of our classrooms uh in areas where lifewise is active
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I’m hearing that all over the place where LifeWise exists, the impact that it’s having, not only on the students, but frequently on the families where those students are coming from, but certainly on the school and the entire environment within the schools. Just absolutely remarkable. Ian Lake, I want to thank you for joining us. I’m going to ask you, if you will, to hang on with me over the break. I’ve got some more questions that I’d like to get from you. Will you be able to hang on? Yes, sir. Looking forward to it. All right. Well, stay tuned, friends. We’ll be back with more discussion with Ian Lake right after this break.
SPEAKER 05 :
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. These words of Jesus echo in our hearts each Memorial Day as we remember and honor the memory of those who gave the last full measure of devotion. More than 160 years ago, at the dedication of a new cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Abraham Lincoln delivered a brief address near the battlefield where 7,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lost their lives. And the challenge he put forth that day is still our challenge today. He said, the world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. So in 2026, against the backdrop of a divided and troubled nation, we must resolve that those who have laid down their lives for their friends, for this nation, will not have done so in vain. We must resolve that once again, we shall have a new birth of freedom. This Memorial Day, Family Research Council prays our nation will return to the only one who can provide this lasting unity, the truth, Jesus, who laid down his life to make us his friends.
SPEAKER 10 :
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.
SPEAKER 09 :
A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal That they’re endowed by their Creator.
SPEAKER 10 :
With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men. Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th birthday, America. May God bless America.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch. Welcome back. Glad to have you. I’m your host, Jody Heiss, sitting in today for Tony, and I’m grateful that our guest from the last segment was able to hang on with me. Ian Lake is the chief of staff at LifeWise Academy, which is an incredible organization that allows public students to receive biblical education during school hours. Absolutely a life-transforming organization. ministry that they have. Ian, thank you for staying over the break. I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, absolutely, J.D. I’m glad to be here.
SPEAKER 06 :
All right, so let me play a little bit of devil’s advocate with you. There are some opponents of this bill and of LifeWise as a whole that would refer to this as some sort of theocratic movement. Their argument would be that the public schools exist to provide secular education and that diverting students to off-ground religious instruction both distracts from their educational objective, but it also is forcing religion, if you will, down their throats. Your response to that?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, it’s actually interesting. I want to read you just really briefly a portion of this bill that was just passed in Louisiana. And I didn’t get a chance to answer your question earlier. So Senate Bill 112 has passed through both chambers and is on its way to the governor’s desk in Louisiana. So we’re excited about that. But just this one portion here of this bill, it says that Article 101 of the Louisiana Children’s Code declares that the people of Louisiana recognize the family as the most fundamental human of human society, that preserving families is is essential to a free society and that the relationship between parent and child is preeminent in establishing and maintaining the well-being of the child and that parents have the responsibility of providing the basic needs and necessities of life as well. When I look at this, this is a parental rights issue. And so all of what you said may be true, that public schools, they may be tasked with providing the secular education. But at the end of the day, it’s parents who have the responsibility of raising their children. And our public school systems don’t have the ability oftentimes to integrate religious studies into their school day. And so release time religious instruction provides that opportunity for many families who can’t afford to do the private education or don’t have the time or availability to do homeschooling options. And so we come in then with that opportunity for them to step off of school property and come into a religious class like LifeWise provides, get that character education through the Bible and then return back to their school day. And so it’s a parental rights thing. And we just believe this is an opportunity for parents to kind of have more of a say in the education of their children.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yep, great, great information there. You know, there’s no question, most parents, probably most educators even, would agree that kids today face unprecedented challenges. In fact, there’s national polling that indicates that. And polling also overwhelmingly supports Bible-based character education as a solution. to some of the growing behavioral and mental health challenges that certainly are facing today’s young people. Is that also clear from the demand that you are witnessing with LifeWise in agreement with that poll that people want Bible instruction for their children?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, absolutely. You know, we see national interest from Washington to Florida, from New York to Hawaii. People all across this country are interested in this character-focused moral and religious instruction. And so we were even just talking recently internally, we’ve got signatures from community interests from over 88% of all school districts in the country. And so there is a massive movement of people who are wanting and desiring for their children to have an opportunity to learn, again, character qualities, but also to integrate faith foundations through Bible education. So LifeWise, we’re so blessed to have served more than 100,000 students in our six years of operation across 38 states. And we only, you know, we expect that that number is only going to increase as, you know, people become aware of the opportunity.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yep, I expect it to increase as well. 38 states, six years. It’s absolutely remarkable. So with that, no doubt some of our viewers and listeners are hearing about this for the first time or they’d like some more information. So two points in my last question for you. Number one, how would you encourage our viewers and listeners to pray when it comes to this issue? And then secondly, where would you encourage them to go look if they would like some more information?
SPEAKER 13 :
Yeah, absolutely. And I’m really thankful that you noted prayer there on the first part of that, because that’s absolutely the most essential thing for this organization to continue to grow and for students to come in contact with the gospel. And that’s ultimately what our goal is, that students would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ while also learning these character qualities through the programs that we provide. And so definitely just be in prayer for those communities who are already observing release time, whether it’s LifeWise or another program, be in prayer for our students who, again, like you noted, every day are facing unbelievable pressures that even I, as a young man, didn’t experience when I was their age. And then if you want to get involved more directly, you can visit LifeWise.org. We have an opportunity there for you to find your school. And when you go to that find your school, you can type in your school district and maybe even just your address, your code, and it will pull up your school district where you can see where your school district’s at in the process. It only takes 50 signatures for a community to get started, and we would love to see more communities involved with our programs.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I want to thank you, Ian Lake, Chief of Staff at LifeWise Academy, for joining us. Fantastic information, fantastic ministry and service that you’re providing for individuals, for families, for schools, and for the kingdom of God. Thank you for joining us. We appreciate it. Okay, as you just heard, there’s a lot happening with LifeWise Academy, but Likewise is very specifically happening right now in the legislative session in Louisiana. That session will be concluding on June 1st. And there’s a number of notable bills trying to make their way to the governor’s desk there in Louisiana. And one of those bills is on its way to becoming law in Louisiana. That is SB 306. which passed the state legislature earlier this week and was sent to the governor’s desk just yesterday. That bill seeks to protect houses of worship. It was introduced earlier this year in response to the highly publicized storming of the church in Minnesota. I’m sure you’ll remember that, anti-ice protesters storming that church. Well, joining us now to discuss this from Louisiana is state senator there, Rick Edmonds. He’s the author of the bill. Senator Edmonds, welcome to Washington Watch. Thanks for joining us. I want to begin with this question. The last I checked, the governor has not yet signed it, but Governor Landry has already signed a couple of other bills that are related to this issue. So where does this stand right now?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, usually what happens, and thanks for having me, by the way. Hey, I wanted to say that last bill you just brought up, I happen to be the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and we were able to quarterback that last bill through Louisiana. So it’s a good day for a lot of these bills. But back on the subject matter, what happens with these bills after we get through the House and the Senate, it goes to the governor’s desk, he has a few days to sign it. We usually have a ceremonial kind of signing. And I am very, very confident that Governor Landry will not only does he support, but he will outwardly support, sign and help us as we continue to go forward.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think this is an important bill, certainly nationally, but even in Louisiana. I mean, we’ve watched some, there’s been an increase in churches and so forth being targeted, some arson and so forth over the years. What moved you to push this idea, this bill forward? Certainly what happened in Minnesota was a part of it, but I have a hunch there’s more behind it than just Minnesota.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you know, I’ve been in ministry my whole adult life, and there’s no better place to be on a Sunday morning, or for that matter, many days of the week. But especially on Sundays, there’s no better place to be than your local house of worships where our families, our friends, our children. It’s just great. I mean, I love being in church. And of course, we were all motivated by what happened in Chicago recently with vehicles trying to storm in the doors of a synagogue or what happened in Minnesota where agitators stormed in the building. Children were afraid that children were afraid their parents were going to die. Parents couldn’t get to the children’s area to get to the children to pick them up like you would in a normal situation after you drop your children off to the child care center. So, you know, no one can be satisfied with that. That just goes beyond the limits of anything we’ve ever seen in church, and we just can’t stand for that. you know those and other factors we just want to protect the citizens of louisiana make certain that they know we care about them every day of the week and particularly on sunday when we get together our family and our friends and we have preaching and singing and fellowship and just again uh we don’t want them to ever feel like that uh that churches and their places of worship can be violated by Some would call them agitators. That’s what they did in recent articles. And so we’ve taken a stand and we’re looking forward to the governor signing it. And we put in some penalties to make certain that people understand we’re very serious here in Louisiana.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, a big amen to that, and thank you for leading this bill through. How would you respond to critics? And the critic may be one who would come and claim that this bill somehow would chill constitutionally protected peaceful protests and the rights, First Amendment rights. How would you respond to that?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, a couple of things. I think through historically, people know that churches are places that welcome people to come in. We’re inclusive. In fact, even media and journalists, I had those questions asked to me during the time we were presenting the bill. Of course, we’re not against some journalists covering a story in a church or even attending a church service and taking notes or bringing video cameras and covering. We all are welcome to people seeing what’s going on in our churches. But When you enter into a private property, you’re not established to go and storm in a church and house a protest on private property like that anywhere. And I think those were ridiculous types of arguments. We’re for the First Amendment. Obviously, we speak the truth, and we’re for presenting the truth everywhere. And we live in America. People get – I don’t always agree with the things that people say, as I’m sure you don’t as well. And much of the listening audience today doesn’t. But we’re not talking about First Amendment rights when people are taking over a service or any public meeting. And – making their will be known, threatening people, violating people’s personal rights and space. No one really should be for that. And we’re not for that in Louisiana. And I know we’re not. That’s not the America I grew up in. And we’re going to do everything we can to protect our people and their personal rights.
SPEAKER 06 :
Good for you. Over the past several years, I’m sure you’re probably aware, here at FRC, we’ve been tracking hostility towards Christians and churches and so forth, and a wide range from acts of violence to shootings, vandalism, disruptions, a host of other things. Maybe some degree of leveling off, but still there remains an absolute elevated level of this hostility. So this is not just a partisan issue, is it? I mean, as you’re speaking there, this is an issue that impacts everyone.
SPEAKER 04 :
It does. And, you know, I think about the Jewish community and the hate that’s out there now, and that some think somehow—I can’t really believe they believe it in their heart, but they pretend that they do—that violent acts are the right way to go against someone that you disagree with. Listen, I disagree with people all the time. There’s all kinds of disagreement. Here in the Senate, we have— debate all the time about bills and different opinions. We have Democrats and we have Republicans. We have conservatives and moderates and liberals. I mean, if you use violence against everybody you disagreed with, I mean, there would be no civility anywhere. You couldn’t go anywhere and you couldn’t hardly walk into a restaurant and not find some reason you could disagree with someone. Those are just ludicrous points of view. They’re way out of bounds. And it’s high time that we, you know, stand for the majority of Americans, whether they’re black, whether they’re white, whether they’re Republicans, Democrats, they could be Christians, Jews. I mean, violence is not the correct answer. And oh, by the way, hate’s not the right—America was not built on hate. And we should not continue to allow people to try to use hate as some kind of argument for their cause. I’ll never I’ve never allowed that on my watch. I won’t allow that on my family’s watch. We don’t teach anything remotely close to that. And look, Tony’s a great friend and he’s been a great leader of presenting those kinds of fundamental values as long as I’ve known him. So I’m grateful to be here today to present the things that I believe we firmly believe in our hearts and our lives.
SPEAKER 06 :
Absolutely. While I have you, before I let you go, there’s another bill that you’ve authored that I wanted to ask you about, and that’s SB 307 regarding the display of the Ten Commandments. Tell us about that and where it stands right now.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, well, fortunately, we have passed that bill, and it’s on the way to the governor’s desk as well. What we’ll be able to do is we’ll be able to provide a monument on the Capitol grounds, just like we have other monuments, and it will be totally private paid for. It won’t cost the taxpayers a dime. And it will represent what we believe is some of the foundational values that America and our law systems have been built on. So we’re grateful for the Ten Commandments. So in Louisiana, that’s going to be permanent. We’re not even going to have maintenance charges on it. So no one can find any reason this historical document of truth and value is going to be a permanent part of Louisiana history. And I’m just excited to be a small part of it.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, we’re excited about that, too. That is the issue that the Lord used to begin the process of moving me out of the pulpit and pastoring into what ended up being time in Congress. It started with the battle over the Ten Commandments. And many people say this is just a religious document. It serves no secular purpose whatsoever. Absolutely false statement. But we’ve got about 30 seconds. Give me your comments on that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I’ll just say, you know, I’ve lived as a life as a pastor my whole life as well now 11 years in the legislature. And we know without a shadow of a doubt, people all over the world have built their principal values on the Ten Commandments. It’s a great document of spiritual value, but it’s a great document of historical value. And we as Americans, we know what America has been built on, and we’re fighting for what we believe that God has blessed our nation in. And it’s an honor to be able to do that.
SPEAKER 06 :
And I’ll tell you what, you go over Washington, D.C., and the Ten Commandments are everywhere. I mean, they’re all over the place. So our country was founded there. Thank you so much for joining us, Louisiana State Senator Rick Edmonds. We appreciate it. All right, friends, that wraps up this edition of Washington Watch. We’ll see you again tomorrow. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 07 :
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