A Message from the Chairman and President

True North. Always.

But being a “full service” think tank does have its advantages.

When complex problems present themselves, Heritage is able to draw on the expertise of any and—if need be—all of its research centers to develop practical, comprehensive solutions beyond the reach of most research institutions.

Case in point: the 2018 Valentine’s Day murder of 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The Left immediately seized on the tragedy to demand oppressive federal gun control laws. But Heritage took a more thoughtful approach, assembling an inter-departmental task force to develop a measured, holistic response.

Experts from our Meese Legal Center, our Center for Education Policy, and Domestic Policy Studies produced a series of practical reports running the gamut from best practices in school security to recommendations for improving law enforcement, mental health services, and school discipline policies.

Our communications and congressional relations teams aggressively promoted our recommendations in the media and on Capitol Hill.

In the end, we succeeded in blocking the attempts to impose wholesale restrictions on basic constitutional rights. Moreover, we saw schools across the country implement many of our recommended best practices. And at year’s end, we applauded as the administration withdrew the ruinous Obama-era school discipline “guidance” that had left our classrooms more vulnerable to disorderly and violent students.

Heritage’s institutes and departments pulled together on many other issues through the year, launching coordinated campaigns on everything from the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to border security initiatives. And in every instance, our unified teams pulled in but one direction: toward the True North of conservatism.

Worldwide Impact

Our ability to develop and successfully market practical, conservative policy solutions for today’s thorniest problems was recognized in February, when the University of Pennsylvania rated us as the most impactful think tank—not just in the U.S., but in the entire world.

In reading this report, you’ll see that we continued to earn that honor throughout the year, winning victory after victory in the policy wars.

Heritage’s growing international influence is one reason that, for the first time in our 45-year history, Heritage was chosen for the honor of co-hosting the North American Think Tank Summit in February.

Our influence on foreign policy was evident as the administration embraced our recommendations to suspend aid to terrorist-supporting Pakistan, withdrew from the anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council, and backed away from a highly disadvantageous nuclear arms treaty with Russia.

On the home front, we were pleased to see Heritage recommendations accepted by all three branches of government.

The administration continued to roll back the regulatory state, saving Americans a net $23 billion by axing 12 existing regulations for each significant new one.

Congress boosted defense spending for the second consecutive year.

And the Supreme Court issued a string of pro-liberty decisions, such as those that defended non-union members’ right to refuse paying union dues and upheld a Christian baker’s right to decline celebrating a same-sex marriage.

Of course, one of our more consequential victories—the nomination and confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court—involved all three branches. It was Heritage, you’ll recall, that put Kavanaugh’s name on President Trump’s short list of candidates for the highest court in the land.

World-Class Speakers

Another measure of Heritage’s clout is the increasing frequency with which domestic and foreign leaders choose our lecture halls to make major policy pronouncements.

In 2018, three top administration officials made international news from the podium of Allison Auditorium:

• U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley explained the rationale for the U.S. withdrawal from the Human Rights Council;
• Mike Pompeo made his first policy address as U.S. secretary of state, outlining the new U.S. strategy for dealing with Iran; and
• National Security Advisor John Bolton unveiled the administration’s new Africa policy.

Two more Cabinet members—Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar—visited our lecture halls, as did nine U.S. senators and 18 U.S. representatives.

Top military officials came, too, from home and abroad.

Secretary of the Army Mark Esper; Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson; Admiral John Richardson, the chief of Naval Operations; and Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard—all spoke on the challenges their service branches face.

H.E. Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, traveled from Brussels to deliver a speech on “The Value of NATO in the 21st Century.” More than a dozen other foreign dignitaries—including the president of the Republic of Georgia, Poland’s secretary of state, and the ambassador of Romania—made Heritage Washington’s premier forum for major policy announcements.

Beyond these public events were literally dozens of private meetings with world leaders—on premises and off. For example, in May, Executive Vice President Kim R. Holmes and I (Kay Coles James) met with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres here at Heritage. In November, we hosted Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi for breakfast.

In April, I had the privilege of sitting at the head table for the state luncheon in honor of President and Mrs. Emmanuel Macron of France. It was a welcome opportunity to discuss Heritage, France, and shared priorities with the visiting leader.

Institutional Milestones

Along with our policy victories, Heritage registered quite a few institutional achievements in 2018.

On May 16, we celebrated completion of the E.W. Richardson Building with a dedication ceremony that featured remarks by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The seven-story, 36,000 square foot building is named in honor of World War II B-24 Liberator pilot Rich Richardson. It provides safe and convenient housing for interns, visiting fellows, and VIP guests. Our summer interns moved in just three days after the opening ceremony.

In September, we opened our newest policy shop: the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. Under the direction of Romina Boccia, the center is dedicated to restoring fiscal responsibility to the nation’s affairs by reducing excessive federal taxing and spending.

Later that month, the Board of Trustees approved creation of a new division dedicated exclusively to promoting Heritage’s ideas in Congress and the Executive Branch. Thomas Binion, who has led our government relations team to tremendous success since 2016, was named vice president of the new department.

We ended the year reaching—and exceeding—a financial milestone. Some in the think tank world had thought our six-year goal of $750 million for the Reclaim America campaign was far too ambitious. But they underestimated the dedication and generosity of our members, who contributed a grand total of $831 million during that period.

The Road Ahead

Thanks to the support of our members and our amazingly talented staff, Heritage closed out 2018 bigger, smarter, and more cohesive than ever. But even as we take pride in the work we’ve done and our hard-earned achievements, we realize there’s much more that needs to be done.

It is a truism that, if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. And in 2018, we took steps to assure that Heritage remains a best-in-class institution well into the future.

We went through a six-month strategic planning exercise that involved every department in Heritage. In the end, we identified five strategic goals that will guide our efforts over the next three years.

We also established three Innovation Workshops—inter-departmental working groups that will analyze emerging issues in areas critical to assuring that America remains, in the words of Ronald Reagan, the world’s “shining city on a hill.” With the help of these forward-looking groups, Heritage will continue to lead the way in developing innovative conservative policies and effective coalitions to help shape the future of work, future of education, and American values and the American character.

Heritage will always respond to change with insight and innovation. But our vision and our values remain unchanged. We are unshakably determined to build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish.

The new leadership in the House of Representatives will make achieving that goal more difficult, but Heritage has been overcoming obstacles erected by the Left for more than 45 years. We’ve got this!

We will continue to promote school choice and to oppose those who would give Washington full control of our health care under the banner of “Medicare for All.” We will keep fighting to improve border security and close the dangerous loopholes in our immigration system. We will keep pushing for pro-growth economic policies, free trade, and a strong national defense.

In other words, we will continue to fight for the principles and values that animated our nation’s Founders—the same principles and values cherished by our members and the worldwide conservative movement.

Heritage has been the standard bearer of that movement for nearly a half-century. All that time, we have helped advance the cause of liberty and the rule of law around the world … and hundreds of millions are now freer, more prosperous, and more secure as a result.

And so we look forward to 2019, clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, but confident in our ability to advance policies that will improve the lot of all Americans. And marching, always marching, toward True North.

Sincerely,

Barb Van Andel-Gaby

Chairman

Kay Coles James

President