Dear Vice President-elect Vance,
I address you rather than President-elect Trump because you and I share a common faith. Like you, I am a convert to Catholicism and try to form my moral (and thus political) commitments according to the entire teaching of the Church. This includes moral matters that admit of no exceptions, as well as those that are open to prudential judgment. This comes through a careful application of what are sometimes called the “four pillars” of Catholic Social Doctrine: The equal dignity of every person, subsidiarity, solidarity and a commitment to act according to the common good. Considering our common commitment to the Catholic faith and the principles that follow from it, I hope that your administration will consider the following admonitions and suggestions in a spirit of charity and practical reason.
Federal abortion policy
During the campaign, both you and President-elect Trump indicated that you consider abortion to be a state issue, not a federal one. Thus, you have indicated that you will not advocate for a federal ban on abortion and that the President would veto such a bill in the unlikely event that it passed both houses of Congress. I understand this position, as it had been the theory of anti-abortion activists for the fifty years that Roe v. Wade was controlling law. That said, however, a federal abortion ban is not the only means that your administration can use to protect unborn life. Tax policy and regulatory measures can also be utilized to discourage abortion and encourage life.
For example, through the Department of Health and Human Services, your administration can condition Medicare reimbursements on a health care facility’s refusal to perform elective abortions. This does not violate the spirit of the law in states that permit abortion on demand, but it does send a signal that federal tax dollars will not be used to pay for it. A state’s decision to allow abortion on demand should have consequences. One of those can be a refusal by the federal government to subsidize the policy. If a state wants to provide abortion on demand, the state can bear the entire burden of the cost. In this context it almost goes without saying: You can cut off all funding to Planned Parenthood and similar organizations or facilities whose primary — if not sole — purpose is to perform abortions. And you can prohibit all federal regulatory agencies from providing abortion coverage in health care insurance policies. Not one federal penny should be used to pay for elective abortion. You can implement such a principle through regulation and executive order.
Pro-family policies and programs
As you are well aware, the current reproductive rate of 1.6 children per woman is alarmingly below the rate of 2.1 that is necessary merely to sustain the non-immigrant population. As a U.S. senator, you have been an advocate of highly subsidized, if not free, birth. I encourage you to propose and advocate legislation that will make this a reality. Children are a public good, benefitting not only the children’s parents, but also the common good. Thus, it is perfectly fitting for the cost of birth to be shared by all of us who benefit from it.
In addition to subsidizing the cost of birth, you have advocated raising the child tax credit from $2,000 to $5,000. Again, I urge you to pursue this in the new Congress. Additionally, you can use your position to advocate for a removal of ceilings on the number of children that are subject to the credit. This will not only encourage couples to have children, but will also assist families who desire to have a stay-at-home parent, but who otherwise would not be able.
On this note, you might also pursue legislation and policy that encourages — if not mandates — paid parental leave. The US is the only of its peer countries that does not have federally mandated paid parental leave. I am aware that it might be difficult — if not practically impossible — to enact federal legislation mandating that companies of a certain size provide paid parental leave. But, again, the policy could be encouraged through various tax and regulatory measures. You can use regulatory carrots and sticks to favor corporations that provide paid leave and disfavor those that do not. This might involve federal subsidies or tax rebates to companies that provide paid parental leave. Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. But federal policies can be fashioned in such a way that paid parental leave becomes the norm, rather than the exception.
Transgender issues
President-elect Trump has recently recited a list of policy measures related to transgender issues, all of which are a breath of fresh air. It is time to end trans ideology madness in the U.S., and your administration can be the catalyst for doing that. No federal funds, whether through direct transfers to institutions or financial aid to students, should be provided to any school or other institution (public or private) that violates women’s spaces. You can put an end to forcing girls to compete against boys in high school and college athletics. You can provide strong, absolute protection of girls’ and women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and other women’s spaces, by prohibiting biological males from using such spaces. And you can implement policies that prohibit any institution that receives federal funds from mandating that people use pronouns that are inconsistent with a person’s biological and genetic sex. In many states it is now a crime or civil offense to speak truthfully about gender. Your administration can use the power of the federal purse to put an end to such wicked policies.
Additionally, no Medicare reimbursement should be provided to any health care professional or institution that performs so-called gender-affirming surgery. This policy should not be limited to children, even though children should be the highest priority. Under the Biden administration, ideology and science denial have been the rules. You can use your bully pulpit, regulatory measures, and executive orders to restore sanity to health care. In no event should one federal penny be used to finance, subsidize or reimburse the cost of any procedure that involves the mutilation and abuse of confused children. If an adult wants to amputate healthy organs in the name of gender ideology, that is his or her decision. But not one tax penny should facilitate such gruesome and objectively immoral action.
The immigration crisis
We have an immigration crisis in the U.S., largely created by the incompetence and malfeasance of the Biden/Harris administration. To fix the problem, we need both regulatory action to repatriate those who have entered the country illegally and legislative action to rationalize immigration policy. As Catholics, we recognize the solidarity of all humankind, which mandates compassionate and generous immigration policy. But that must be consistent with the common good of the communities in the U.S. that are affected by immigration. Neither party has been interested in striking this balance. You can be the voice for advocating compassionate but prudent immigration reform.
You and Donald Trump were elected because the American people are tired of the gaslighting from the political left and their legacy media propagandists. We are fed up with identity politics, and look to you to rise above it. While we are divided on abortion, the majority of us believe that abortion should be regulated, similarly to the way it is regulated in peer nations. We do not believe that people can change their sex, nor that girls and women should be made to suffer the consequences of transgender ideology. Your mandate is to implement laws, policies and programs consistent with these fundamental values. It will be hard work. I will be praying with you for the wisdom and prudence required to do the work well.
