Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.
It’s A What? – A week in to President Trump’s tenure, his Administration has been very active on in the executive action arena issuing Executive Orders and Presidential Memorandum. What’s the difference (not much). Read about the in The Washington Post.
Working Plan – New Homeland Security Secretary Mike Kelly has said that for border security more is needed than simply a wall. Kelly has advocated for growing cooperative efforts with countries as far south as Peru and supports increased aid for economic development, education and a focus on human rights to combat unauthorized immigration and drug trafficking. Read more in The New York Times.
Page Down – Trump Administration officials have asked the EPA to remove its climate change page from its website. The page contains links to scientific global warming research and detailed data on emissions. Read more at Reuters.
Fiscal Solvency – A recent GAO report warned lawmakers that they must take action to trace a broader long-term plan for the country’s finances or the balance sheet will reach a point of instability not seen since the aftermath of World War II. Specifically, the debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio, an indicator of how much the government is spending compared to economic output, would skyrocket within 15 to 25 years to historic levels at 106 percent — a ratio last held in 1946. Deficits were driven by what appropriators have hammered home in numerous floor speeches in both chambers for years: costs for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as interest on the federal debt. And the share of that debt held by foreign entities also increased 9 percent from fiscal 2001 to fiscal 2016, to 39 percent at the end of fiscal 2016. Read the report here.
Reality Check – Many of the sweeping actions President Trump vowed this week through his executive orders and proclamations are problematic, either because they are impractical, opposed by Congress and members of his Cabinet, or full of legal holes. Read more from the Washington Post.
What’s a Block Grant? – Everything you need to know about block grants, which are at the heart of the GOP’s Medicaid plans. President Donald Trump’s administration made explicit last weekend its commitment to this strategy for turning control of the program to states and capping what the federal government spends on it each year. Read more from Governing.
First Day ACA Executive Action – On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. True to his word, on his first day in office he issued an executive order addressing the Affordable Care Act. It may not be, however, all that his supporters expected. Read all about it on the Health Affairs blog.
Books Are Up! – Sales of Orwell’s 1984 have skyrocketed in recent weeks. Read more in Bloomberg.