1600 Daily: Everything White House for 6/13/17
Summary:
Get news, events and updates from the White House here at 1600 Daily.
President Donald J. Trump is dedicating this week to workforce development, focusing on steps to make it easier for industries to design, certify, and scale apprenticeship programs. Today, President Trump, Secretary Acosta, and Assistant to the President, Ivanka Trump, will travel to Wisconsin to tour several training classrooms and participate in a roundtable discussion with local business owners.
TODAY'S EVENTS
11:00 AM: President Trump meets with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster
12:00 PM: President Trump has lunch with members of Congress
2:05 PM: President Trump departs Washington, D.C. en route to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
3:00 PM: President Trump meets with victims of Obamacare
3:10 PM: President Trump makes a statement on healthcare - Watch
3:55 PM: President Trump tours Waukesha County Technical College
4:15 PM: President Trump leads a workforce development roundtable discussion
PHOTO OF THE DAY
The 2016 NCAA Football National Champions, the Clemson Tigers | June 12, 2017 (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)
WHITE HOUSE UPDATES
Yesterday, President Trump held the first full Cabinet meeting of his administration.
Yesterday, President Trump welcomed the 2016 NCAA National Football Champion Clemson Tigers to the White House.
President Trump made a statement on Men's Health Week, supporting expanded education and awareness in men's health.
WHAT WE ARE READING
"Fresh off of infrastructure week, the White House is pushing forward a major jobs agenda that includes filling positions that do not require four year college degrees." - Townhall
"President Trump during his campaign promised to 'put our miners back to work.' That promise was at least partially fulfilled since the Corsa Coal Company opened, making it the first American corporation to open a new coal mine in six years." - Daily Caller
The White House
Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2017
Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
10:15 A.M. EDT
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Secretary Price. Thank you for those gracious words and insights, and especially just thank you for your service to this administration and your lifelong dedication to patient-centered healthcare. As a physician, as a public official, you've literally dedicated your life to the health and well-being of the American people. And Secretary Tom Price, we are grateful for your service. (Applause.)
You mentioned my Indiana roots, so you’ll not be terribly surprised to know that I’m also grateful to be joined today by a fellow Hoosier, who literally has brought a lifetime of experience in healthcare policy to her new role as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Would you join me in thanking Seema Verma for her character and her vision and her professionalism? Thank you, Seema. (Applause.)
Now I’m really honored to be here today at the United States Department of Health and Human Services. I bring greetings from the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump.
I really came here today to do two things -- to express the President’s appreciation for the work that each one of you do here at Health and Human Services, and, of course, to address one of the most pressing issues facing the American people today, the ongoing collapse of the Affordable Care Act.
But first, a word of gratitude for all the dedicated men and women of the Department of Health and Human Services. Day-in and day-out, the public servants in this room and all across the country, improve the health, safety, and well-being of America. It’s not an overstatement in the least. And the President and I are truly grateful for your service and your dedication.
Under this roof, and in these halls, the men and women of HHS have spent more than 60 years working on behalf of the well-being of the American people.
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services employs 80,000 people and runs more than 100 programs and projects that impact American communities and American lives every single day.
Through the Food and Drug Administration, you make sure that the food we eat and the medicine we take is safe and effective.
Through the Centers for Disease Control, you protect the American people from the threat of epidemic.
You help families get on their feet through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program.
And of course, you help tens of millions of seniors and vulnerable Americans get the healthcare they need through Medicare and Medicaid.
The truth is that your work changes lives and improves lives every day. There’s an old saying, that when everybody in your family is healthy, you have lots of problems. But when one person in your family isn’t healthy, you've got one problem.
Reality is you focus on that which is most important to the American people, the health and well-being of their loved ones.
You are, in a very real sense, the hands and feet of a caring nation, committed to the health and well-being of our people. And make no mistake about it and never doubt it: The Department of Health and Human Services and all you dedicated employees make a difference in the lives of Americans every single day. Would you just give yourselves a round of applause because you deserve it -- and all those that are looking on?
So I’m here to say thanks, but also to address the ongoing collapse of the Affordable Care Act, or as the President says more clearly, literally the “death spiral” of Obamacare.
I can promise you this President is fighting every single day to rescue the American people from this policy, to repeal and replace Obamacare, and give the American people access to the world-class healthcare that every American deserves.
Now I know this room is filled with men and women who care deeply about bringing high-quality healthcare to every American, and rest assured, President Donald Trump wants exactly the same thing.
The President’s vision for healthcare is really pretty straightforward. We want a dynamic national, health insurance marketplace that lowers costs, increases quality, and gives more choices to working families. We want American businesses to have the freedom to give their employees the affordable coverage that they need and deserve. We want to give states the freedom and flexibility to create the healthcare system that works best for them, for their most vulnerable.And most of all, we want to empower the American people to make healthcare choices that are best for them in a free and open process.
In short, under President Donald Trump, we seek a brighter healthcare future for every American. This will be the North Star for our administration, and for everyone who works on healthcare here at HHS.
But make no mistake about it: To make this vision a reality, President Donald Trump is going to keep his promise to the American people, and working with this Congress, we're going to repeal and replace Obamacare. (Applause.)
We all remember all the broken promises of Obamacare. I was actually in the Congress when I heard them ushered forth on the floor of the House of Representatives. They told us if you like your doctor, you could keep him. They told us if you like your health plan, you could keep it. They said if Obamacare passed, that health insurance premiums would go down.
President Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give the people the facts and the Republic will be saved,” and thanks to the exceptional work here at HHS, the American people now have new, hard facts. And they know for a fact that Obamacare has failed.
Last month, the professionals here at Health and Human Services issued a study showing how Obamacare has actually led to skyrocketing premiums across this country. This report found that premiums have more than doubled since Obamacare went into effect.
Whether it’s Nevada, North Dakota, or Ohio -- every state has seen premiums spike under this failed law. In Louisiana they’re up 123 percent. In Tennessee they’re up by more than 175 percent. In Alaska, Alabama, Oklahoma, tens of thousands of people are paying three times more for their plan under Obamacare.
Remember the last administration promised that Obamacare would lower premiums on the individual market by up to $2,500 for American families? The reality: Premiums have actually increased by nearly $3,000 on working families across this country.
At this moment, millions of Americans are facing double-digit premium hikes heading into 2018.
And while costs are soaring, even worse still, choices are plummeting. Insurance companies are pulling out of Obamacare left and right.
Right now a third of American counties, including five whole states, only have one choice of Obamacare insurance coverage -- meaning they essentially have no choice at all.
And as the map on the stage shows, using information HHS released just yesterday, tens of thousands of Americans, or more, won’t have any insurance options at all next year.
In the past few weeks, the last health insurers have announced exits from at least 23 Obamacare markets.
Take a look at Ohio where the last statewide insurer announced two weeks ago that they're likely to leave Obamacare. The red squares on the map are counties without any coverage. More than 13,000 citizens in Ohio will be affected with this no-choice option.
Now look at Missouri. Some 25 counties in the Show Me State won’t have any insurance available under Obamacare.
And if you look just north in Iowa, you’ll see that nearly the entire state only has one insurer. And if that company pulls out, which it has said it might well do, then 94 out of 99 counties in Iowa will be completely without coverage under Obamacare.
And remember, many insurers are still deciding whether to pull out under Obamacare exchanges. If and when they do, hundreds of thousands or even millions more Americans could have no health insurance options this time next year. With premiums more than doubling for the average American, with deductibles so high that most Americans can't afford to use their Obamacare coverage, it's no surprise that Obamacare itself has woefully fallen short of its goal to cover the American people, as the other chart on the stage shows.
Back when Obamacare was first passed, just over seven years ago, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that 23 million Americans would be covered by now. That's the blue line on the far left. It quickly became apparent that this was farfetched -- to put it mildly.
Last October, the Obama administration estimated that 14 million Americans would be covered by now. That's the next line. Yet as HHS released just yesterday, and as the red bar shows, in reality, it's even lower. As of March of this year, while 12.2 million selected a plan, only 10.3 million Americans actually paid for their premiums. That's less than half the number that was predicted under Obamacare. And nearly two million Americans dropped out in the same year, not paying the premiums that they had signed up to pay for.
As the President said just moments ago, 2 million more people just dropped out of Obamacare. It is a death spiral. And as CMS explained in the same report yesterday, in their words, “high costs and a lack of affordability were the most common factors individuals cited when asked why they didn't keep their coverage.”
The Affordable Care Act is failing, and American families and businesses are paying the price. You see, it's not just about the statistics, although policymakers in Washington, D.C. always have to look at the big picture. But you here at HHS know, this is about real people. This is about American families. This is about a burden that's being placed on the American people, one American at a time.
I've seen it firsthand as I've traveled around this country. I've heard it from small business owners in roundtables where we've gathered and heard about the weight of Obamacare's taxes and mandates on their business that have caused some of them to speak with tears in their eyes about their decision to discontinue health insurance coverage for their cherished employees of many years.
And I've heard it from individuals like Julie Champine just this past Saturday in Wisconsin. You know, I met Julie on a trip to Milwaukee and she's a great lady. Has a great family -- she and her husband have been working their hearts out in their small business for many years. But Julie confided in me that she's got some pretty serious health issues. And health insurance is just vitally important to her.
Now, Julie has been buying her insurance on the individual market since 2004. She told me she wanted to believe it when President Obama said that she would be able to keep her plan and keep her doctor. But it turned out it just wasn't true. Julie lost her health plan. Then she lost her doctor. And ever since, she's been forced to buy unaffordable and unusable health insurance on the Obamacare exchange.
In 2016 alone, Julie told me that the Obamacare plan for her family cost more than $9,000 in premiums with a deductible of $13,000. And late last year, she found out her premiums were going to go up by another $2,600 this year. At this very moment, Julie told me that her Obamacare health insurance plan costs more than her mortgage, and she can't even afford to use it because of the high deductible.
In fact, she told me with genuine emotion in her voice that a few months back, she actually made the decision to go without health insurance for several months just so she could afford Christmas presents for her kids and her grandkids. That's the real cost of Obamacare on the American people. It's just wrong.
But that's the choice too many Americans are forced to make under this unaffordable Affordable Care Act. Julie basically said to me for the longest time, she just felt like we had no hope. But I looked her in the eye, and I told her, Julie, help is on the way. (Applause.) And I promise you it is.
The simple truth is, President Trump is right. Obamacare is collapsing. And frankly, you'd have to be blinded by partisanship to believe otherwise. And unfortunately, a lot of people in this town are, like most of the Democrats in Congress, for instance.
The American people deserve to know that the ones who gave us Obamacare now won’t even lift a finger to help us clean up the mess that they created.
And their willing allies in the media continue to try to lay the blame for Obamacare’s failures on this President, this administration as we try to rescue the American people from its failings.
But fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Speaker Paul Ryan, on May 4th the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act -- legislation that will repeal the taxes and penalties of Obamacare, expand health savings accounts, and give states historic flexibility to reform Medicaid in ways that will best serve the most vulnerable in their communities.
And as we speak, the American people should be encouraged to know that under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and hardworking members of U.S. Senate majority, the Senate is, as we speak, working tirelessly to improve this legislation and create an orderly framework to transition our healthcare economy away from the regulations and mandates and taxes of Obamacare to a patient-centered healthcare system built on personal responsibility, free-market competition, and state-based reform.
In fact, the President and I will be welcoming key members of the United States Senate to the White House at lunch today to continue discussions on how we can move forward to repeal and replace Obamacare and rescue the American people from the ongoing collapse of this failed policy.
For the past seven years, under Obamacare, we’ve had a healthcare system based on the misguided premise that the federal government should order every American to buy health insurance, whether they want it, or need it, or not; that politicians know better than patients and doctors; and that --worst of all, that the American people cannot be trusted to run their own lives or make their own healthcare choices.
President Trump is fighting every day to restore basic freedom to America’s health insurance system. And the men and women of Health and Human Services are essential to this effort.
Each of you in this room, and the some-80,000 employees of Health and Human Services, I know are men and women who’ve answered the call to public service because you care deeply about the health and well-being of the American people. Well, I’m here to say thank you for answering that call.
And just know -- as we move forward, as we give the American people more choices for more affordable healthcare, we give states freedom and flexibility to meet the needs of our most vulnerable, know that you, the dedicated men and women of the Department of Health and [Human] Services, will continue to play a leading role in making the best healthcare system in the world even better.
Thank you for your service to the American people. God bless each of you, God bless all our healthcare providers, and God bless the United States of America.
END
10:31 A.M. EDT
10:31 A.M. EDT
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2017
Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
SUBJECT: Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 4533(a)(5) of
the Defense Production Act of 1950
the Defense Production Act of 1950
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 4533(a)(5) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (the "Act")(50 U.S.C. 4533(a)(5)), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 4533(a)(5) of the Act, that critical technology item shortfalls affecting adenovirus vaccine production capability; high strength, inherently fire and ballistic resistant, co-polymer aramid fibers industrial capability; secure hybrid composite shipping container industrial capability; and three-dimensional ultra‑high density microelectronics for information protection industrial capability are critical to national defense.
Without Presidential action under this Act, the United States defense industrial base cannot reasonably be expected to adequately provide those capabilities or critical technology items in a timely manner. Further, purchases, purchase commitments, or other action pursuant to section 4533 of the Act are the most cost effective, expedient, and practical alternative method for meeting the need for those capabilities or critical technology items.
You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
DONALD J. TRUMPThe White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2017
Text of a Letter from the President to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
TO THE CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND THE CHAIRMAN
AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE
ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS
TO THE CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND THE CHAIRMAN
AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE
ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Dear Mr. Chairman: (Dear Representative:)(Dear Senator:)
In accordance with section 303(a)(6)(A) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (the "Act") (50 U.S.C. 4533(a)(6)(A)), I transmit herewith notice of actions to rectify a shortfall in the space industrial base. The Department of Defense will take actions to target critical technology item shortfalls affecting aerospace structures and fibers, radiation hardened microelectronics, radiation test and qualification facilities, and satellite components and assemblies.
I also have included my determination required pursuant to section 303(a)(5) of the Act. Please find enclosed my determination that these proposed initiatives are essential to the national defense.
In accordance with section 303(a)(6)(A) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (the "Act") (50 U.S.C. 4533(a)(6)(A)), I transmit herewith notice of actions to rectify a shortfall in the space industrial base. The Department of Defense will take actions to target critical technology item shortfalls affecting aerospace structures and fibers, radiation hardened microelectronics, radiation test and qualification facilities, and satellite components and assemblies.
I also have included my determination required pursuant to section 303(a)(5) of the Act. Please find enclosed my determination that these proposed initiatives are essential to the national defense.
Sincerely,
DONALD J. TRUMPThe White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2017
Text of a Letter from the President to the Congress of the United States
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days of the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with that provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons to undermine democratic processes or institutions of Belarus that was declared in Executive Order 13405 of June 16, 2006, is to continue in effect beyond June 16, 2017.
The actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons to undermine democratic processes or institutions of Belarus, to commit human rights abuses related to political repression, and to engage in public corruption continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13405 with respect to Belarus.The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2017
Continuation of the National Emergency Declared in Executive Order 13405
NOTICE
- - - - - - -
CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT
TO THE ACTIONS AND POLICIES OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF
THE GOVERNMENT OF BELARUS AND OTHER PERSONS TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES OR INSTITUTIONS OF BELARUS
TO THE ACTIONS AND POLICIES OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF
THE GOVERNMENT OF BELARUS AND OTHER PERSONS TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES OR INSTITUTIONS OF BELARUS
On June 16, 2006, by Executive Order 13405, the President declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons to undermine democratic processes or institutions of Belarus, manifested in the fundamentally undemocratic March 2006 elections; to commit human rights abuses related to political repression, including detentions and disappearances; and to engage in public corruption, including by diverting or misusing Belarusian public assets or by misusing public authority.
The actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on June 16, 2006, and the measures adopted on that date to address that emergency, must continue in effect beyond June 16, 2017. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13405.
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 13, 2017The White House
June 13, 2017The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2017
WSJ Editorial on Trump Administration “Cleaning Up The Superfund Mess”
“Superfund ought to be measured by how many sites it cleans up—until it is no longer necessary. The green lobby puts symbolic gestures against climate change above all other priorities, but if Mr. Pruitt can accelerate Superfund cleanup he’ll do far more for the environment.”
Cleaning Up the Superfund Mess
Editorial
Wall Street Journal
June 13, 2017
Editorial
Wall Street Journal
June 13, 2017
One cost of making climate change a religion is that more immediate environmental problems have been ignored—not least by the Environmental Protection Agency. New EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt plans to address that in an underreported effort to clean up toxic waste sites under the so-called Superfund program.
In a memo to EPA staff last month, Mr. Pruitt announced a plan to reform the Superfund program created in 1980 and to accelerate the clean up of hazardous waste sites such as old industrial properties or landfills. The effort is long overdue. Superfund has too often become a sinecure for the bureaucracy and a cash cow for lawyers. EPA staff offices can wait years or decades to assess a Superfund site, figure out who’s liable for what, consult with the community, decide on a remedy and assign the actual work.
Take the West Lake Landfill Superfund site in Bridgeton, Missouri, which was used for quarrying in the 1930s and later as a landfill. In 1973, 8,700 tons of leached barium sulfate from the Manhattan Project was dumped there, along with soil and waste. The EPA listed the 200-acre facility as a Superfund site in 1990.
Yet it took 18 years for EPA to decide how to clean up West Lake, finally settling in 2008 on a “multi-layered engineered cover and a system of new monitoring wells.” In 2009 the Obama EPA ditched that solution and re-opened the file. In 2010 an underground chemical reaction ignited a fire that is still smoldering.
…
In 2009 the Obama Administration pumped $600 million into the program as part of the stimulus plan. Yet the EPA’s data on “construction completions,” which track Superfund sites that have finished physical construction and dealt with long-term threats, shows a downward trend even as the money flowed in. There were 18 completions in 2010, down from 20 in 2009, and 47 in 2001. In 2016 only 13 sites were completed.
The real obstacle is a combination of bureaucratic inertia and legal or political disputes over who pays what. Washington typically measures success by money spent rather than on results. Yet Superfund ought to be measured by how many sites it cleans up—until it is no longer necessary. The green lobby puts symbolic gestures against climate change above all other priorities, but if Mr. Pruitt can accelerate Superfund cleanup he’ll do far more for the environment.
Read the full editorial here.The White House
June 13, 2017
H.R. 2581 - Verify First Act
June 13, 2017
(House)
(House)
STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY
H.R. 2581 – Verify First Act
(Rep. Barletta, R-PA and 14 cosponsors)
(Rep. Barletta, R-PA and 14 cosponsors)
The Administration supports H.R. 2581, the Verify First Act. Under Obamacare, millions of dollars in advance payments of the premium tax credit may have been paid on behalf of individuals who were likely ineligible beneficiaries, including illegal immigrants. By eliminating the practice of providing advance payments while an applicant’s immigration status is being verified, this bill stems the flow of payments to ineligible individuals under Obamacare and strengthens the ability of the Administration to ensure premium tax credits will be appropriately provided to eligible individuals under the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA). By protecting the integrity of Federal funds, this bill furthers the President’s vision of a more efficient Federal Government that respects taxpayer dollars.
H.R. 2581 would prohibit advance payments of premium tax credits to individuals under current law and the AHCA, unless the Secretary of the Treasury receives confirmation that the individual is a citizen or a national of the United States, or is lawfully present in the United States. H.R. 2581 would also strengthen the AHCA, as passed by the House of Representatives on May 4, 2017, which the Administration continues to support strongly.
If H.R. 2581 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.
