The White House issued a series of executive actions late Friday.
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.
Last week, White House Chief of Staff, Reince Preibus, issued a memorandum to all executive departments and agencies to freeze new or pending regulations — giving the new Administration time to review them, which is a common practice for any incoming administration.
For any regulations that have yet to be sent for publishing in the Federal Register, the memo asks the agency to not send any regulation to the Federal Register until reviewed by someone selected by the President.
The memo makes an exception for “critical health, safety, financial, or national security matters,” and asks agencies to identify any regulations that can’t be delayed for other reasons.
Recently issued research-centered regulations that could be impacted include:
The Office of Federal Relations will continue to monitor actions coming from the Administration.
Some initial actions and comments from the incoming Trump Administration have prompted questions and concerns from faculty, researchers, and the media, regarding federal research. Particularly, questions have pertained to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants.
Here is what we know:
The UW’s Office of Sponsored Programs has information about these issues, including recommendations of what to do with grants in various stages of the process, on its web page under “Announcements.” This page is being vetted through a set of strict criteria.
The Federal Relations team will continue to gather and share information as it becomes available.
During a busy first week in office, the new president continued to issue memorandums a executive orders throughout the entire week. On Wednesday, he issued executive orders related to the building of a new wall along the southern border of the country as well as one partially aimed at punishing “sanctuary” jurisdictions with respect to immigration enforcement.
Border wall
One of the biggest pledges during the Trump campaign was the promise to build a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico.
The order calling for the “wall” reads, in part, as follows:
[The Secretary of Homeland Security shall… in] accordance with existing law, including the Secure Fence Act and IIRIRA, take all appropriate steps to immediately plan, design, and construct a physical wall along the southern border, using appropriate materials and technology to most effectively achieve complete operational control of the southern border…
The entire text is available here.
One of the controversies that has been triggered by this is the question of how the structure would be paid for. The White House press secretary initially seemed to indicate that it would be funded by a 20-percent tax on Mexican goods coming into the United States. Since then, the new Administration has backed away from being so definitive on how to pay for the wall, now indicating that the tariff proposal is one of many possible sources.
“Sanctuary” jurisdictions
Also on Wednesday, the new Administration issued an order aimed at addressing, among other issues, “sanctuary” cities and other jurisdictions. The order reads, in part:
It is the policy of the executive branch to… ensure that jurisdictions that fail to comply with applicable Federal law do not receive Federal funds, except as mandated by law…
The order also states the following:
In furtherance of this policy, the Attorney General and the Secretary, in their discretion and to the extent consistent with law, shall ensure that jurisdictions that willfully refuse to comply with 8 U.S.C. 1373 (sanctuary jurisdictions) are not eligible to receive Federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes by the Attorney General or the Secretary. The Secretary has the authority to designate, in his discretion and to the extent consistent with law, a jurisdiction as a sanctuary jurisdiction. The Attorney General shall take appropriate enforcement action against any entity that violates 8 U.S.C. 1373, or which has in effect a statute, policy, or practice that prevents or hinders the enforcement of Federal law.
The text of the executive order is available here.