MORNING MESSAGE
Resistance Recess Puts Congress on Notice for Supporting Trump’s Agenda
Rep.
Dave Trott’s constituents in the Northeastern suburbs of Detroit gathered at his
office to ask him about his stance on health care, refugees and other urgent
issues. Instead of scheduling a meeting, Trott’s staff called the police. The
delegation was organized by Michigan People’s campaign, an affiliate of People’s
Action ... If members of Congress won’t answer their constituents’ questions
about where they stand on repealing the Affordable Care Act or other dangerous
policies of the Trump administration, they will surely face the electorate’s
wrath at the ballot box in 2018.
Resistance Recess
This
week while Congress in on recess, People’s Action and our member organizations
around the country are organizing a #ResistanceRecess. We are leading the
grassroots resistance. Join us! Click
here to find local town hall meetings in your area, and come tell your
Congressperson to stand up for health care and against the Trump
agenda.
Homestretch for DNC
Final
day of campaigning for DNC Chair. The Hill: “Neither Ellison nor Perez has a
lock on the majority … There’s chatter among DNC members that a deadlock between
supporters of Ellison and Perez could pave the way for a compromise candidate to
win after the first vote.”
Progressives
push Democrats toward stronger resistance. NYT: “…spurred by explosive
protests and a torrent of angry phone calls and emails from constituents — and
outraged themselves by Mr. Trump’s swift moves to enact a hard-line agenda —
Democrats have all but cast aside any notion of conciliation with the White
House … Yet Democrats acknowledge there is a wide gulf between the party’s
desire to fight Mr. Trump and its power to thwart him, quietly worrying that the
expectations of the party’s activist base may outpace what Democratic lawmakers
can achieve.”
Politico
sizes up a week of town hall resistance: “POLITICO interviewed dozens of
attendees and found just one who had traveled from outside her home district to
join protests … There were no signs of any outsiders being bused in and no
evidence of any paid protesters … Republican lawmakers found one sure-fire way
to pause the venom: breaking from the party line …”
Sessions Pays Back Private Prisons
Private
prison donors could benefit from Trump. USA Today: “Private prison
companies, which stand to make big gains under President Trump’s tough new
immigration orders, also have contributed big sums to pro-Trump groups,
including the organization that raised a record $100 million for his
inauguration last month … On Thursday, Sessions’ Justice Department [told] the
Federal Bureau of Prisons that the [Obama Justice Dept.] memo backing away from
private prisons … would be set aside.”
“This
is how our corrupt political and campaign finance system works” says Sen.
Bernie Sanders, reports IBT.
Trump May Back Border Tax Adjustment
Trump
hints at support for House GOP border tax adjustment in Reuters interview:
“…Thursday spoke positively about a border adjustment tax being pushed by
Republicans in Congress as a way to boost exports, but he did not specifically
endorse the proposal … ‘It could lead to a lot more jobs in the United States,’
Trump told Reuters … ‘I certainly support a form of tax on the border,’ he told
Reuters on Thursday … Earlier on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
told CNBC the Trump administration aimed to formulate a tax plan with support
from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate and pass it
before August.”
Trump
won’t fix NAFTA, says Jeff Faux in Quartz: “For Trump to live up to his
promise, he would need to negotiate a rebalanced agreement—one with enforceable
labor standards and protections equaling those given to investors—so that
workers’ wages on both sides of the border could once again rise with their
productivity. Donald Trump will not do this. He and the Republican-led US
Congress are dedicated to the de-regulation, not re-regulation, of labor
markets.”
Paris
agreement off the chopping block? WSJ: “At the request of President Donald
Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his wife, Ivanka Trump, language critical
of a global climate deal was struck from an executive order that Mr. Trump is
planning to sign soon…”
Odds Drop For ACA Repeal
House
may not have the votes for ACA repeal. NYT: “The most conservative House
members are pushing for a fast repeal of the health law with only a bare-bones
replacement to follow … Other Republicans are more interested in taking their
time … Among the increasingly concerned lawmakers are those who represent the 24
Republican congressional districts that Hillary Clinton won…”
Former
Speaker Boehner says GOP can’t repeal ACA. Politico quotes: “They’ll fix
Obamacare, and I shouldn’t have called it repeal and replace because that’s not
what’s going to happen. They’re basically going to fix the flaws and put a more
conservative box around it.”
Push
to save ACA runs on shoestring. Politico: “Without cash, the smaller
progressive organizations left could be hard-pressed to fight a long battle as
conservatives spend heavily to pressure lawmakers to finish off the law and,
possibly, revamp Medicaid.”
ACA
support hits record high. The Hill: “Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults
approve of the Affordable Care Act in the Pew Research Center survey released
Thursday, while 43 percent disapprove … [Only] 24 percent say they should scrap
the law entirely.”
GOP
governors divided over Medicaid. The Hill: “…the pressure from governors and
state leaders who want to keep the [Medicaid] expansion appears to be having an
effect on some lawmakers … Officials from states that did not expand Medicaid
are also looking to make sure that they are not treated unequally in any
replacement. One idea, put forward by House Republicans, is to bring back
federal payments for hospitals treating the uninsured in states that did not
expand Medicaid.”
Progressive
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