Hurricane Michael makes landfall
As Hurricane Michael moves across Northwest Florida and affects Americans in Georgia and Alabama, the Trump Administration wants every person in the storm’s path to take shelter, stay safe, and heed all warnings from local and state officials.
Yesterday, President Trump declared a state of emergency for Florida, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures. Specifically, FEMA is authorized at its discretion to identify, mobilize, and provide all equipment and resources necessary to alleviate suffering from the storm.
“Federal resources are on the ground at every level,” President Trump said today.
Earlier this afternoon, the President joined Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and FEMA Administrator Brock Long in the Oval Office for a briefing on the storm’s expected impact. When Hurricane Michael made landfall today, it registered as a powerful category 4 storm, on the verge of historic category 5 strength.
President Trump signs legislation to help patients save on prescription drugs
Today, President Trump delivered on common-sense reform to prescription drug pricing, making good on a core promise from his 2016 campaign.
“Gag clauses” have long prevented pharmacists from telling patients when they could save money on medications by paying out of pocket instead of relying on their insurance. By signing the Know the Lowest Price Act and the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act this afternoon, President Trump is putting an end to these gag clauses for patients on either Medicare or private plans.
Lowering drug prices has been a priority of the Trump Administration since day one. For example, the Food and Drug Administration approved the most generic drug applications ever last year—saving patients an estimated $8.8 billion in 2017 alone.
In stark contrast to the President’s patient-centered approach, Democrats are going even further than Obamacare, pushing yet another radical agenda on healthcare. “Medicare for All” is the slogan, but as usual, the fine print reveals how these proposals will take away benefits seniors have paid into their whole lives:
- “Medicare for All” comes with a $32 trillion dollar price-tag. Even doubling taxes wouldn’t be enough to pay for this astonishing cost.
- Supporters of “Medicare for All” would have no choice but to cut benefits, raise economy-crippling taxes—or both—to cover the massive cost.
- Many seniors would lose access to their favorite doctors and face long lines for appointments and procedures.
- Medicare Advantage plans would be eliminated, leaving millions of vulnerable seniors with nowhere to go.
Photo of the Day
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen listen as FEMA Administrator Brock Long addresses reporters in the Oval Office| October 10, 2018
The White House • October 11, 2018
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President Trump’s actions on Hurricane Michael
As the remnants of Hurricane Michael move across the Carolinas and Virginia, President Donald J. Trump’s focus remains on Federal support for local and state responders across the Southeastern United States.
“We will do everything in our power to help those in need,” President Trump said today. “And we will not rest or waver until the job is done and the recovery is complete.”
A busy day at the White House
Now 629 days since his Inauguration, President Trump continues to fight hard for the American people day in and day out. To give you an inside look at just one day’s schedule at the White House:
- Common sense reform for our music industry: President Trump signed long-awaited legislation this morning to fix outdated American music laws. The Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act has gained widespread support throughout the industry, expected to benefit songwriters, artists, and fans alike. Through a simplified licensing system, songwriters will finally be paid the royalties they deserve. Watch today’s signing ceremony.
- The Save our Seas Act of 2018: Each year, countries the world over are responsible for dumping more than 8 million tons of garbage into our oceans. This trash and debris is not only harmful to the world’s marine life—it disrupts our fishermen and coastal economies, as well. President Trump signed legislation today to reauthorize and strengthen the Marine Debris Program.
- Ending the scourge of human trafficking: The Trump Administration is fighting to end the scourge of human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery. Today, the President met with his Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF), a Cabinet-level entity consisting of 15 departments and agencies. The Administration is taking the fight to all fronts, and the results are piling up: Last year, the Department of Justice secured convictions against nearly 500 defendants, and the FBI dismantled 42 criminal enterprises engaged in child sex trafficking. Learn more about President Trump’s fight to end this horrific practice.
- Unprecedented access to journalists: “President Trump, already the most media-accessible president in memory, is talking to journalists almost nonstop as his successes pile up ahead of the midterm elections,” Dave Boyer of The Washington Times writes. See excerpts from the President’s phone interview this morning with Fox & Friends.
Video of the day
President Trump hosted some special guests at the White House today. In addition to numerous artists joining the President for the signing of the Music Modernization Act, legendary Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown and rapper Kanye West visited the Oval Office to discuss prison reform and a range of other cultural and policy issues.
Photo of the Day
Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian
President Donald J. Trump, joined by reporters, meets with Kanye West and NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown in the Oval Office | October 11, 2018
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President Trump Declares State of Emergency in Florida Ahead of Hurricane Michael
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President Donald J. Trump declared a state of emergency in Florida yesterday as the state prepares for Hurricane Michael to make landfall in the coming hours, Brett Samuels reports for The Hill.
“The emergency declaration, which is retroactive to Sunday, will provide additional federal assistance and resources to Florida in its preparation and recovery efforts,” Samuels writes. “The measure also includes additional debris removal and emergency protective assistance to several counties that are expected to be hardest hit by the storm, including Gulf, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison and Suwannee.”
In The Salt Lake Tribune, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and the U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams point out that the opioid crisis has been crippling for many Americans, ultimately keeping them out of the growing workforce. “President Trump has declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency, committing the full resources of his Administration to helping Americans impacted by opioid addiction,” they write.
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday he made ‘real progress’ in his latest meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and said he believes the two countries are back on a path toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Joel Gehrke reports in the Washington Examiner. At the White House, Secretary Pompeo told reporters that “while there's still a long way to go and much work to do, we can now see a path to where we'll achieve the ultimate goal, which is the full and final verified denuclearization of North Korea.”
In The Hill, Allen Gutierrez—Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development at the Small Business Administration—writes that SBA Administrator Linda McMahon has been re-doubling efforts to support Hispanic entrepreneurs. “The Trump administration is committed to providing Hispanic entrepreneurs with not only the resources they need to succeed, but also the right policies. Hispanic Americans are better off economically today than they were before this administration’s policies were put in place.”
President Trump Signs Bills Banning Pharmacy ‘Gag Clauses’
“President Trump has signed two bills into law to block insurers from enforcing ‘gag clauses’ that forbid pharmacies from telling customers about how they can pay less for drugs,” Kimberly Leonard reports in the Washington Examiner. “The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act and the Know the Lowest Price Act are intended to help patients find out whether a prescription would cost less if they were to pay for it out of pocket rather than through their health plans.”
Americans deserve to know the lowest prices available at their pharmacies—“and now that is what they are getting,” President Trump said.
“The president has officially ordered federal assistance for the state of Georgia post-Tropical Storm Michael,” WRDW of Atlanta reports. President Trump approved an emergency declaration for Georgia that gives FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security wider latitude and access to resources to assist in local recovery efforts. The President signed a similar order for Florida earlier this week.
“America’s manufacturing and defense industrial base – vital to ensuring our national security – is under significant threat at a time when the military capabilities of China, Russia, and our other strategic competitors are growing,” White House Director of Trade and Industrial Policy Peter Navarro writes in Fox News. “Fortunately, President Trump has long recognized that to be strong and secure our nation must be able to rely on U.S. companies to manufacture products needed for our national defense.”
In TMA News, Steve Cortes writes that the newly negotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade is a win for American workers. “For years, Donald Trump railed against the failed politicians whose bad trade deals stole jobs from American workers. Now the President is parlaying that tough talk into real action.”
In the Washington Examiner, health policy expert Sally Pipes writes that President Trump’s assessment of Democrats’ single-payer proposal is spot on. “According to him, if Democrats succeed in implementing their single-payer proposal, ‘costs will spiral out of control. Taxes will skyrocket. And Democrats will seek to slash budgets for seniors' Medicare, Social Security and Defense,’” Pipes says. “He’s absolutely right.”
Justice Kavanaugh Could Have Big Impact Early on Supreme Court
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Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who was sworn in as America’s 114th Justice at a White House ceremony last night, “will hear oral arguments at the high court for the first time Tuesday in cases dealing with criminal matters where his vote is expected to have a big impact,” Alex Swoyer reports for The Washington Times. “He has taken the seat of retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who was viewed as the court’s swing vote between the other four Republican-appointed justices and the four more liberal members of the court.”
“New Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has made good on his pledge to hire women to serve as his law clerks, becoming the first justice to have an all-female staff,” Robert Barnes writes in The Washington Post. “Kavanaugh said during his Senate confirmation hearings that he has made a special effort to hire women after reading a story years ago about the unequal balance between men and woman hired for prestigious clerkships at the Supreme Court and for other federal judges.”
After Justice Kavanaugh received the judicial oath from retired Justice Kennedy last night, he said that the Senate confirmation process had tested him “but did not change me,” Dave Boyer writes in The Washington Times. “My approach to judging remains the same,” Justice Kavanaugh said. “A good judge must be an umpire, a neutral and impartial decider. A judge must interpret the law, not make the law.”
“Americans are paying more to cover the costs of illegal immigrants having children in the United States than Congress plans to give President Trump in border wall funding this year, according to an explosive new analysis of Census Bureau data,” Paul Bedard reports in the Washington Examiner. “The new report reveals that women in the United States illegally had 297,000 children in 2014 at a cost of $2.4 billion. That is $800 million more than the Senate has approved for Trump’s border wall this year and enough to pay for the wall over 10 years.” |
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