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The White House • October 25, 2018 ‘It’s time to end the global freeloading once and for all’ For far too long, the United States has been footing the bill for lower drug prices—in foreign countries. American patients and taxpayers unfairly subsidize worldwide drug innovation while patients overseas get much lower prices from drug makers. Medicare in particular has shouldered an outrageously high burden. Today, President Donald J. Trump is launching actions to confront global freeloading and lower medicine prices for American patients. The heart of the effort is simple: putting forward a new way for Medicare to pay for certain drugs that is based on prices that other developed countries pay. That action alone is projected to reduce Medicare’s payments for these drugs by an incredible 30 percent over the next five years. And a related plan will fix the perverse incentives for doctors to administer more expensive drugs to patients. Driving down drug costs has been a top priority for this President since day one, and Americans are already seeing results: In the 100 days following the release of President Trump’s blueprint for lower drug costs, more than a dozen drug companies reduced their list prices, rolled back planned price increases, or froze their prices for the rest of the year. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set a new record for generic approvals last year, approving more than 1,000 generics that will bring an estimated $9 billion in savings in 2018. President Trump signed a law to end unfair gag clauses, which prevented pharmacists from telling patients when they could pay less out of pocket than if they used insurance to cover certain medicines. President Trump: “It’s time to end global freeloading once and for all.” Watch: The results from President Trump’s plan are pouring in. Vice President Pence surveys damage in Florida Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence traveled to the Florida Panhandle today, meeting with residents and surveying the damage from Hurricane Michael. In Panama City, the Vice President and Second Lady received a briefing about the storm’s impact on Tyndall Air Force Base. Vice President Pence assured Tyndall’s military families that the base will be rebuilt. In fact, $100 million has already been designated to help with cleanup and recovery at the site. Before departing, the Vice President and Second Lady also visited Hiland Park Baptist Church and met with military families affected by the storm to assure them they have the full support of President Trump and the Administration. Watch: Vice President Pence updates Floridians on the ongoing recovery effort Photo of the Day Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and students from Digital Pioneers Academy wave at the camera Tuesday prior to a screening of the motion picture 'Wonder' in the White House Theater | October 23, 2018 President Trump’s message on today’s despicable acts “The full weight of our government is being deployed to conduct this investigation and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice,” President Donald J. Trump said from the White House East Room today. “This egregious conduct is abhorrent to everything we hold dear and sacred as Americans.”   “In these times we have to unify. We have to come together.” Watch President Trump’s message. President signs historic, $6 billion antidrug law “One year ago, I addressed the Nation in this very room, and declared the opioid crisis a National Public Health Emergency,” President Trump said today from the White House East Room. “We are here to update the American people on the historic action we have taken and to sign landmark legislation to defeat the opioid epidemic.” The President worked closely with Congress to advance the bipartisan SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act of 2018, the largest legislative package ever passed to address a single drug crisis in America. The law combines a number of crucial provisions, including requirements to help the U.S. Postal Service and border officials stop deadly fentanyl from entering the United States from China and Mexico. Since last October, the Trump Administration has applied a three-part plan to help stop the opioid epidemic in its tracks: Reducing demand by educating Americans about the dangers of opioid misuse and curbing over-prescription Cutting off the flow of illicit drugs by cracking down on international and domestic supply chains that devastate our communities Helping those struggling with addiction by removing barriers to evidence-based treatment, prevention, and recovery services The facts on President Trump’s three-part plan to fight the opioid epidemic Role models: 21 private organizations stepping up to take on drug abuse Video of the day: Rebekkah’s comeback story When Rebekkah was 14, she blew out her ankle during cheerleading practice and was prescribed opioid painkiller pills. Instead of getting better, she quickly found herself addicted to powerful opioids and eventually turned to heroin. She’s far from alone: 80 percent of heroin users started with a prescription painkiller. Now, Rebekkah is regaining control of her life—and making her detox public to help others trapped in a dangerous cycle. Know the truth about opioids: Watch Rebekkah’s story Photo of the Day Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks on “A Year of Historic Progress and Action to Combat the Opioid Crisis” from the White House East Room  | October 24, 2018 Socialism belongs in the dustbin of history With the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, socialism is making a comeback in America. Democrats used to accuse Republicans of fear-mongering when they called out certain far-left policy ideas as “socialist.” Now, a growing number of Democrats are wearing the label as a badge of honor. American socialists may imagine their proposals mirror those in Northern European countries such as Sweden and Norway. In reality, ideas along the lines of “Medicare for All” have more in common with economists’ traditional definition of socialism. The record of countries who have experimented with those types of command-and-control systems is devastating: Maoist China, the Soviet Union, and Venezuela among them. Something to share: Socialism has a long legacy of failure across the world. The sky-high taxes needed to fund “Medicare for All” alone, for example, would lead to a staggering $17,000 drop in household incomes after taxes and healthcare expenditures—a 19 percent decline. Without taxing American workers, funding this radical plan would require cuts to half of the Federal budget, wrecking Medicaid, Social Security, and traditional Medicare in the process. Socialist policies have failed across the world wherever they are tested. They have no place in the United States of America. Get the facts: What Democrats will take from you to push their socialist agenda. Full report: The true costs of socialism The truth about America’s border crisis Americans see reports daily about the caravan of Central American migrants headed for the U.S. border. As of yesterday, a United Nations official estimated that 7,200 individuals and counting have now joined its ranks.    These numbers are stunning, but the latest immigration figures show a surge of family units and unaccompanied minors from Central America arriving in the United States illegally each day. Responding to catch-and-release loopholes, illegal immigration has shifted from primarily single adults from Mexico to family units and unaccompanied minors from Central America.   By the numbers: Democrat-backed loopholes drive our border crisis Photo of the Day Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian President Donald J. Trump addresses State and local officials from Alaska, California, and Hawaii at the White House State Leadership Day in the South Court Auditorium | October 23, 2018 Medicaid Enrollment Declines for the First Time in More Than a Decade as Strong US Economy Boosts Income for Poor Americans “The booming U.S. economy appears to be reducing dependence on federal health insurance for the poor,” Berkeley Lovelace Jr. reports for CNBC. Medicaid enrollment has fallen for the first time since 2007, and "states largely attribute the enrollment slowdown to a strengthening economy, resulting in fewer new low-income people qualifying for Medicaid,” he adds. Click here to read more. “Almost a year after declaring the opioid epidemic a public health emergency, President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law a sweeping legislative package that lawmakers and public health experts believe will help curb the growing crisis in the United States,” Marianna Sotomayor reports for NBC News. In The Washington Times, Matt Mackowiak writes that Democrats’ complete silence on the approaching migrant caravan is deafening. “America is a compassionate and good-hearted country. We are a generous people. But we cannot allow thousands of economic migrants to break into the country whenever they feel like it,” he explains. “Can anyone cite the Democratic Party view on the caravan?” “If there was one idea that you could say dominates today's Democratic Party, it could be summed up in one word: Socialism. Many Democrats, from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, embrace some form of socialism,” the Investor’s Business Daily editorial board writes. A new White House Council of Economic Advisers report illustrates how America’s economy would look under socialist policies. “The numbers are pretty scary,” the editors argue. In the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, Geoff Pender reports that Ivanka Trump will be in Gulfport, Mississippi, today, “meeting with state and community officials about early childhood education and care and workforce training.” Pender adds that Ms. Trump “has made affordable child care a signature issue since her father was running for president and successfully helped lobby Congress for an increase in the child tax credit, included in last year's tax cuts.” Trump Administration Launches Program for Moms, Babies with Opioid Withdrawal “The Trump administration is launching a program to help states care for pregnant women who are using opioids and for their babies who are born dependent on the drugs,” Kimberly Leonard writes in the Washington Examiner. “The Maternal Opioid Misuse program, or the ‘M-O-M model,’ will work with state Medicaid programs to help set up services for pregnant women who are dependent on opioids and their infants, who can develop [a] condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome.” Click here to continue reading. In The Daily Signal, Fred Lucas writes that a new report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers provides a glimpse into how the U.S. economy would crumble under socialist policies. “The study found that if Medicare-for-all were financed out of current federal spending—without additional borrowing or tax increases—it would eat up more than half of the entire federal budget.” “Homeland Security officials said Tuesday that among the thousands of migrants heading for the United States border are some ‘gang members’ and people with ‘significant criminal histories,’” Paulina Dedaj reports for Fox News. Department Spokesperson Tyler Houlton said that the caravan includes people from the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and elsewhere. “With a caravan of over 7,000 Central Americans making their way to the Southern border of the United States, it is more important than ever that our political leaders support our border and immigration personnel,” the Boston Herald editorial board writes. “There is a potential crisis unfolding at our border with Mexico. Law enforcement is all that stands between total lawlessness and criminality.” The Investor’s Business Daily editorial board writes that former President Obama has trouble with facts these days, as he’s “running around this week trying to take credit for the economic boom.” But facts are stubborn things: As soon as President Trump took office, “he started reversing as many of Obama's economic policies as he possibly could.” The conclusion should be simple for President Obama: “When it comes to today's economic boom, you didn't build that.” “The Space Force is poised for launch,” Ledyard King writes for USA Today. “At a meeting Tuesday of the National Space Council which he chairs, Vice President Mike Pence began laying out more of the milestones needed to establish what would be the nation's first new armed service since 1947.” The Vice President told the Council that “the time has come to write the next great chapter in the history of the Armed Forces of the United States.”