Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Could Space Force Be New Branch of US Military?
The Pentagon's report on how to structure its space components, including the potential creation of a Space Force or Space Corps, will not be submitted to Congress in time for Wednesday's deadline.
"We are in the final coordination stages of the report to Congress," Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said Tuesday. "We will release the report when coordination is complete, which we anticipate will be soon."
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for a Space Force as a new military branch that would be "separate but equal" to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Lawmakers in the House Strategic Forces subcommittee, however, have expressed interest not in the creation of a new branch, but in the creation of a new Space Corps within the Air Force.
The report was ordered by Congress after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sent a letter to congressional leaders opposing the creation of a new military branch. In his letter last October, Mattis said he did not see the need for new "organizational layers at a time when we are focused on reducing overhead and integrating joint warfighting functions."
The deadline for the Pentagon's space review is Wednesday, but an official told VOA the report should be ready "in days."
A draft report seen by Defense One said the Pentagon was prepared to create an 11th unified combatant command by the end of the year to focus on space. U.S. Space Command would be set up similarly to U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees special forces from various military branches, and U.S. Cyber Command, which oversees cyberspace operations across the military branches.
Trump Administration Considering Tax Break on Capital Gains
The Trump administration is studying the idea of implementing a big tax break for wealthy Americans by reducing the taxes levied on capital gains, but no decision has been made yet on whether to proceed.
Administration officials said Tuesday Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin prefers deferring to Congress. But he does have his department studying the economic impact of such a change and the legality of proceeding without congressional approval.
The change would involve taxing capital gains — profits on investments such as stocks or real estate — after taking into account inflation, which would lower the tax bite. Capital gains taxes are currently determined by subtracting the original price of an asset from the price at which it was sold and taxing the difference without adjusting for inflation.
For example, a stock purchased in 1990 for $100,000 and sold today for $300,000 would produce a $200,000 capital gain. That amount, taxed at the top capital gains rate of 23.8 percent, would result in a tax bill of $47,600. However, if the $200,000 gain was trimmed to just $103,000 by adjusting for inflation over the past 28 years, the tax bill would be $24,514.
"There has been a great deal of interest in this provision for a long time,'' said a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal policy deliberations. "Treasury is currently evaluating the economic impact and whether it can be achieved without legislation.''
Indexing capital gains for inflation would reduce federal revenue by about $102 billion over a decade, according to the Penn-Wharton Budget Model. The Congressional Research Service has estimated that about 90 percent of the benefits would go to the top 1 percent of households.
The New York Times and the Washington Post reported Tuesday that the proposal was under active consideration by the administration. It has long been supported by Larry Kudlow, head of the president's National Economic Council. Mnuchin, however, has signaled caution in approaching the idea.
Republicans, led by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady is leading an effort to extend and expand the $1.5 trillion tax cut President Donald Trump pushed through Congress last December.
"If it can't get done through a legislative process, we will look at what tools at Treasury we have to do it on our own and we'll consider that,'' Mnuchin said in an interview with the Times in which he emphasized that he has not yet concluded that Treasury has the authority to act alone.
"We are studying that internally, and we are also studying the economic costs and the impact on growth,'' Mnuchin told the Times.
Democrats, however, vowed to oppose the change to how capital gains are taxed.
"Once again, Republicans have exposed the true priorities of their tax scam: billions in tax breaks for the wealthiest at the expense of everyone else,'' House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. "American families are drowning under the weight of stagnant wages, higher health costs and soaring prescription drug costs, but the GOP continues to pick their pockets to give more handouts to the wealthiest 1 percent.''
In an interview in June with The Wall Street Journal, Mnuchin declined to speculate on whether Treasury has the legal authority to make the capital gains change on its own.
Democrats in the Senate have urged Mnuchin not to take the step, saying Treasury does not have the authority. They pointed to legal opinions written by the Justice and Treasury departments in 1992 finding that Congress intended the word "cost'' to mean the price paid in nominal dollars — without adjusting for inflation.
Treasury acting on its own "would almost exclusively benefit the wealthiest Americans, add $100 billion to the ballooning deficit, further complicate the tax code and ignore the need for congressional'' approval, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, and other Democratic panel members said in a letter to Mnuchin in May.
"The $100 billion price tag is a conservative estimate because it does not consider the abundant tax-sheltering opportunities that would arise,'' the Democrats wrote. "Further, the proposal would fail American workers, investment and the larger U.S. economy.''
Read More Trump Administration Considering Tax Break on Capital Gains : https://ift.tt/2KdijNqWhat Are 3-D Printed Guns?
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday raised questions about his own administration's decision to allow designs for 3-D printed guns to be posted online, while several U.S. states are suing to stop the release of the blueprints, due on Wednesday.
Here are some facts about 3-D printed guns and how they are made:
- 3-D printing is the process of making a physical object from a three-dimensional digital model, including layers of plastic, metal or other materials. The first patents for the technology were issued in the 1980s, and it gained in popularity after the first commercially available device was introduced in
2009.
- Though the technology is often used for business applications, individuals can purchase their own desktop 3-D printers for personal use. More than 1 million desktop 3-D printers, which can range in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars, have been sold worldwide since 2015, according to data from research firm Context.
- The first working 3-D printed gun, a single-round pistol called the "Liberator," was designed in 2013 and made almost entirely of 3-D printed thermoplastic components, with the exception of a metal firing pin. Hybrid designs incorporate metal components used in traditional firearms with parts made from 3-D printers.
- Homemade guns such as the Liberator are often known as "ghost guns" because they are unregistered, untraceable and do not have serial numbers.
- The Liberator was created by the self-styled crypto-anarchist Cody Wilson, founder of the Defense Distributed group based in Austin, Texas, which works "for the benefit of the American rifleman," according to its website. The group also sells "Ghost Gunners," milling devices that can assemble parts
of military-standard weapons, including the lower receiver for AR-15s.
- A U.S. federal law, the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988, bans guns that do not contain enough metal to be detected by screening machines in public places, such as airports and courthouses, but does not require that the metal parts be non-removable. Makers of plastic 3-D printed guns have taken advantage of this loophole by creating metal inserts that are not essential for the gun to function.
Trump Rejects Conservative Koch Donor Network
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday slammed the powerful Koch-led donor network as "globalist" and "a total joke," rejecting the conservative group amid reports that the network was shifting away from him over trade and immigration issues.
Trump's comments follow media reports that the Koch donor network sought to distance itself from Trump and the Republican Party at a weekend gathering in Colorado where concerns were also raised that his trade policies could fuel a recession.
"The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against strong borders and powerful trade. I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas," Trump said in a post on Twitter.
"Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn."
Charles and David Koch have been a force in American politics for decades, channeling billions of dollars into conservative causes. But the billionaire industrialist pair kept their distance from Trump during the 2016 presidential election.
Charles Koch has taken the lead after his younger brother, David, stepped down from their political group and their company Koch Industries earlier in June due to poor health.
On Sunday, Charles Koch told reporters at the gathering that Trump's trade policies, including tariffs, could trigger severe economic fallout, Bloomberg reported.
The Koch-backed network also said it would not support the Republican challenger to Democratic U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who is facing re-election, according to the Washington Post.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Trump Celebrates Kelly's First Full Year as Chief of Staff
President Donald Trump is celebrating his chief of staff's survival for a full year on the job.
Trump congratulated John Kelly in a tweet that includes a photo of the two men smiling wide.
He writes: "Congratulations to General John Kelly. Today we celebrate his first full year as (at)WhiteHouse Chief of Staff!"
Trump also marked the occasion during an Oval Office swearing-in ceremony for the new secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Kelly's fate has been a subject of months of speculation as his standing in the West Wing diminished.
Trump has at times sounded out allies about potential replacements, and Kelly has told people he'd be happy if he made it to the one-year mark.
It was July 28 of last year when Trump announced Kelly would replace Reince Priebus.
Sessions: US Culture 'Less Hospitable to People of Faith'
American culture has become "less hospitable to people of faith," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday in vowing that the Justice Department would protect people's religious freedom and convictions.
Sessions spoke at a Justice Department summit on religious tolerance at a time when courts across the country have been asked how to balance anti-discrimination laws against the First Amendment's religious freedom guarantees. He also announced the creation of a "religious liberty task force" to help implement that guidance and ensure that Justice Department employees are accommodating peoples' religious beliefs.
Conservative groups immediately praised Sessions for promising to protect deeply held religious convictions, though Trump administration critics have repeatedly voiced concerns that the attorney general's stance undercuts LGBT rights and favors the rights of Christians over those of other faiths.
Sessions, the country's chief law enforcement officer, warned of a "dangerous movement" that he said was eroding protections for religious Americans.
He asserted that "nuns were being forced to buy contraceptives" — an apparent, though not fully accurate, reference to an Obama administration health care policy meant to ensure women covered by faith-based groups' health plans have access to cost-free contraceptives. Religious groups that challenged the policy argued it violated their religious beliefs.
Sessions also said it was inappropriate that judicial and executive branch nominees were being asked about their religious dogma. And he praised a Colorado baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex couple in a case that reached the Supreme Court and ended in his favor this year. That baker, Jack Phillips, was part of a panel discussion at the Justice Department summit.
"Let's be frank: A dangerous movement, undetected by many but real, is now challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom. There can be no doubt. It's no little matter. It must be confronted intellectually and politically, and defeated," Sessions said. "This election, this past election, and much that has flowed from it, gives us a rare opportunity to arrest these trends and to confront them.
"Such a reversal will not just be done with electoral victories, however, but by intellectual victories," he added.
Sessions, a Methodist and former Republican senator from Alabama, has made protecting religious liberty a cornerstone agenda item of his Justice Department — along with defending freedom of speech on college campuses.
In his speech, the attorney general noted that he had issued guidance last year advising executive branch employees on how to apply religious liberty protections in federal law.
Poll: Young Americans Motivated to Fix Political 'Dysfunction'
A new poll shows that young Americans are expressing widespread pessimism toward the current political system but are feeling motivated to make positive change in the country.
The poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and MTV found that about 70 percent of Americans ages 15 to 34 think American politics are dysfunctional, and just 1 in 10 have felt positive or excited about the state of the country in the past month.
However, the poll also found that 62 percent of young people believe that their generation is motivated to make positive changes in the United States. A similar percentage said that voting in the 2018 midterms will allow young people to effect real change in the government.
The survey found that young people are most eager to vote for someone who shares their political views. About a third say they are certain to vote in the upcoming midterm elections in November, and about half report following news about the midterms at least some of the time.
The issues that young Americans are most interested in are health care, immigration and the economy, according to the survey.
The poll found that fewer than half of American youths are excited about a candidate who is a lifelong politician, and 79 percent say leaders from their generation would do a better job running the country.
The nationwide poll was based on interviews with 1,030 young Americans ages 15-34, from June 21, 2018 to July 9, 2018.
Former Trump Campaign Chair Heads to Trial
Paul Manafort will have his day in court this week.
The 69-year-old former Trump campaign chairman goes on trial Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia, one of two criminal cases brought against him by special counsel Robert Mueller.
On the surface, the criminal charges against Manafort — tax evasion, failure to report foreign bank accounts and fraudulently obtaining bank loans — are unrelated to the core of Mueller’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
The charges stem from Manafort’s decade-long lobbying and political consulting work for Ukraine’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych.
While working for Yanukovych and his pro-Russia Party of Regions between 2006 and 2015, Manafort and his former business partner Rick Gates allegedly earned tens of millions of dollars in fees while hiding the income from the IRS.
To avoid paying hefty taxes, prosecutors say, they set up secret shell companies and offshore accounts to funnel their Ukrainian proceeds disguised as “loans” to U.S. accounts to buy multimillion-dollar properties and luxury goods.
After Yanukovych was deposed in 2014 and their Ukrainian income dwindled, Manafort and Gates allegedly came up with another scheme to obtain money: the two used their real estate properties in the U.S. as collateral to fraudulently secure more than $20 million in bank loans by “falsely inflating” their income.
In all, prosecutors say, more than $75 million flowed through the offshore accounts Manafort and Gates set up.
Manafort has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Virginia, as well as to a separate indictment in federal court in Washington, D.C.
He’s been in jail since last month when the judge presiding over the Washington case revoked his bail for allegedly tampering with potential witnesses.
Manafort had been under federal investigation since 2014 over suspicion of illegal lobbying and financial improprieties. But he was ensnared in the Russia investigation last year after Mueller began examining ties between Trump campaign staff and Russia.
Muller has spent the last 14 months building the case against Manafort with a mountain of evidence seized from Manafort’s and Gates’s homes, computers and electronic devices, as well as documents obtained from financial institutions.
In recent days, prosecutors have submitted a list of hundreds of exhibits they plan to introduce at trial, including financial documents and photographs of luxury cars and real estate properties Manafort bought with his Ukrainian income.
“It’s all documented,” said Nick Akerman, a former Watergate prosecutor who is now a partner at the Dorsey & Whitney law firm. “You have lots and lots of exhibits that show wire transfers, bank accounts, monies that go into those bank accounts. There is going to be exhibits showing what he used the money for — to buy various properties and luxury goods.”
The special counsel has also enlisted as many as 35 witnesses to testify against Manafort. They include accountants, financial advisers, tax preparers and real estate agents.
But prosecutors’ star witness is likely to be Gates, who worked closely with Manafort in Ukraine and later followed him into Trump’s campaign as deputy chairman.
Gates was named as a co-defendant in the initial indictment handed down against Manafort last October. But when the special counsel hit the two men with a second indictment in February, Gates pleaded guilty to two lesser counts in exchange for cooperation.
Manafort remained defiant, vowing to fight the charges. Still, the prospect of a conviction on the 32-count indictment and spending the rest of his life in prison could change his defense strategy, according to legal experts.
“The depth of the charges against Paul Manafort is such that at some point, the best decision for him will be to try to cut a deal,” said Lisa Griffin, a former federal prosecutor who is now a law professor at Duke University.
But Manafort doesn’t appear to have “valuable enough information to make these charges go away altogether,” Griffin said.
Short of an acquittal, the best hope for Manafort to avoid jail time remains a presidential pardon. Trump has given no indication that he’ll pardon his former campaign chairman.
But even a presidential pardon may not help. Legal experts say Manafort can be indicted in state court for many of the same crimes for which he's been charged by the special counsel.
“It probably won’t do him much good because he has all these money laundering charges against him, which could be charged against him in New York state,” Akerman said.
“He’d be in worse position than he was when he started,” Akerman said. “The choice there is serving time in a New York state prison like Rikers Island, as opposed to a plush federal prison.”
With Trump frequently calling the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt," the outcome of Manafort's trial one way or another could determine the probe's credibility.
If Manafort is acquitted, “it will benefit President Trump tremendously, because it will cast into doubt all of the legitimacy of the process that is occurring,” said Joshua Dressler, a professor of criminal law and criminal procedure at Ohio State University.
On the other hand, if he is convicted, it will “demonstrate to the public that President Trump’s claims that the whole investigation is a witch hunt is not an accurate accusation,” Dressler said.
Read More Former Trump Campaign Chair Heads to Trial : https://ift.tt/2KaaNCNSen. Rand Paul Backs Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh
Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who had publicly wavered as to whether he would support Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, endorsed him Monday.
Paul of Kentucky says he will back Kavanaugh despite misgivings about the judge's views on surveillance and privacy issues. Few had expected Paul would oppose President Donald Trump's choice in the end.
The endorsement gives Kavanaugh a boost as he prepares to sit down Monday afternoon with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of a handful of Democratic senators seen as potential swing votes in the confirmation fight.
Manchin has said he's interested in Kavanaugh's views on the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The senator has also asked West Virginia residents to send him questions for the meeting.
Manchin was one of three Democrats who voted to confirm Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota were the others. All three are up for re-election in states Trump easily won in 2016.
Republicans have a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate. With the absence of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who is fighting brain cancer, they cannot afford to lose a single Republican vote if all Democrats vote "no."
Paul had let Trump know he preferred other potential Supreme Court nominees he viewed as more conservative. He had expressed concern over Kavanaugh's record on warrantless bulk collection of data and how that might apply to important privacy cases.
Paul said he hoped Kavanaugh "will be more open to a Fourth Amendment that protects digital records and property."
Yet he also said his vote doesn't hinge on any one issue. "I believe he will carefully adhere to the Constitution and will take his job to protect individual liberty seriously," Paul said.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Manafort Trial to Focus on Lavish Lifestyle, Not Collusion
The trial of President Donald Trump's onetime campaign chairman will open this week with tales of lavish spending, secret shell companies and millions of dollars of Ukrainian money flowing through offshore bank accounts and into the political consultant's pocket.
What's likely to be missing: answers about whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential election, or really any mention of Russia at all.
Paul Manafort's financial crimes trial, the first arising from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, will center on his Ukrainian consulting work and only briefly touch on his involvement with the president's campaign.
But the broader implications are unmistakable.
The trial, scheduled to begin Tuesday with jury selection in Alexandria, Virginia, will give the public its most detailed glimpse of evidence Mueller's team has spent the year accumulating. It will feature testimony about the business dealings and foreign ties of a defendant Trump entrusted to run his campaign during a critical stretch in 2016, including during the Republican convention. And it will unfold at a delicate time for the president as Mueller's team presses for an interview and as Trump escalates his attacks on an investigation he calls a "witch hunt."
Adding to the intrigue is the expected spectacle of Manafort's deputy, Rick Gates, testifying against him after cutting a plea deal with prosecutors, and the speculation that Manafort, who faces charges in two different courts and decades in prison if convicted, may be holding out for a pardon from Trump.
"Perhaps he believes that he's done nothing wrong, and because he's done nothing wrong, he's unwilling to plead guilty to any crime whatsoever -- even if it's a lesser crime," said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame law professor and former federal prosecutor. "Obviously, that's very risky for him."
Manafort was indicted along with Gates in Mueller's wide-ranging investigation, but he is the only American charged to opt for a trial instead of cooperating with the government. The remaining 31 individuals charged have either reached plea agreements, including ex-White House national security adviser Michael Flynn, or are Russians seen as unlikely to enter an American courtroom. Three Russian companies have also been charged.
Prosecutors in Manafort's case have said they may call 35 witnesses, including five who have immunity agreements, as they try to prove that he laundered more than $30 million in Ukrainian political consulting proceeds and concealed the funds from the IRS.
Jurors are expected to see photographs of his Mercedes-Benz and of his Hampton property putting green and swimming pool. There's likely to be testimony, too, about tailored Beverly Hills clothing, high-end antiques, rugs and art and New York Yankees seasons tickets.
The luxurious lifestyle was funded by Manafort's political consulting for the pro-Russian Ukrainian political party of Viktor Yanukovych, who was deposed as Ukraine's president in 2014.
Lawyers have tangled over how much jurors will hear of his overseas political work, particularly about his ties to Russia and other wealthy political figures.
At a recent hearing, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who will preside over the trial, warned prosecutors to restrain themselves, noting the current "antipathy" toward Russia and how "most people in this country don't distinguish between Ukrainians and Russians." He said he would not tolerate any pictures of Manafort and others "at a cocktail party with scantily clad women," if they exist.
Prosecutor Greg Andres reassured the judge that "there will be no pictures of scantily clad women, period," nor photographs of Russian flags.
"I don't anticipate that a government witness will utter the word `Russia,"' Andres said.
While jurors will be hearing painstaking detail about Manafort's finances, they won't be told about Manafort's other criminal case, in the nation's capital, where he faces charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent and lying to the government.
Nor will they hear about the reason he's been jailed since last month after a judge revoked his house arrest over allegations that he and a longtime associate attempted to tamper with witnesses in the case. And they won't learn that Manafort's co-defendant in the Washington case is a business associate named Konstantin Kilimnik, who lives in Russia and who U.S. authorities assert has connections to Russian intelligence.
Trump and his lawyers have repeatedly sought to play down Manafort's connection to the president, yet the trial won't be entirely without references to the campaign.
Mueller's team says Manafort's position in the Trump campaign is relevant to some of the bank fraud charges. Prosecutors plan to present evidence that a chairman of one of the banks allowed Manafort to file inaccurate loan information in exchange for a job on the campaign and the promise of a job in the Trump administration. The administration job never materialized.
The trial will afford the public its first glimpse of a defense that so far has focused less on the substance of the allegations than on Mueller's authority to bring the case in the first place. At one point, his defense lawyers sued Mueller and the Justice Department, saying they had overstepped their bounds by bringing a prosecution untethered to the core questions of Mueller's investigation -- whether Russia worked with the Trump campaign to tip the election.
Ellis rejected that argument despite having initially questioned the special counsel's motives for bringing the case. He noted that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, had explicitly authorized Mueller to investigate Manafort's business dealings. Mueller's original mandate was to investigate not only potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, but also any other crimes arising from the probe.
"When a prosecutor looks into those dealings and uncovers evidence of criminal culpability," said Stanford law professor David Alan Sklansky, "it doesn't make sense to ask him to avert his eyes."
Read More Manafort Trial to Focus on Lavish Lifestyle, Not Collusion : https://ift.tt/2uYJDKgNew Intrigue in Russia Probe
Intrigue surrounding the U.S. Justice Department’s Russia probe has risen once again amid reports President Donald Trump’s former attorney is claiming Trump knew in advance of a 2016 meeting his top campaign staff and close family members held with Russians promising compromising material on then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. VOA’s Michael Bowman has this report.
Read More New Intrigue in Russia Probe : https://ift.tt/2NRvQfMTrump, New York Times Publisher Spar over President's Attacks on US Media
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he recently told the publisher of The New York Times how he came to describe the mainstream news media as the "Enemy of the People," but the news executive said he in turn told Trump his language was "inflammatory" and "increasingly dangerous" for journalists around the world.
In a Twitter comment, Trump described his July 20 meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger as "very good and interesting." The U.S. leader said he "spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!"
Sulzberger, perhaps the most prominent publisher in the U.S., said that in keeping with the "long tradition" of Times publishers meeting with past U.S. presidents, the conversation was "off the record," at Trump aides' request, meaning it was not intended for publication.
But the publisher said that with Trump's tweet putting the meeting on the record, he decided to respond to give his account of the conversation from notes he took, along with those of the newspaper's editorial page editor, James Bennet, who also attended the meeting.
"My main purpose for accepting the meeting was to raise concerns about the president’s deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric, Sulzberger said. "I told the president directly that I thought that his language was not just divisive but increasingly dangerous."
The publisher said, "I told him that although the phrase 'fake news' is untrue and harmful, I am far more concerned about his labeling journalists 'the enemy of the people.' I warned that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats against journalists and will lead to violence."
Sulzberger added, "I repeatedly stressed that this is particularly true abroad, where the president’s rhetoric is being used by some regimes to justify sweeping crackdowns on journalists. I warned that it was putting lives at risk, that it was undermining the democratic ideals of our nation, and that it was eroding one of our country’s greatest exports: a commitment to free speech and a free press."
He said that "throughout the conversation I emphasized that if President Trump, like previous presidents, was upset with coverage of his administration he was of course free to tell the world. I made clear repeatedly that I was not asking for him to soften his attacks on The Times if he felt our coverage was unfair. Instead, I implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism, which I believe are dangerous and harmful to our country."
Trump often disparages news accounts he does not like as "fake news," while calling Sulzberger's paper the "failing New York Times."
As he spoke to a veterans group last week, Trump pointed to reporters and told his crowd, “Stick with us. Don’t believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news.”
To accompanying boos of reporters, Trump said, “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.”
Sulzberger did not say how Trump reacted to his comments at their White House meeting.
Trump Threatens Government Shutdown Over Border Wall Funding
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Sunday to shut down the government if Congress does not fund construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to thwart illegal immigration.
The U.S. leader claimed opposition Democrats need to give him "the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall!" and other tougher national immigration policy changes. But it was a splintered Republican majority bloc of lawmakers, along with unified Democratic opposition, that twice in recent weeks rejected immigration changes Trump supported.
Trump, in a Twitter comment, called for the U.S. to "finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!
Trump's call for a wall, a favorite vow from his 2016 presidential campaign, would likely cost more than $20 billion, but Congress so far has allocated only $1.5 billion for extra border security. Democrats have often assailed the wall proposal, along with some Republicans. Trump, meanwhile. has long claimed Mexico would pay for it, but Mexican leaders have adamantly said they would not, leaving the U.S. president to plead with Congress to fund it.
Trump's threatened government shutdown would come as spending authorization runs out again at the end of the current fiscal year at the end of September, about five weeks before nationwide congressional elections on November 6. U.S. lawmakers usually, but not always, reach a spending accord shortly before funding runs out or after a short funding hiatus, as occurred last year.
As he continued to lobby for a border wall, Trump issued a new warning to migrants looking to illegally cross the Mexican border into the United States, saying they would face "consequences" even if they are accompanied by children.
He said that many of the border crossers "are just using children for their own sinister purposes."
"Congress must act on fixing the DUMBEST & WORST immigration laws anywhere in the world!" Trump said. After the recent defeat of immigration legislation, there is no current active move to change U.S. immigration policies and one of the two chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives, just left Washington for a five-week summer recess.
Trump contended that "Democrats, who want Open Borders and care little about Crime, are incompetent, but they have the Fake News Media almost totally on their side!"
Trump's latest attacks against U.S. immigrants entering the U.S. illegally — most of them from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — comes as his administration continues to deal with the fallout of his "zero tolerance" policy of weeks ago in which more than 2,500 children were separated from their parents as they crossed into the United States.
A month ago, Trump ended the breakup of families. Under a court order, the U.S. government reunited by last Thursday more than 1,800 children with their parents, other family members already in the U.S. or sponsor households.
But more than 700 more are awaiting reunification or can't, for one reason or another, be reunified. A total of 431 parents were deported without their children or left of their own accord. Nearly 100 children have parents who can't be located.
Dana Sabraw, a U.S. judge in San Diego, California, who is overseeing the reunification of families, said the government deserves "great credit" for the reunification of the 1,800 children with their parents or other family members. But he also said "the government is at fault for losing several hundred parents in the process and that's where we go next."
With 100 Days to Go Until Midterms, Trump is the Top Issue
There are now 100 days left before U.S. midterm elections in November when control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress will be at stake. Polls give opposition Democrats an edge and both parties agree that President Donald Trump will be the key issue in this year's election. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
Read More With 100 Days to Go Until Midterms, Trump is the Top Issue : https://ift.tt/2LIKqZAWith 100 Days Until the Midterms, Trump is the Top Issue
One hundred days from now, we should be better able to answer the following question: What does the country really think about the presidency of Donald J. Trump?
Midterm congressional elections are on November 6th and party control of both the Senate and House of Representatives is at stake, not to mention the fate of the Trump presidency for the next two years.
Opposition Democrats enjoy some key advantages three months out. When voters are asked which party they will support in the November elections, Democrats hold a seven point edge over Republicans in the latest polling average calculated by the non-partisan website Real Clear Politics. In a recent Quinnipiac poll, Democrats held a 51 to 39 percent generic ballot lead over Republicans, and other surveys have shown the Democratic advantage widening in recent weeks.
Referendum on Trump
Democrats and Republicans don't agree on much but they do see eye-to-eye on one thing, and that is that President Trump will be the defining issue in this year's midterms.
With that in mind, Trump has been busy rallying his base and urging them to get out and support Republican candidates in November.
"We won't back down, we won't give in, and we will never, ever, surrender," Trump told supporters at a recent campaign rally in Great Falls, Montana. "We will never, ever, quit. We go forward to victory."
The president touted some good economic news on Friday when the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy surged last quarter to an annual growth rate of 4.1 percent, the fastest pace since 2014. "We have accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Energized Democrats
But the good economic news seems to be doing little to blunt enthusiasm for the upcoming midterms among opposition Democrats.
Democrats have undertaken an intensive grassroots organizing campaign for November to get out the vote, and that includes high-profile names like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who ran for president in 2016.
"This fight about who controls the House is unbelievably important and it could literally come down to one or two elections," Sanders told an enthusiastic crowd in Kansas recently. "If you guys can do what I know you can. This will be an election heard not only all over this country but all over the world."
Democrats need to pick up about two dozen seats to retake the majority in the House, and gain two seats to have a majority in the Senate.
In addition to being energized, analysts predict that Democrats also have history on their side.
"The midterms generally are good for the out party, the party out of the White House, and in this case Donald Trump is a particularly unpopular president among Democrats," said John Fortier with the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. "They are motivated, they don't like him and they want to come out to vote."
Trump's polls
And then there is the issue of the president's poll numbers, which appear to have slipped slightly since his controversial summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Real Clear average has Trump's approval at 43 percent, with 53 percent disapproving. But in two polls last week, Trump dropped below 40 percent approval, a reversal after improving his poll numbers in the last few months.
The latest Quinnipiac survey had the president's approval at 38 percent, with 58 percent disapproving. And the Marist Poll found Trump's approval at 39 percent with 51 percent disapproving. Marist also had the president under 40 percent approval in three key Midwestern states: Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Trump narrowly won Michigan and Wisconsin as part of his Electoral College triumph in the 2016 presidential election.
Rallying the base
As Trump campaigns around the country on behalf of Republicans, he is urging supporters to defy history and turn out in strong numbers to show support for his agenda.
It is clear that both parties now see the midterms as a referendum on the president. "We have rarely had a president who was so centered on an election and so essential to it," said University of Virginia analyst Larry Sabato via Skype. "He is the Sun. Everything else revolving around the Sun is a planet or a moon."
While Trump will be center-stage in the campaign, recent polls show Americans concerned with a range of issues including the economy, immigration, health care, guns and taxes.
Optimistic Democrats
Given Trump's low approval rating and the historical trend of presidents suffering losses in midterm elections, many experts predict that Democrats should make gains.
"I think the question is, is there a Democratic wave or is it a Democratic tsunami?" said Brookings Institution scholar Elaine Kamarck. "Do Democrats take the House with a margin of five (seats) or do they take the House with a margin of 30? That I don't think anybody can tell yet."
But given the president's loyal base and his apparent interest in campaigning, some Trump supporters caution that Republicans could do better than expected.
"I think the Democrats will gain some seats. But right now, if the election were held today, the Republicans may hold the House by one or two," said former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. He spoke with VOA's Georgian Service.
All 435 House seats and about a third of the 100 Senate seats are at stake in November, and the outcome will have a major impact on the next two years of Trump's presidency.
Read More With 100 Days Until the Midterms, Trump is the Top Issue : https://ift.tt/2vdGIgcBlack Man Accuses Sean Spicer of Hurling Racial Slur at Him
A black man yelled at former White House press secretary Sean Spicer in a bookstore and accused Spicer of calling him a racial slur when they were students at a prep school decades ago.
Spicer was "taken aback'' by the man's "outrageous claim'' and had no recollection of him or of being in school with him, his publicist said on Saturday.
Spicer was at a book signing in Middletown on Friday to promote his new book reflecting on his time at the press podium for President Donald Trump.
Alex Lombard, who was standing behind a small group of people waiting in line to meet Spicer and get him to sign the book, called out Spicer's name and said they went to Portsmouth Abbey School together. Spicer waved to him and said, "Hey. Yeah. How are you?''
Lombard, a Newport native who now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then accused Spicer of calling him the N-word and trying to fight him when they were at school.
"You don't remember that you tried to fight me?'' Lombard asked. "But you called me a (N-word) first.''
A security guard approached Lombard and led him away as he kept talking: "I was 14 then. I was a scared kid then, Sean. I'm not scared to fight you now.''
The Providence Journal reported Saturday that Lombard said he was a member of Portsmouth Abbey's class of 1990. It said Spicer was a member of the class of 1989.
Phone and email messages left by The Associated Press for the school were not immediately returned.
A Newport Daily News video of the encounter doesn't show how Spicer, who was seated at a table signing books, reacted to being accused of using the racial slur. But his publicist said he was shocked by the allegation.
Spicer "can't recall any incident like this happening'' and was "not sure if this was just a stunt this man was pulling,'' Regnery Publishing publicist Lauren McCue said.
She said Spicer has been in the news a lot the last couple of years and it was "a very odd time'' for an accusation like this to be made.
Spicer has been promoting "The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President,'' which just came out. The book paints a rosy if sometimes thorny picture of Trump, describing him as "a unicorn, riding a unicorn over a rainbow'' and a man to whom the regular rules of politics don't apply.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Friday, July 27, 2018
Trump Says Economy Numbers Sustainable, But Experts Doubtful
Friday's positive numbers on the U.S. economic growth are "very, very sustainable," according to U.S. President Donald Trump. His comments came after figures showed U.S. GDP growth hit 4.1 percent in the second quarter. The question is whether that growth is sustainable, as VOA's Bill Gallo reports from the White House.
Read More Trump Says Economy Numbers Sustainable, But Experts Doubtful : https://ift.tt/2LZRkXqPentagon Creating Software 'Do Not Buy' List to Keep Out Russia, China
The Pentagon is working on a software "do not buy" list to block vendors who use software code originating from Russia and China, a top Defense Department acquisitions official said Friday.
Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters the Pentagon has been working for six months on a "do not buy" list of software vendors. The list is meant to help the Department of Defense's acquisitions staff and industry partners avoid purchasing problematic code for the Pentagon and suppliers.
"What we are doing is making sure that we do not buy software that has Russian or Chinese provenance, for instance, and quite often that's difficult to tell at first glance because of holding companies," she told reporters gathered in a conference room near her Pentagon office.
The Pentagon has worked closely with the intelligence community, she said, adding "we have identified certain companies that do not operate in a way consistent with what we have for defense standards."
Identifying these companies has meant that they are put on a list that is shared with the Pentagon's acquisitions staff.
Lord did not provide any further detail on the list.
She also said an upcoming report on the U.S. military supply chain will show the Pentagon depends on Chinese components for some military equipment, a top Defense Department official said Friday.
The industrial base report will show "there is a large focus on dependency on foreign countries for supply, and China figures very prominently."
Bolton May Meet Russian Security Official By End of Summer
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton may meet the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, by the end of summer, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday.
Ryabkov said a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was also being discussed but there had been some difficulties over scheduling.
"We are looking into different options of where minister Lavrov and Secretary of State Pompeo could possibly meet, including the sidelines of international events," Ryabkov said.
Mattis: US Not Pursuing Regime Change in Iran
The United States has not instituted a policy of regime change or collapse in Iran, U.S.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday, telling reporters that the goal was still to change Iran's behavior in the Middle East.
Asked whether the Trump administration had created a regime change or collapse policy, Mattis said: "There's none that's been instituted."
"We need them to change their behavior on a number of threats that they can pose with their military, with their secret services, with their surrogates and with their proxies," he added.
Trump Open to Visiting Moscow After Putin Invite
President Donald Trump is open to visiting Moscow, the White House said on Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had invited the American leader.
Despite the uproar in Washington after the two met in Helsinki last week, Putin said another meeting with Trump was still on the agenda and that both leaders want additional summits.
"Regarding our meetings, I understand very well what President Trump said. He has a desire to have further meetings," Putin told reporters in South Africa, where he was attending a summit of BRICS nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
"I am ready for that," Putin said. "We need for the appropriate conditions to exist, to be created, including in our countries."
Following the backlash in the United States over Trump's cordial public tone with Putin at the Helsinki summit, U.S. and Russian officials backed away from Trump's proposal to schedule a follow-up meeting in Washington in the fall.
Two days after postponing that invitation, the White House made clear on Friday that Trump remained enthusiastic about another Russia summit.
"President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
The last time Trump was in the Russian capital was in 2013, to attend a Miss Universe beauty pageant. Referring to the proposal for a meeting in the United
States, Putin said: "I am ready to go to Washington. I repeat
once again, if the right conditions for work are created."
Putin said that, in the meantime, it was possible that he and Trump would meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina in November or at another international event.
Trum Says He Has Opened European Markets for US Farmers
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President Donald Trump took his trade message directly to the American Midwest Thursday as concerns linger about economic clashes with key partners. Michael Brown reports from Washington. Read More Trum Says He Has Opened European Markets for US Farmers : https://ift.tt/2K0K5wlTrump Convenes Election Security Meeting as Hacking Looms
U.S. President Donald Trump will convene his national security advisers on Friday for a high-level meeting on election security, less than four months until Americans vote to determine whether his fellow Republicans maintain control of Congress.
The White House meeting comes amid new accusations of Russian meddling in U.S. elections. On Thursday, Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill was identified as the target of a hacking attempt ahead of the November midterm elections. A top Microsoft official last week said Russian hackers have targeted at least three candidates but did not name them.
Questions persist over whether U.S. states are prepared to thwart cyber attacks even as debate rages over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won.
The stakes in the midterm elections are high. Republicans hold majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate, but if historical patterns hold true, Democrats, as the party out of power, could gain ground in the contests.
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election through a campaign of hacking and disinformation to try to help elect Trump.
The U.S. Special Counsel's Office is investigating Russian actions and any potential collusion with Trump's campaign. The probe has so far resulted in multiple indictments and guilty pleas by several Trump associates. Several congressional committees also have opened investigations.
Russia has denied any interference while Trump has denied collusion and blasted the investigation as a "witch hunt."
Trump has alternated between citing Russian President Vladimir Putin's denials and saying that he backs the American intelligence community's findings.
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller earlier this month indicted indictments 12 Russian officers from Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU. In February, Mueller charged 13 Russians and three Russian companies in an elaborate conspiracy to interfere in the election.
Tom Burt, vice president of customer security and trust at Microsoft Corp, last week told the Aspen Security Forum the company uncovered phishing activity from a group associated with GRU officers targeting campaign staffers, prompting the Daily Beast investigation.
On Thursday, McCaskill blasted Moscow following a report by the Daily Beast news website identifying her as the target of a hacking attempt. The unsuccessful attack was driven by the Russian intelligence agency behind the 2016 election interference, according to the report.
"Russia continues to engage in cyber warfare against our democracy," McCaskill said in a statement on Thursday. "While this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they think they can get away with this."
The United States already has imposed sanctions on Russia, and Congress is considering additional penalties in case U.S. authorities determine the Kremlin has meddled again.
Congress also is grappling with funding to shore up election systems for U.S. states, which conduct elections. U.S. lawmakers earlier approved $380 million to safeguard systems but some are pushing for more funds, among other action.
Trump, offering no evidence, on Tuesday said he believed Russia will seek to boost Democrats ahead of the November election. McCaskill, who faces a tough re-election campaign, has been critical of Trump and Putin.
Trump Denies Knowing About 2016 Trump Tower Meeting with Russians
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not know about the 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Russians and his campaign staff including his son Don Jr, at which the Russians offered to provide damaging information about Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
"I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr." Trump said in a Twitter post after a CNN report that his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen said Trump knew of the meeting in advance.
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Democrat Senator Confirms Russia Tried to Hack Computers
Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri says Russian hackers tried unsuccessfully to infiltrate her Senate computer network, raising questions about the extent to which Russia will try to interfere in the 2018 elections.
McCaskill, who is up for re-election this year, confirmed the attempted hack after The Daily Beast website reported that Russia’s GRU intelligence agency tried to break into the senator’s computers in August 2017. The Daily Beast report Thursday was based on the site’s forensic analysis after a Microsoft executive said last week that the company had helped stop email phishing attacks on three unidentified candidates.
In a statement, McCaskill said she wants to hold the hackers and Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable.
“While this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they think they can get away with this,” she said. “I will not be intimidated. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Putin is a thug and a bully.”
Her office would not give any details about the attempted attack or say how they learned about it. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he did not have immediate comment. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment Thursday night.
Vulnerable Senate seat
McCaskill, a Democrat in a state that overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump, is considered one of the most vulnerable senators up for re-election this year. According to The Daily Beast, the email phishing scam that targeted her office was similar to a successful Russian hacking of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, in 2016.
The report comes two days after Trump suggested that the Russians may try to help Democrats in this election cycle. He has repeatedly questioned the extent to which Russia interfered in the 2016 elections despite an assessment from the country’s intelligence agencies that they did. The intelligence agencies said Russia was attempting to help Trump win the election.
Trump tweeted Tuesday, without evidence: “I’m very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump!”
Warner urges action
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said the news confirms what he and others have warned for some time.
“The Russians saw 2016 as a success, and they’ll be back in 2018, unless we do far more to protect ourselves than we’re currently doing,” Warner said, “Unfortunately, the lack of leadership from the White House means that we still have no all-of-government approach to addressing this threat.”
Remarks by President Trump at Iowa Workforce Development Roundtable
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release July 26, 2018
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ROUNDTABLE
Northeast Iowa Community College
Peosta, Iowa
11:52 A.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. And thank you very much, for being here. Wonderful people. Wonderful state. We’ve had great luck in this state, and I think we’re really putting it back.
I’m very close, I have to tell you, to pulling off something that you’ve been looking forward to for many years. And that’s the 12 month E15 waiver. We’re getting very close to doing that. (Applause.) It’s a very complex process.
And I stuck with ethanol, and most other candidates were -- they weren’t there, right? To put it mildly. But Kim and Terry Branstad -- who is, right now, your great ambassador to China. (Applause.) We could not have put him in a more auspicious location or a more important location from the standpoint that Terry is out there doing a -- really a -- not an easy job. But I think in the end, it’s going to work out very well. It’s going to be something special.
I want to thank Secretary Wilbur Ross for being here. Secretary Alex Acosta. (Applause.) Wilbur, Alex. Governor Kim Reynolds, I guess one of the reasons I liked Terry, you know, he was the longest-serving Governor in the history of the United States -- I think 24 years. And he was, sort of, semi-newly elected again. And I said, “How about this?” Let’s see, first I had to figure out who is the -- who is the Lieutenant Governor. And I knew it was Kim. And I said, “You know, she’ll be a great governor.” She’s turned out to be better than a great governor. You have -- (applause) -- you know -- and Rod told me that. I said, “Rod, how is she doing?” And he said, “She’s phenomenal.” Right?
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Absolutely.
THE PRESIDENT: You said she’s phenomenal, and she really has been. You’re number one in almost every category. You’re in the top three in jobs. You’re in the top three in unemployment. You’re number-one state, I think that just came out. (Applause.) Number-one state.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: There we go. You won't let me ride with you again. (Laughs.)
THE PRESIDENT: Those are a -- that’s right. Those are very bad soundbites for whoever you’re running against. (Laughter.) I don’t know -- I don’t know who you’re running against, but I can tell you, that’s not easy. When they rate you number-one state for a lot of things, especially on an economic basis. The job you’re doing, Kim, has been fantastic.
And I can tell you, I spoke to Terry recently. We speak a lot. And he thinks you’re doing a great job. So thank you very much.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Thank you. We appreciate the tax cuts. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: And also, sitting up here with Rod Blum. Without him, we wouldn’t have -- (applause) -- without Rod, we wouldn’t have our tax cuts. And we have massive tax cuts and reform. I don’t mention reform because nobody’s -- it’s too complicated to talk about. People talk about tax cuts. We didn’t want to use the word “reform.” But the reforms are a very important thing, what we did.
And even included in that bill is the individual mandate. We got rid of the individual mandate -- the most unpopular thing in Obamacare. And Obamacare is on its way out. You look at the cost of Obamacare. It’s horrible. (Applause.) In fact, it was done, except we had one man that decided at the -- you know, late in the evening, that he would change his vote. Isn’t that wonderful? So he changed his vote. And he surprised all of us.
But it was dead. But it’s virtually -- it’s on its last legs right now. Alex Acosta has come up with incredible healthcare plans through the Department of Labor -- association plans where you associate, where you have groups and you get tremendous healthcare at a very small cost. And it’s across state lines; you can compete all over the country. They compete. They want to get it. And, Alex, I hear it’s like record business that they’re doing.
We just opened about two months ago, and I’m hearing that the numbers are incredible. Numbers of people that are getting really, really good healthcare instead of Obamacare, which is a disaster.
So you’re getting great healthcare for, really, a fraction of the cost. Highly competitive. It costs the United States government nothing, and yet you’re getting much better healthcare. And it’s at very small prices. So I want to thank you. The job you did on that is incredible. Now he’s doing phase two, and that’s going to be announced very shortly. And that’s going to be a very big group of people that nobody even knows about.
SECRETARY ACOSTA: That’s right.
THE PRESIDENT: And then Secretary Azar, also, is doing a different form of healthcare that’s turning out to incredible. We’re working very hard on medicine prices. You probably saw where Pfizer actually announced a price increase, and then they -- we weren’t happy, and they took it away. (Laughter.) They took it away. It’s never happened before. And I thank Pfizer for that. I thank them. (Applause.)
And Merck, likewise, and Novartis, and a number of -- they announced increases and -- boy, I must have a very powerful position, Wilbur, because I act -- I was extremely angry about it. And then all of sudden, they all called: “We’re going to retract our price increases.” So I said, “Number one, that has to be a good business, otherwise you don’t do that. And number two, I appreciate that they did it.”
But we’re working very hard on getting prescription drugs down. And prices down. And we have a big -- that’s what upset me. Here we are, talking about, you know, bringing down the prices of prescription drugs, and you had a couple of companies go out and announce an increase. And now those prices are going to become -- really, tumbling down.
We have something else that we did -- “Right to Try.” And you would really -- you were so instrumental in that, Rod. And I appreciate it. You and Greg and everybody. But I’ve been after it for a long time. I never understood it. They’ve been trying to get it passed for 42 years. You know what Right to Try is? It’s actually a great title.
You know, a lot of these names I don’t like. I love this name: “Right to Try.” And this is where people are terminally ill, and they can’t get a drug that shows great promise because the company or because the country says, “Well, We don’t want to let anybody have a drug that’s going to maybe hurt them.” Well, they’re terminally ill. So they want the right to try it. And they’ll travel if they have the money, and most of the people don’t have the money so they literally -- they have no hope.
But this way, you have these incredible drugs that are coming out. It’s too early in the stage to let them go out to the mass public. Many of them are going to work. But even if it were some of them were going to work, you now have the right to try. So you now have the right to get these drugs. And I think it’s going to be a fantastic thing.
And Rod Blum and some of the other folks, they've really have been instrumental. That was an important one for Rod. But it was an important one for a lot of people.
And incredible how difficult it was; I mean, you would think that would be an easy one, right? What’s easier than that? But the drug companies didn’t like it because it showed badly because people were very, very sick. They didn’t want it in their statistics. The insurance companies didn’t want it because they didn’t want to get sued. The states didn’t want it because there was a liability question. And we got them all in a room. We said, “Look, everybody will sign a document saying we’re going to take this, and we’re going to take away all liability. No suits, no nothing. But we’re going to have the right to try." And they said -- I was there, I guess I could say I led it -- and they said -- they said, very nicely, “Oh, well, that works.” Everybody said, “That works.”
You know, in terms of the statistics for the drug companies -- and I understood they don’t want to have that as a bad stat, because these people were really far down the line in many cases. I said, “We won’t count that stat. Or, we’ll have a different set of statistics where it’s terminally ill people.” But one of the things you do get out of it, is you really will find out whether or not it works.
But the thing that we wanted to get was we wanted to give people hope. And that’s what they got. So that was something that was really good, and I’m just mentioning it because Rod was so helpful with that and so many other things. So I want to thank you. (Applause.) Fantastic.
So I also want to thank the Northeast Iowa Community College President, Dr. Liang Chee Wee for hosting us. (Applause.)
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: He did a great job, didn’t he?
THE PRESIDENT: Very good. Very good. And really fantastic what we saw. We met some of the students, and they’re really enthusiastic, and they’re going to have a great life. They’re going to have a great life.
You know, we have so many companies moving back to the United States now. And what we need is talented people -- people that have knowledge and people that know how to use those incredible machines that you don’t learn overnight, right?
DR. WEE: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: And what you’re doing here is a great example. A lot of people are studying it, what you’re doing in Iowa with Kim and everybody else. And you were very complimentary of your governor, and I understand that.
But what you’re doing is really incredible. People all over the country -- and beyond the country -- are studying what you’re doing right here in Iowa, Kim. And thank you, Doctor, very much. Congratulations.
DR. WEE: Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: A person who was actually a very, very good student -- she went to the Wharton School of Finance. And she was always a great student. I said, “Ivanka, are you going to do your homework?” “Yeah, I’ve already done it, Dad.” And then she’d get A’s. I said, “She doesn’t work.” She doesn’t work.
And I remember, when she graduated from Wharton, she did very well. And her friends said, “You know, we had to work harder than she did.” And I don’t know if they were happy or not, but they liked her. Everybody likes Ivanka. But she really led this initiative so much and she continues to. She feels it’s so important to job training.
We have -- again, we have so many companies coming into this area, but all over the country. And the biggest problem we have is we have to have people with talent and skill, otherwise we’re not going to have these companies come in.
But we are learning and we’re teaching a lot of people. And they’re great people. And Ivanka really has been leading that initiative, and I want to thank you very much.
MS. TRUMP: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Really fantastic. (Applause.) In fact, Ivanka, before we begin, maybe you just might want to tell them about the bill that was passed last night?
MS. TRUMP: Absolutely. So after many, many years -- since 2006 -- Congress, on both sides of the aisle, could not get together to reauthorize and modernize a piece of legislation that is so critically important to what we’re all here talking about: career and technical education.
Perkins Career and Technical Education Act passed the Senate last week, passed the House this week, and will be signed into law by the President after over a decade of languishing. It's been authorized -- (applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Unless I don’t sign it. Maybe I’ll veto it. Maybe I’ll veto it. I’ll see. Let’s see. (Laughter.) I think I’ll veto that bill. What do you think, Rod? (Laughter.)
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: No.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: No, no, no.
MS. TRUMP: It’s going to affect 11 million students and workers across the nation who are seeking to acquire the technical skills to be able to thrive in our modern and increasingly digital economy. So it’s very, very exciting --
THE PRESIDENT: That's so good.
MS. TRUMP: -- and it’s an enormous piece of legislation, and it’s going to be really transformative to education across the country.
And I was actually here in Iowa just this past March with the great Governor Reynolds, and we toured one of the facilities that benefits from Perkins. This facility benefits from Perkins, and it’s great legislation that was in dire need of being modernized. So thanks to the President’s leadership, and thanks to the push of the White House, it got done. So we’re very excited and will be signed into law in the coming weeks. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Good. Good. So, Rod, get that to my desk, all right? Get that to my desk, all right?
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: You’re going to sign it, right?
THE PRESIDENT: Before I change my mind. (Laughter.) I’ll change my mind, be careful. Anyway – well, thank you very much.
But I want to also send our prayers to the communities who have been affected by the recent devastating tornadoes in central Iowa. That was all over the news, and I watched. And I love this place; it’s been a very special place to me. And, you know, whatever we can do, we’re doing. We have a lot of federal people out here. Some incredible people. And they’re all working with your representatives, and I know they’re doing the best they can.
But I will tell you, that’s a terrible event. It’s tragic. The power -- the power of nature. People have no idea.
Moments ago, I toured the school’s amazing state-of-the-art training lab with the Doctor. And preparing -- really, they’re preparing American students for the work of the future -- for their life’s future. And they’re going to have a great living. They're going to be making a great living. They're sought after. They're really sought after. And I congratulated them.
We're making tremendous progress on workforce development. And next week, I'll sign the legislation that Ivanka just talked about that is going to be really something -- and, really, an amazing achievement. Between that and, you know, for years -- how many years, Ivanka, they've been working on that?
MS. TRUMP: Since 2006.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, 2006. But we're signing one for the vets -- Choice. That's been up for 44 years. They've been trying to get Choice, where you wait in line for weeks and weeks and weeks -- you're not even very sick -- and by the time you get to see the doctor, you have a terminal illness. They could have taken care of it very easily if you got early. But weeks and weeks -- and we got Choice. And people said you couldn't do that, and we got it.
That's where you go and you see a doctor and the country pays -- these are our vets -- the country pays the doctor's bill, which is a tiny fraction of the cost of what would happen and what has been happening. And the lines are being reduced so drastically, and the vets are now able -- if they can't see -- if they can't get immediate service, they go right outside, they get a doctor -- a local doctor. We have deals worked and pricing worked and everything worked and they get taken care of. It's really great.
And we also passed Accountability. And, you know, in the -- in the VA, you couldn't fire anybody. You knew that. This man knew it better than anybody. He's a tough cookie. He wanted to -- if they don't take care of our vets, you want them out.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Absolutely.
THE PRESIDENT: And what happened is you couldn't get it.
It was 45 years they've been trying to get Accountability. Now, of course, the unions weren't thrilled. And the civil service, you know, was difficult and that would be the stumbling block. That's why they couldn't get it passed. And we got it passed -- VA Accountability. So if they don't treat our vets right, we look at them, and we say, "Sorry, you're fired. Get out. Out. Out. Out." (Laughter and applause.)
And that's really -- to me, that's a big one. And what you did last night, I mean, that's only been from early 2000s. So that's easy by comparison. But those two bills for the VA -- for the vets was just incredible. We're really doing a job with the vets, I think. It's never been like this before.
But I believe that both -- but, in particular, Choice is going to be -- it's going to make such a difference. Where -- I mean they were waiting for weeks just to see a doctor. And then they'd have to come back for a second visit, and it would be four weeks later, and horrible. So we took care of that.
Whether a citizen is a high school student or a mid-to-late career worker, we want Americas of -- Americans of all ages and background to be equipped with the skills they need to thrive -- preparing American workers for American jobs. We've added 3.7 million jobs since -- as you know, since the election.
That was a great election. Wasn't that a great election? (Applause.) And I have to say -- because we have a lot of farmers in this place -- we had this hat made up. Look at that. Just -- it's the John Deere colors, actually, but -- "Make Our Farmers Great Again." Isn't that great? "Make Our" -- (Applause.)
And yesterday, you know, we've been working on these trade deals, which are the worst ever made by any country in history. We had the worst trade deals. We don't have one trade deal that's any good. Between NAFTA, which was a horrible deal -- and we're getting close on that. But we're making it good. You're dealing with closed markets. The Canadians -- you have a totally closed market from so many -- you know, in Canada they have a 375-percent tax on dairy products. Other than that, it's wonderful to deal.
And we have a very big deficit with Canada -- trade deficit, although they don't like to say that. But on one of their pieces of paper that they give out with the Canadian flag -- and I love Canada, by the way. I have to tell you, I love Canada -- but they have the Canadian flag -- very official -- it's says, "$97.8 billion deficit that the United States has," or they put it down as a surplus to Canada. And I said, "Well, if we're doing so well with Canada, how come it's $98.7 billion?" Okay? That's a lot of money.
And so we're opening things up. But the biggest one of all happened yesterday -- other than China -- (applause) -- the EU -- the European -- it's a thing called Europe. Europe. And the relationship with Jean-Claude, who is the head, who is a -- actually a very, very strong guy. Very tough guy, but a good man. And he's done an incredible job pulling all the countries together.
But we just opened up Europe for you farmers. You're not going to be too angry with Trump, I can tell you. (Laughter.) Because you were essentially -- wouldn't you say, Kim -- they were restricted from dealing in Europe.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Yeah, regulatory problem.
THE PRESIDENT: You had barrios that really made it impossible for farm products to go in. And I said to them, "Do me a favor, will you just" -- because you know, China is doing a little number. They want to attack the farm belt because they know those -- the farmers love me. They voted for me. We won every one of the states. And you look at that middle of this country outside of a little bit of blue on the outside -- outer edges of the country, we won just everything. And so they figured, "Oh what we'll do is we'll attack them." And I see that. And I said, "They're not going to win. Just so you understand. We have all the cards. We're going to win."
But it's not nice what they're doing. But I said to the Europeans, I said, "Do me a favor. Would you go out to the farms in Iowa and all the different places in the Midwest? Would you buy a lot of soybeans, right now?" Because that whole soybean thing is now going to be opened up. No tariffs. No nothing. Free trade. I call it, "Free and fair." See, that's called free trade.
When you have a country that's charging you 50-percent tariffs, and we charge them nothing, and then I raise it to 50 percent, and then we have politicians in Washington say, "We are stopping free trade." No. No. They stopped it when they put on the 50 percent.
I mean, we have countries that are charging us 200 percent -- 250 percent -- 100 percent -- I don't want to mention them because I actually get along very well with the head people. But they know who they are, and they're changing their ways. But the Europe -- I mean, basically, we opened up Europe and that's going to be a great thing for Europe and it's been -- really going to be a great thing for us. An it's going to be a really great thing for our farmers, because you have just gotten yourself one big market that really, essentially -- wouldn’t you say, Kim? -- never existed because you just had --
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Right.
THE PRESIDENT: -- you just had a problem.
So we did that yesterday afternoon. We signed a letter of intent or agreed to a letter of intent, and we're starting the documents. But the relationship is very, very good. So we're very happy.
And then the employers are hiring and they recruiting and they're raising wages in our country. And you know what's happened: We have so many jobs now coming in, but they're raising wages. The first time that's happened in 19 years, where wages are going up. Now, you have a couple of people -- you own your big farms, you probably don't hear that. But you're doing okay. So you're doing okay.
But it's the first time that's happened in a long time. And we're just doing really, really well as a country. And there's no place doing better than Iowa. I mean, there's no place with better leadership. There's no place with more advanced thought. (Applause.) And I want to thank -- I want to thank your governor.
And, you know, as I sort of alluded, when I put Terry as the ambassador -- such an important position -- and he really likes China. He really likes China. Very interesting story. Terry told me, he said, you know, many years ago -- like 38 years ago -- he met a man named Xi and he came back because he was selling corn to China. And he came back, and told his incredible wife -- who is incredible with -- by the way, a son who led my campaign. I don't know if he's here. Where is he? Is he here? Because what a great guy. I hope he's working on your campaign and your campaign. But he came back, and he told his wife -- this is, I think, 38 years before -- he said, "I just met the future head of China." And she said, "What do you mean?" "I just met a man who is so impressive that he will someday be the head of China." And that's President Xi. He just got -- in fact, I guess he's President for life, based on everything I've heard. (Laughter.)
But can you imagine Terry Branstad telling me that story, which was a great story?
So I want to ask Kim to say a few words and then maybe we can travel around the table real fast. We'll all say something.
But it's great to be in Iowa. We had a tremendous victory here. We won by a lot. And just very, very special people. Very, very special. And we're taking care of your ethanol. Okay? Nobody else was going to, believe me, they were out. They were out. (Applause.) We're taking care of your ethanol. Right?
And before -- I have to thank -- Senator Grassley has been an incredible friend of mine. Joni Ernst has been -- Joni, has been, like, an incredible friend of mine. Although I think she likes Ivanka better than she likes me. It's the same thing. (Laughter.)
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Girl power, right? (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: But Joni Ernst, I'll tell you, she's a tremendous talent. Chuck Grassley is, like -- he's Chuck Grassley. He's just incredible. (Laughter.) He speaks and you listen, right? There's no games with Chuck.
But they've been pushing me very, very strong on the ethanol, and, you know, we've been with them all the way. So I just want to thank them. I know they're in Washington doing some very important business right now, but I wanted to thank them.
Kim, go ahead.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Thank you. Well, Mr. President, first I want to say welcome back to Iowa. It's a pleasure to have you back in our state. I also want to welcome back Ivanka and Secretary Acosta as well. We appreciate the time that you've spent in Iowa, really seeing what we've been working on. And it's a real pleasure to be a part of this roundtable to discuss the importance of workforce.
And I think we're actually the first state that you've stopped at --
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: -- to do the pledge since the executive order was signed. So thank you. We're really proud of our leadership role on this front. And, really, the public-private partnerships continue to build the foundation. So many of the businesses that I see out in the audience today have been such a phenomenal partner with our schools, and our communities, and our community colleges to really help build those partnerships; to help not only young people see that there are so many pathways to a great career, but as we saw on the tour, adults that are reskilling, retraining, and having a great opportunity to have a great career and a great quality of life. And most importantly, right here in the state of Iowa.
So I love the relationships that are being built through initiatives like the one that you're driving. We have an initiative called -- it's called Future Ready Iowa, and the goal is to have 70 percent of Iowans in the workforce have either education or training beyond high school by the year 2025. We're at about 58 percent right now, so we're really positioned very well, I think, to hit that goal. But it just aligns so well with everything that you're going.
We’re doing Last Dollar Scholars, which is some financing for credentials up to two-year degrees tied to high-demand jobs, and Employer Innovation Fund that really strengthens the regional talent partnerships and the talent pipeline. Again, different areas need different things, and so this really helps the areas identify and work on where their need is at.
We're expanding registered apprenticeship programs for smaller and mid-sized businesses. So that's real exciting too. And we're doing a lot of work-based learning. We have -- it's called the STEM BEST Initiative, which is Business Engaging Student and Teachers. It's been phenomenal, again, with really bringing workforce and academia together in a partnership. They were operating in silo. So it's been great to see that.
The other thing that we're putting in place is a clearinghouse so that we can provide work-based learning opportunities to some of our rural communities that might not have the access to the great opportunities. And we want to make sure that no matter where you live in the state of Iowa, you have opportunities.
I'll tell one quick story and then I'll pass it, because we want to hear from the other people on the panel. But it's really about kids like Charles Vander Velden. And he is from Pella. And he is the first-ever high school student to become a registered apprentice in welding with Vermeer, who is a great company in Pella that happened to be hit with the tornado. And I tell you, they're coming back bigger and stronger than ever. So again, great community efforts there.
But they unveiled a high school-registered apprenticeship playbook that high schools all across the state can take it and really use it for welding or computer science or IT or nursing, whatever that may be. And we've made it very, very simple to really encourage our schools across the state to engage with our community colleges, our businesses, and our students. So I'm really excited about that.
Thank you for being here. Thanks for signing the executive order. We appreciate the partnership. And we're taking advantage of your tax reform, too, because we were able to pass tax reform in the state of Iowa, as well as regulatory reform. So we're partnering with you on a lot of great initiatives. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Kim. Thank you very much. Is that the home of Pella windows too? Pella?
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Yes, it is.
THE PRESIDENT: I bought a lot of Pella windows. (Laughter.) And I bought a lot of John Deere equipment. Millions and millions and millions of dollars' worth of John Deere. (Applause.) One of their bigger customers, they tell me. So that's good. And Pella makes a great window, I will say that. They make a really great window.
So we'll go around. Yes.
MS. TOWNSEND: Mr. President, Beth Townsend, Director of Iowa Workforce Development. First and foremost, I want to say, as a veteran, thank you to your administration for everything you have done for veterans. You just don’t know what that has meant to all of us.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
MS. TOWNSEND: So thank you. (Applause.) I also wanted to say, I've heard you talk about the dignity of work, which is something we in Iowa really believe in. And when you combine that with our employers who believe in investing in their employees, and you bring the collaboration and the great leadership that we've had from Governor Reynolds and Governor Branstad and create programs like Future Ready Iowa, if you want to know how to solve this problem in America, you look at us and we will tell you how to do it. (Laughter.) (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Good. I know that. It's true.
Doctor, would you like to say a few words, please?
DR. WEE: Again, on behalf of Northeast Iowa Community College, welcome to everybody. It's not every day we get the President of the United States here. (Laughter.) So, Mr. President, thank you for coming.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
DR. WEE: I just want to say thank you for really looking at the Perkins legislation. In fact, I just read it this morning. Under the leadership of Representative Virginia Foxx, it says one of the priorities is to have more inclusive collaboration between educational institution, industry, employers, and community partners.
Mr. President, we're already doing it in Iowa. And the 15 community colleges backing by our Governor, we're doing it. From the K-12, getting that into guided pathways so that they understand that education has to be our focus. Our focus is career readiness and also college readiness. And when they come to us, we make sure that we get them with a skill, and partnering with our businesses to make sure that they apply.
Eighty-five percent of our students live, work, and play in Northeast Iowa. We cover 5,000 square miles. So we're keeping Iowans in Iowa, and we're keeping jobs here.
Last year alone, we worked with over 470 businesses and trained over 1,000 employees. In fact, last year, we touched over 20,000 for upskilling. So you find that, as a community college, we really are the college of the people. And we welcome you back again, because today you're only saw a sliver of what we do.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, that's true. Very impressive, though.
DR. WEE: And I can't thank enough our business partners out here. They're out here. Without their support, without our K-12 support, without the state's support, without the city -- city council and all the other government -- Northeast Iowa Community College would not be able to do what you have set up, and that is putting Americans to work. We're fully behind that. And under the Governor's leadership, we'll make sure that that happens. And that 70 percent, Madam Governor, we're going to exceed that.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: That's right.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Doctor. Appreciate it. (Applause.) Thank you.
I'd like to maybe have Matt [sic] Blum speak next, because he's been so incredible in so many ways. He fights so hard. He loves this state; he loves the people. I guess he's got a race against somebody they call "Absent Abby," because she never showed up to the state house. I don’t know what's going -- Absent Abby. Who's Absent Abby? (Laughter.) But he's going to -- you're going to -- have you ever heard that term? I think so. (Laughter.)
But, you know, he came to me recently with -- that's a bad name for somebody to have if you're running for office, I'll tell you. But he came to me recently about a floodwall, and that's a big deal, isn’t it?
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Big deal. Big deal. Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: And how much money did you get?
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: $117 million.
THE PRESIDENT: $117 million. And if somebody else would have come, they wouldn’t have got -- they would have gotten two dollars. (Laughter.) But he got $117 million, and it's going well, right? Is it going well?
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Absolutely, yeah. It's going well.
THE PRESIDENT: Congratulations.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: And good luck with everything, and I appreciate everything. I appreciate your help. You've been fantastic. Thank you, Rod. Say a few words, please.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Mr. President, Ivanka, Labor Secretary Acosta, and Commerce Secretary Ross, welcome to the First District of Iowa. And I don’t mean to put the pressure, Mr. President, on Secretary Ross, because I know he's got a lot on his plate, but we made a bet on Air Force One, on the way out here -- a steak dinner. Correct, Mr. Secretary?
SECRETARY ROSS: That's right.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: On getting a deal done with Mexico in the next 90 days.
SECRETARY ROSS: That's right.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Correct?
SECRETARY ROSS: Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: And I fully plan on buying you a steak dinner. (Applause.)
I'd like to thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership on our economy. We are now growing at over twice the rate -- twice the rate -- that we were under former President Obama, and it's due in large part to your leadership. Thank you very much for that, Mr. President. (Applause.)
And also, thank you for having political courage to renegotiate these trade deals, which, quite frankly, are not good to the United States. And you've taken some heat for it in the short term --
THE PRESIDENT: Short term.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: -- but in the long run, the farmers, the manufacturers, the employers are all going to be better off.
THE PRESIDENT: That's right.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Thank you for having political courage.
THE PRESIDENT: That's right. (Laughs.) Thank you. (Applause.)
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: And lastly, thank you for our commitment -- your commitment to workers. This great economy we have has created another problem in my district. People cannot find workers. And that's a problem. We need welfare reform. If you're between 18 and 65 years old -- (applause) -- mentally and physically able to work, no children in the house, you ought to be working, right? You ought to be working. (Applause.) We need welfare reform.
And we need immigration reform. We need more legal immigration reform. We need worker visas -- temporary worker visas in the ag area. So we need more workers here. And lastly, we need workforce development.
You know, Mr. President, there exists a myth in this country that you cannot live the American Dream unless you have a white dress shirt on and work in an office. And that, my friends, you would agree -- and I think you would agree, Mr. President -- is not true.
THE PRESIDENT: That's right. That's right.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: So the first time -- the first time, my friends, in our country's history, we have more job openings -- more job openings than we have workers to fill them. First time in our country's history. Hats off to you, Mr. President. (Applause.)
So I'm confident that Mr. President and his team and Ivanka will solve our workforce problems and get more people so we can achieve what Secretary Mnuchin and I discussed over a year ago, and that is 4 percent economic growth. But we need the workers, and they need to be trained to do it. And I think this quarter, Mr. President, we're going to have a pretty good GDP report.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, on Friday, the numbers come out, and I don’t know what they are, but there are predictions from 3.8 to 5.3. And if somebody would have said that when I was running, if I would have ever even thought that -- you know I've been saying -- frankly, I've been saying we're going to do awfully well, but nobody thought we were going to be this great. We've already hit 3.2 percent.
When I took over, those numbers were bad, and they were heading in the wrong direction because of regulation. Really, the taxes were too high. People were leaving the country. Companies were leaving the country. Jobs were -- forget it, they were really being abandoned. And other countries, frankly, were taking advantage of the United States. You know that, Rod. So we stopped that. But, please, go ahead.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Well, that's the big points I wanted to make. And I just wanted to say, Mr. President, my parents had 10-grade educations, and I valued education, got an education, worked my butt off, and became a self-made entrepreneur who lived the American Dream. And I think this is all about the American Dream. Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: And became one of the great congressmen, too -- that I can tell you. One of the most effective people in Congress. (Applause.) So thank you very much. Thank you.
Joe, please.
MR. O'DELL: Thank you, sir. My name is Joe O'Dell, and I want to thank my beautiful wife for the support out there. I want to thank the Scherr Family and Dubuque Screw Products for supporting me on my journey.
I was a third-generation logger. And in June of 2014, I was diagnosed with AML Leukemia. At that time, I was only given a few months. Through great medical miracles, I am here today. And in that, I come back to school, though NICC, and they connected me with the right people to be successful. I went through the Pathway Program, just started out. I went through the one-year program, and now I am into the apprenticeship program, with a great company backing me. And I can tell you, I am living a very good life from this schooling. (Applause.)
This is a great program. The things these guys are doing to give us these opportunities is remarkable. And it's not a traditional schooling, so it's open to a lot of people that ain't real school-oriented, you know? And there's opportunity out there. You just have to be -- want and go get it with a drive. You know?
And I think with the employer support we got around our community, the community support, these people can put you in connection with the right people to make you very successful.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you, Joe. Beautiful. (Applause.) Thank you, Joe.
Georgia?
MS. VAN GUNDY: Thank you, Mr. President. Well, I'm Georgia Van Gundy with the Iowa Business Council. And we represent 22 of the CEOs from some of the largest employers in our state, with Randy being one of them. But we have operations in all 99 counties. And I think Beth and the Governor talked about our Future Ready Iowa Initiative that we have, which is a statewide strategy. That's the first we've ever had to address our workforce needs.
And as you mentioned, we have workforce needs in this state. And so it really does take business coming to the table and leading, and being collaborative and innovative. You know, our employers oftentimes do provide training programs. But as employers, we know that we have to come together and be innovative in our ways in order to attract our workforce.
We pledge, of our members, 30,000 internships, externships, and apprenticeships, so that we're reaching those students early so that they understand the types of jobs that we have in the state of Iowa and why you want to stay here, and why necessarily a four-year degree isn’t needed to have a great career. And so educating them on that.
We've put together a business education alliance to where we're bringing together higher education, community colleges, K-12, and the business community to talk about innovative solutions to address our workforce.
We're having collaborative industry and partnership, so bringing like industries together to say, okay, we all have these workforce needs; how can we look at apprenticeships? How can we look at different tools that are out there to address our training and workforce so that we have people here?
We're having our community conversations to where we're going around the state of Iowa, where business is driving some of these conversations to really talk about what are our jobs and demand in the region? How do we start building those career pathways? How do we use some of the innovative funds that we have to provide scholarships and break down some of the barriers for people to get to employment?
And then, also, we're dedicated to work-based learning. We hear over and over again that if students just had the opportunity to work with businesses, to get that hands-on experience so that they know, "Gee, what does that algebra class get me at the end of that day?"
And so as the Governor mentioned, there's a work-based portal that's going to be up and running that our businesses are committed to support, and a lot of businesses are -- small, medium, large -- that are participating in work-based learning.
And so that's where I think the state of Iowa and all of our employers are really stepping up to engage with education so that we can -- you know, our population hasn’t grown in quite some time here in the state. So it is important that we re-train the people that we have and fill the jobs that we have.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. Thank you very much. Beautiful job.
MS. VAN GUNDY: Yes, thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks, Georgia. (Applause.) Thank you.
MR. EDEKER: Mr. President, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to be here. My name is Randy Edeker. I'm the Chairman, CEO, and President of Hy-Vee. Just to level-set about Hy-Vee, we're a -- (applause) -- thank you. We are an 86-year-old employee-owned company. We operate in eight states in the Midwest: 228 food stores; 145 C stores; 70 clinics; and 258 pharmacies. And so that's who we are.
I was asked just to talk about some of the workforce development initiatives that we've taken. In 2017, we put $22 million up to develop a training and education center in Urbandale, Iowa. And that's designed to enhance education of our current employees, develop leadership skills. We've put 2,500 of our 81,000 through that, just to enhance their leadership ability and enhance skills. And then, also, we developed, in the same year, an innovation and technology center that employs 400 individuals. That's a 90,000-square-foot facility that's a very free-flowing, collaborative-type center.
We're using that to really engage with colleges and universities from around the Midwest. Right now, we have a wonderful internship program with Drake University around business analytics, and so we're using that as a way to develop new talent and also new ideas.
Another area we're very proud of is our Hy-Vee Homefront. We launched Hy-Vee Homefront as a way to support our vets, as they're getting out of the service, with needs. And then it quickly turned to the opportunity to recruit. We recruited 74 vets in the last six months to Hy-Vee. We offer a $5,000 relocation bonus and then career tracking for our veterans as they get out of the service. A very important part of what we do. (Applause.)
Another area that we're exceptionally proud of is the numbers of opportunities we've been able to provide for individuals with disability. We've been recognized many times for what we've done. We're working with the Harkin Institute on the International Disability Employment Summit. We're very active in employing folks with disabilities as a great part of our workforce. We actually have, for the first time ever -- this is a very nice, proud moment -- we have the first hearing-impaired licensed pharmacist in the United States, who's practicing in Des Moines right now. We think that's a nice thing. (Applause.)
And then, finally, as a commitment, we've committed to -- over the next five years -- taking 800 individuals through our Hy-Vee University Program, which is a four-year advanced program to train workers and leaders in our company; 1,000 interns, 1,000 advanced skilled workers will be trained; and then 12,500 on-the-job training, and working with individuals to learn new skills to assimilate into our companies and others. And so we've committed to 15,000 training opportunities over the next five years as a part of your pledge today.
And so, once again, thank you for having us here.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Randy. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you very much.
How about you, Matt?
MR. DROESKE: Good afternoon, Mr. President. My name is Matt Droeske, and I reside here in the town of Peosta. Here with me today is my lovely wife Monica, my two brothers, and both my bosses. (Laughter.)
I'm honored to be here to talk briefly about the opportunity my employer, ServiceOne, has given me to participate in the HVAC apprenticeship program through the CEU Authority. After high school, I attended Southwest Tech for dairy herd management, and then eventually NICC for HVAC. I was offered a position at a company graduating where I was low laying on the totem pole doing grunt work.
I moved on to ServiceOne because they offered me the chance to grow through the apprenticeship program. And because of the opportunity ServiceOne has provided me, like the apprenticeship program, I am now running service calls on my own, and I am now a third-year apprentice and will be soon a licensed journeyman.
This program has allowed me -- (applause) -- this program has allowed me to build on my skills and knowledge and the trade that seems to be declining in the workforce for skilled laborers. It is allowing me to better myself and become a greater asset to my employer and to the industry.
My brother, who is here today, has followed into my footsteps at ServiceOne, and will be starting an apprenticeship next year.
Mr. President, I want to thank you and congratulate you for the effort in helping the working class and believing in American workers with the workforce development. I believe this will give the opportunity -- or give the other options to kids, like myself and my brother, who may not fit the college mode. Thank you again for allowing me to share today. It's been a real honor.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Beautiful job. Beautiful. Beautiful.
Please.
MR. GIESE: Mr. President, thanks for being here and welcome. I'm Matt Giese, Project Manager at Giese Sheet Metal. Our family has three businesses here in town. Been in business 95 years, and family owned and operated since the start. So that's -- not a lot of people do that. So we're proud of that. Very much so.
You know, great-grandpa started in the alley selling furnishes and sheet metal, and now we got, you know, three locations and 150 employees. So each generation has made it --
THE PRESIDENT: Great.
MR. GIESE: -- better and better. And so hopefully ours is, you know, good. (Laughter.) So --
THE PRESIDENT: No doubt. No doubt.
MR. GIESE: And actually, our Vice President was at our Giese Manufacturing a couple months before the election, and it was probably the best rally of the entire summer.
But Kim and Rod -- you know, we had a huge stainless steel, metal sign, "Trump" out of -- you know, "Trump/Pence." It was, yeah, nice. (Laughter.)
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Very nice. Very nice.
MR. GIESE: We -- yeah, they join us often, so --
But I work on the construction side of things, so I estimate and do commercial HVAC and duct work. I could tell you, the jobs are out there. You know, seeing great numbers. And not just us; I mean, everybody is seeing -- they're busier than, you know, don't know what to do. We're so busy that we got guys on mandatory overtime. And they're great guys. I just want more of them.
And it's not just us. It's all the trades that need more guys. And I actually saw a guy, while we were waiting, he had a sign that says, "Always hiring." And I think that's a good sign, because, you know, you can always better yourself, you know, regardless. But, yeah.
And then I echo, like Rod and a few of the others have said, that, for the longest time, you heard the only way you're going to make money is go to college, go to college. And for so long, the trades kind of went by the wayside. And I don't -- you realize, but a lot of folks don't realize how much good money it is. I mean, some of these are $60,000-a-year-plus jobs. And so -- plus, no college debt. And I think that's something that gets lost as well.
So NICC does a great job. We've got some good guys out of here. You know, with what the Governor is doing, I think we're definitely in the right step. So I think we just keep going. I think, bottom line is, the work is there; we just need the bodies to do it.
But thanks again for letting me be a part of this. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Great story. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Please. Wendy.
MS. KNIGHT: Welcome, Mr. President and Ivanka. I'm Wendy Knight, and it is my pleasure on behalf of all of our vice presidents, all of our facility and staff, to welcome to you to the greatest community college in the nation. (Laughter and applause.)
And I hope this is acceptable with my Secret Service security friends -- for those of you in the audience, if you partner with us, if you had a student who you have hired, if you have a friend, a relative, anyone you know that has been touched by NICC, please raise your hand.
THE PRESIDENT: Wow. (Applause.)
MS. KNIGHT: It is because of you that we are the greatest community college. So thank you very much.
I get to share with you hopes and dreams. You're going to hear some themes here with the stories I'm going to share. Students who attend our community college for in-demand training receive a very high return on investment.
Ashley Pottebaum lost her customer service job. She was a single mom. She needed a career with a self-sustaining income to care for her daughter. She enrolled here at Northeast Iowa Community College in our Gas Utility Diploma Program. And in only nine months' time, and right before she was going to graduate, she was offered a job by one of our utility companies -- full time and now making over $26 an hour. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Terrific.
MS. KNIGHT: And Melissa Oliveras -- you met today -- she attended Luther College on a music scholarship with a dream to play soccer. Melissa sustained an injury that sidelined that athletic career. She decided to return to Dubuque. She was looking for a mix of creativity, problem solving, and hands-on work that would truly make a difference and impact the world she lives. She found that at Northeast Iowa Community College in our Engineering Technology program. She loved that the college offered one-on-one instruction and that everyone wanted her to be successful.
And a shout-out to our John Deere friends -- I believe she's interviewing with you next week. So thank you. (Laughter.)
My last story -- you also met today -- Nancy Seckinger. After several part-time jobs with a temp agency, she returned to her home state of Iowa. She enrolled in our Engineering Technology two-year program. Nancy attributes her success to the amazing faculty and many resources at Northeast Iowa Community College.
Nancy is a little bit of an overachiever. She has also a welding degree and she worked as a journeyman pipefitter for 10 years. Today she works at our great city -- or our great business here in Dubuque, Iowa, DDI. (Applause.)
Thank you, President Trump and Ivanka.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Wendy. Beautiful. Thank you.
Our great Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, who is a big, big success on Wall Street -- and I said, "You have to bring some successful people in, especially for that job." Wilbur, you're doing great. Go ahead. Please.
SECRETARY ROSS: Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to talk about the biggest unused resource we have in this country. We think about resources as farmland, or not -- or mineral land, or oil and natural gas land. The biggest unused resource is people who have been sidelined because they don't have the skills.
Labor force participation for the prime-age workers -- namely those 25 to 54 -- is 82 percent. But even that is two points below the peak that was back in 1999. That's 2.5 million more Americans who would be at work just to get back to the old percentage. That would mean $125 billion more salary. That's a huge, huge increment.
Worse yet, is the 16 to 24 age group. Their participation rate is only 55.4 percent, down 14 percentage points from the peak in 1989. That means there are more than 5 million young Americans who could be in the workforce but don't have the skills. But the jobs are there. That could be another $125 billion of salary.
So those two alone would be a quarter of a trillion dollars more pay for Americans. Think what that would mean for the economy. Think what it would mean for the families. Think what it would mean for everybody.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
SECRETARY ROSS: That's what we're after --
THE PRESIDENT: Yep.
SECRETARY ROSS: -- with Ivanka and President Trump's program.
THE PRESIDENT: That's right. Thank you, Wilbur. That's great. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)
I just want to call out a friend of mine who's in the audience, Jeff Kaufmann. Stand up, Jeff. He led the Republican Party to a great victory in the state of Iowa. Thank you, Jeff. (Applause.) And I hear we're doing well. We're doing well? That's good. You are fantastic. Thank you very much.
I just look up, I see Jeff sitting there, but he's totally political, so -- (laughter.)
Great job you do. Thank you very much.
Secretary Acosta. So he has turned out to be one of our greats. I told you about healthcare. He came out of nowhere with this incredible plan. And he's done a fantastic job as the Secretary of Labor. Please, Alex.
SECRETARY ACOSTA: Mr. President, thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: You're doing a good job.
SECRETARY ACOSTA: You know, as I've been listening to the comments around the table, I’m struck by how many firsts we have seen over the past several months. The tax cut that the President referenced is the biggest tax cut that we have seen in decades, maybe ever. And what does that mean? That means, initially, we saw 2 million and 3 million. And last I saw, 6 million Americans had received a bonus or a salary increase or some other dividend directly because of the tax cuts. (Applause.)
I was at a facility -- advanced manufacturing facility last week signing one of the Pledge to American Workers with the CEO of that facility. And after the tax cuts, they put aside $100 million to help train and educate their workforce. Think about that. And they said that was because of the tax cuts. Their first.
Deregulation. You’ve heard the President reference 22 to 1. When have we ever seen an administration that rolls back so many regulations so quickly? Veterans Administration reform.
And so what does this mean? If you look at our economy, it is strong. The unemployment rates are the lowest we’ve seen in my lifetime, quite literally. The initial jobless claims that recently came out were the lowest since 1969. The unemployment rate here in Iowa is 2.7 percent. Think about that. And GDP, when the President was running, they said 3 percent was impossible. But we’ve seen 3 percent. And then when we saw 3 percent, they said 4 percent is impossible. Yet, today, we’re talking about 4 percent GDP, perhaps, tomorrow. (Applause.)
And here’s another first -- you heard the numbers from your congressmen: There are more job openings in the economy today than there are people looking for jobs. So the Department of Labor puts out these job numbers. And since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping this data, we have never had an economy where we have more job openings than we have people looking for jobs. Talk about a great first. Our problem isn’t where are the jobs; our problem is, where are the skilled people to fill those jobs. And that’s a great problem to have.
And that leads me to another first, the Perkins CTE. You heard the President say that folks have been trying to do this since 2006. And so Ivanka Trump got together with Chairman Alexander and with Chairwoman Foxx in the House, and yesterday, it was passed by voice vote. Imagine that. By voice vote. They just wanted to move it and get it done.
And that’s going to be transformative. Because what that means -- and you heard from your community college president -- that means support for all these community colleges that are working to provide -- and I loved your phrase, Wendy, "in-demand skills." We call it demand-driven education. Education where community colleges respond to what is being demanded by businesses. They teach not just any old skill, but in-demand skills. And that’s what this initiative -- this Pledge to American Workers -- is about.
So last week in the White House, we saw almost -- we saw companies make commitments to provide educational opportunities and apprenticeships to almost 4 million American workers. And today, I was handed this when I walked in. Here in Iowa, because of the Governor’s work, businesses have come together. You heard from Hy-Vee and you just heard from Randy and some others -- businesses have come together. And they’ve already pledged 50,000 training opportunities because of Governor Reynolds's work to Iowans. And that’s transformative to each and every one of those lives. (Applause.)
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: And we’re just getting started.
SECRETARY ACOSTA: And so the point that I want to make is a very simple one: Whether it’s through tax cuts; through deregulation; through job opportunities for individuals that are looking to transition careers; through educational opportunities for community colleges; through the Perkins CTE; for veterans that are looking for quality healthcare through association health plans, the rules that we just proposed that are going to drop healthcare costs for associations around the nation -- and I know here, I heard this morning that some groups in Iowa are already putting those associations together -- that is impacting lives. Those aren’t just theories. That is impacting American lives across this nation. And it’s pretty incredible that that has happened in, in essence, about a year and a half. And so I just wanted to reflect on that. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Alex, very much. (Applause.) Thank you.
And just to go on a little bit from what Alex said, we have to keep it going. And we can’t have people ending the tax cuts and giving you massive tax increases, which is what the Democrats want to do. We can’t have people with open borders where people flow into our country; many of these people are not people that we can have in our country.
We can’t get rid of ICE, who are the bravest, toughest people you’ll ever meet. And they handle the situation. These are people that are so brave that, you know, it’s brilliant to see what they do. And yet, they’re disrespected by large portions of the Democrats. We can’t lose ICE. That’s our protection. They’re fair, but they’re tough. And that’s all that the other side really understands, especially when you’re dealing with people like MS-13 gangs. These are the toughest people, but they’re not as tough as what we have. Not even close. And they understand that. And they respect it. In their own way, they respect it.
So we have to keep it going. We don’t want to have our tax cuts -- and they’re very, very substantial -- we don’t want to have that ended. We don’t want to have tax increases that will kill the whole thing. We want to keep all of our programs going. We don’t want them ended.
So that’s why I mentioned Rod and Kim, and the people that have represented your state on our side of the ledger. I mean, the fact is, they’ve done an incredible job and it’s only going to get better. If we keep this incredible phenomena going, it will only get better.
Our numbers are fantastic right now. You’re going to see on Friday what happens with GDP. A lot of predictions. A lot of predictions. I told you before, some with a “5” in front of it. It would have been -- to mention that would have been -- it would have driven these people back there crazy. (Laughter.) And it could be very close. Could even happen. 5.3 somebody said yesterday. One of the geniuses on Wall Street said, “5.3.” Okay, we’ll take anything with a “4” in front. (Laughter.) We'll go nice and slowly, right?
But I just want to say, it’s so important to keep it going.
So, Rod, I appreciate you being here.
REPRESENTATIVE BLUM: Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: And really appreciate the job you’ve done. (Applause.) You love these people. It is true. I said -- I said, “A floodwall? How much is a floodwall going to cost?” “$117 million.” I said, “Rod, what are you talking about? $117 million?” He got it. (Laughter.) Very few people would have gotten that, believe me. So, congratulations. Use it well, right? Use it well in Iowa.
And, Kim, maybe I’m going to let you finish off, but I really appreciate the job you’re doing. I’m very proud of you, because, in a sense, I feel a little bit responsible because I took your other great governor -- (laughter) -- and I sent him to China.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (Laughter.) But we’re all about holding the people accountable. And I can guarantee you that Ambassador Branstad is holding me accountable as well.
THE PRESIDENT: It’s true.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: He has a great legacy, and I want to continue to build on that. I just want to reiterate again how proud we are to have you in the state. Thank you for what you’re doing.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: I appreciate the partnership and especially the flexibility that you are giving to the states to give us the opportunity to take these programs and take the resources to be held accountable for, but really to accent the great programs that we have going on.
So when I talk to businesses all across the state, I ask them how business is going, and they say it’s never been better. They’re projecting growth, significant growth. And so that’s a result of some of the policies that you’ve put in place, and we’re extremely appreciative of that, and we’re going to continue to build on that from the state of Iowa.
So thank you for being here and being a part of this.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you all. (Applause.)
END
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