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Over the course of the past six months, Americans have raised their voices to Congressional Republicans that their TrumpCare bills do not work for the American people. Now, Republicans are going back to their original rallying cry of repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a plan in place to provide adequate health care to millions of Americans.
The latest version of the Senate Republicans’ TrumpCare plan continues to fail to keep premiums and out-of-pocket costs affordable for Americans. TrumpCare reduces the benchmark value of plans from 70 percent of a consumer’s expected costs to 58 percent, increasing out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans.
United States public lands are a cherished aspect of American heritage, and a key contributor to local economies. With their stunning views and unmatched recreational opportunities, national parks and public lands attract visitors, support jobs and drive economic growth in communities across the country. Rural economies in particular benefit from proximity to public lands.
331 million people who visited national parks spent an estimated $18.4 billion in local gateway communities, supported 318,000 jobs, and added $34.9 billion in economic output to the national economy. Protected public lands also boost local economies by increasing income per person.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Senate TrumpCare will cut $772 billion in Medicaid over the next decade by ending federal support for Medicaid expansion and imposing arbitrary spending caps, ultimately cutting the program by over a quarter in 2026. Recently, CBO estimated that the Senate bill would cut the Medicaid program by 35 percent in 2036. If their proposal becomes law, Republicans would end the Medicaid program as we know it, shifting the financial burden onto states and families.
In order to garner support for the Senate TrumpCare bill, Senate Leader McConnell is rumored to buy votes with $45 billion in funding to go towards treating the opioid epidemic. Every dollar counts, but $45 billion doesn't even undo the damage caused by this bill. Even Ohio Republican Governor told Senator Rob Portman, $45 billion for opioids treatment is “like spitting in the ocean—it’s not enough.”
With GDP growth of just 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2017, the TrumpEconomy is falling far short of promised outcomes. The economy will need to average 3.5 percent growth for the remaining 3 quarters of the year to even hit Trump’s least outrageous growth prediction of 3 percent—a feat we have not managed since 2014.
To keep tabs on the current administration’s jobs numbers, a comparison between the June jobs report under President Trump and the average jobs report in the late 1990’s.
Throughout his campaign, President Trump made bold promises on economic growth. The final number for the first quarter came in yesterday, and the President has a long way to go if he wants to meet his promises. GDP grew at a 1.4 percent annual rate in the first quarter, more than half a point lower than the average over the last seven years.