No mi casa es su casa... get off my lawn, get out of the country & stay out of my house unless you are here to clean it -- Trump's vision of immigrants
HOPES FOR DACA DEAL FADE
Trump’s speech framed the immigration debate primarily as an
issue of crime. That infuriated many Democrats and their allies.
As Brian Bennett wrote, the anger increased the risks for any lawmaker who might be tempted to try to strike a compromise with Trump.
The problem, as Democrats see it, is that Trump not only is attacking many of their constituents as potential criminals, he also wants them to agree to all the major elements of his agenda in exchange for only one item on theirs — permanent legal status for the young immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children. The biggest non-starter for Democrats is Trump’s insistence on reducing not just illegal immigration, but legal entries as well. His plan would cut legal immigration by more than 40%, independent analyses indicate, by preventing U.S. citizens and legal residents from petitioning for visas for their parents, siblings and adult children.
In the Senate, talks continue on a narrower bill that would legalize at least the roughly 700,000 young immigrants covered by the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump wants to end, in exchange for more money for border security.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has promised to allow an immigration bill to come to the floor this month. But even if such a bill passes the Senate, prospects in the House appear dim.
House Republicans know that any immigration bill has potential to alienate conservative, anti-immigration constituents. Facing a midterm election in which they need every possible Republican vote, they’re loathe to consider any bill that might split their party.
House Democrats, meantime, see the possibility of winning back a majority this fall. That reduces their incentive to strike a deal now, when they have less leverage. [LA Times Essential Politics, February 2, 2018]
As Brian Bennett wrote, the anger increased the risks for any lawmaker who might be tempted to try to strike a compromise with Trump.
The problem, as Democrats see it, is that Trump not only is attacking many of their constituents as potential criminals, he also wants them to agree to all the major elements of his agenda in exchange for only one item on theirs — permanent legal status for the young immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children. The biggest non-starter for Democrats is Trump’s insistence on reducing not just illegal immigration, but legal entries as well. His plan would cut legal immigration by more than 40%, independent analyses indicate, by preventing U.S. citizens and legal residents from petitioning for visas for their parents, siblings and adult children.
In the Senate, talks continue on a narrower bill that would legalize at least the roughly 700,000 young immigrants covered by the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump wants to end, in exchange for more money for border security.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has promised to allow an immigration bill to come to the floor this month. But even if such a bill passes the Senate, prospects in the House appear dim.
House Republicans know that any immigration bill has potential to alienate conservative, anti-immigration constituents. Facing a midterm election in which they need every possible Republican vote, they’re loathe to consider any bill that might split their party.
House Democrats, meantime, see the possibility of winning back a majority this fall. That reduces their incentive to strike a deal now, when they have less leverage. [LA Times Essential Politics, February 2, 2018]
- The Education Department would no longer impose sanctions on low-performing
programs at for-profit colleges and other career schools under the rule,
according to a draft document circulated to members of a rulemaking panel and
obtained by POLITICO. The current rule cuts off federal funding to programs
where students graduate with large amounts of debt relative to their earnings.
More than 800 college programs, mostly at for-profit schools, failed the
"debt-to-earnings" metric last year, putting their access to federal
aid at risk.
- The draft Trump administration plan largely retains the idea
of judging colleges based on a "debt-to-earnings" ratio.But
for-profit and other career college programs would no longer "pass"
or "fail" the metric with their eligibility for federal funding on
the line. Instead, the Education Department would declare programs at all
colleges and universities either "acceptable" or
"low-performing." The threshold at which programs previously fell
into the "failing" or "zone" (close to failing) categories
would become the marker of "low-performing." That means that college
programs whose graduates' loan debt exceed 8 percent of their total earnings
and 20 percent of their discretionary earnings would be deemed
"low-performing." Importantly, private student loans would no longer
be included as part of the debt amount under the draft plan.
- The big takeaway: The draft plan
would have the effect of taking the teeth out of the Obama-era "gainful
employment" regulation by taking the loss of federal aid off the table. At
the same time, it would broaden the reach of the regulation to all programs -
those at for-profit, nonprofit and public institutions. That's a response to
longstanding complaints by the for-profit college industry that they were
treated differently than their nonprofit counterparts under the regulation.
- Disclosures for 'low-performing' programs: Colleges
would be required to provide a notification, either by letter or email, to
students and prospective students when a program is deemed
"low-performing" under the draft plan. But schools would no longer
have to confirm that students received the email as they do under the current
rule. [POLITICO's Morning Education, January 30,2018]
HHS's Office for Civil Rights issued a $3.5 million fine over data breaches at several
Fresenius Medical Care centers. [POLITICO's Morning
Cybersecurity, February 2, 2018]
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| EDUCATION |
TRUMP
PITCHES BOOST TO VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: President Donald Trump in his first
State of the Union address on Monday called on Congress to "invest
in workforce development and job training" and "open great vocational
schools."
-
"We can lift our citizens from welfare to work, from dependence to
independence, and from poverty to prosperity," Trump said.
"Let us invest in workforce development and job training. Let us open
great vocational schools so our future workers can learn a craft and realize
their full potential." Trump offered no specific proposals for how to do
that… Trump's fiscal 2018 budget request proposed slashing federal spending on career and
technical education by more than $1 billion [POLITICO's Morning Education, January 31, 2018]
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a
statement following the speech: "America
must do better to prepare our students for success in the 21st century economy.
I join the President in calling on Congress to act in the best interest of
students and expand access to more education pathways." [POLITICO's Morning Education, January 31, 2018]
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| CLIMATE CHANGE |
DoD SURVEY DETAILS CLIMATE-CHANGE IMPACTS ON ITS
FACILITIES, "A new Pentagon report identifies military facilities
vulnerable to climate change, documenting the effect of flooding, drought and
extreme temperatures at installations across the United States. "The assessment is based on the first
survey of climate-related events at U.S. training bases, airfields and other
military facilities." [POLITICO Morning Defense, January 31, 2018]
Speedier permitting: "Any bill must
also streamline the permitting and approval process - getting it down to no
more than two years, and perhaps even one," Trump said. Just how will that
play out? "Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso previously told
POLITICO he was eyeing a two-year window after which projects
would be deemed approved, though Senate Energy Chairman Lisa Murkowski said she was uneasy with a 'hard stop' in the
process."
- Also of note, the president specifically called
attention to those rebuilding after natural disasters, including Puerto Rico.
"We are with you, we love you," he said, as the territory rebuilds
after hurricanes - likely made worse by climate change - devastated the island
months ago. But Trump did not mention FEMA's plan to stop supplying food and
water aid there starting today (more on that later). The president also went
off-script to tout an Exxon applause line. "Just a little while ago, Exxon
Mobil announced a $50 billion investment in the United States," he said. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, January 31, 2018]
NEW JERSEY DROPS CLIMATE RULE SUIT: With Phil Murphy in the governor's mansion, New Jersey has
withdrawn from a lawsuit over EPA's Clean Power Plan, according to a short filing Tuesday.
The lawsuit is on hold while EPA works to repeal and replace the rule. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, January 31, 2018]
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| READ |
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| CANDIDATES |
HEAVYWEIGHT SENATE REPUBLICANS TO TRUMP: KEEP NAFTA: Just
ahead of the speech on Tuesday, three dozen Senate Republicans wrote to Trump
urging him to modernize but preserve NAFTA, sending a show of support for the
agreement that the leader of their own party is continuing to threaten to tear
up. In the letter, lawmakers led by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) highlighted the
economic benefits of the deal, particularly for the agricultural and
manufacturing sectors, and said that modernizing it would be "the next
step to advance the economy."
Signees including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Whip John
Cornyn also appealed to Trump's business sense, praising his leadership as
having "jump-started our economy" and framing the renegotiation of
the deal as a way to "bring Americans even greater economic success."
"Modernizing NAFTA to increase market access, expand energy
exports to maximize domestic energy production and including provisions on
intellectual property and e-commerce will make this agreement even more
beneficial to the United States," they wrote. Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Bob Corker
(R-Tenn.) - who chair the Agriculture and Foreign Relations committees,
respectively - also signed the letter. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) - who chairs
the Senate Finance Committee, which directly oversees trade - did not.
"I'm not uncomfortable. But I'm not comfortable
either," Hatch said earlier this week about Trump's trade stance.
"I'm a free-trade guy. And I believe that this ought to be a free-trade
country, especially when it comes to NAFTA and our hemisphere." [POLITICO's Morning Trade, January 31, 2018]
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| JUDICIARY |
340B lawsuit put on
fast track. An appellate court on Tuesday agreed to expedite a hospital industry
lawsuit that seeks to restore $1.6 billion in cuts to the government's
drug discount program. Following a request from the American Hospital
Association and others, the court said it wants hospitals and HHS to file their
briefs and replies in the case by April 2, setting up a likely April hearing
date in the case. A lower court judge in late December dismissed the hospitals'
bid to reverse the Trump administration's 28 percent-plus cut in what it pays
certain hospitals serving low-income patients, saying the effort was premature. [POLITICO Pulse, January 31, 2018]
NOTE: The news sources here vary. Not all sources have the same credibility, but in an effort to share some different perspectives, they are included here. This compendium itself cannot claim to be unbiased. Please take into consideration where these different perspectives originate in assessing their value. Thank you
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