IGNITING A HISTORIC ECONOMIC BOOM: President Trump’s pro-growth policies are unleashing economic growth and providing opportunities to workers across the country.
- Due to President Trump’s pro-growth policies, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth exceeded 3 percent over the last four quarters.
- Real GDP grew at annual rates of 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2018 and 4.2 percent in the second quarter.
- More than 4.6 million jobs have been created since President Trump’s election and the unemployment rate remains at 3.7 percent, the lowest rate in nearly 50 years.
- This is the seventh time this year that the unemployment rate has been below 4.0 percent.
- Prior to this year, the unemployment rate had fallen below 4 percent only five times since 1970.
- Eighteen States recently reached record-low unemployment rates.
- The unemployment rate for African Americans in November fell to 5.9 percent, which is the lowest rate on record.
- Asian and Hispanic-American unemployment rates reached record lows in May and October of this year, respectively.
- Initial weekly jobless claims have hit a nearly 50-year low under President Trump.
- Americans are seeing more money in their pockets thanks to the booming economy.
- In October and November of 2018, workers saw their largest nominal year over year wage growth in nearly a decade.
- In 2017, real median household income rose to a post-recession high.
- President Trump’s policies are helping to lift Americans out of poverty.
- African-American and Hispanic-American poverty rates reached record lows of 21.2 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively, in 2017.
- Since the election, 4.6 million Americans have been lifted off of food stamps.
- Consumer confidence has soared under President Trump, recently reaching an 18-year high.
MANUFACTURING AND BUSINESSES ARE THRIVING.
- President Trump is delivering on his promise to bring back American manufacturing.
- The National Association of Manufacturers’ Outlook Index had the highest annual average in its history over the past year.
- 468,000 manufacturing jobs have been created since President Trump’s election.
- Small Business optimism jumped to a record high under President Trump, according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
- The NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index broke a 35-year record in August.
- President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, ushering in the largest package of tax cuts and reforms in American history.
- These tax cuts are delivering real results for American families and workers.
- More than 6 million workers received tax cut bonuses and benefits.
- More than 100 utility companies have announced lower rates.
- President Trump is ensuring American workers receive the training and education they need to compete in today’s economy.
- More than 185 companies and associations have signed our “Pledge to America’s Workers,” promising more than 6.4 million training opportunities.
- The president signed legislation that reauthorized the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, making more than $1 billion available for career education programs.
- President Trump has prioritized the economic empowerment of women.
- The women’s unemployment rate recently reached its lowest rate in 65 years.
- The Small Business Administration lent approximately $500 million more in capital to women-owned businesses in 2017 compared to 2016.
- The administration helped launch the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, which could leverage more than $1 billion to support women entrepreneurs.
ROLLING BACK RED TAPE: President Trump is rolling back costly regulations that have burdened hard-working Americans and stifled innovation.
- President Trump has followed through on and exceeded his promise to roll back two regulations for every new one created.
- President Trump’s administration surpassed the 2:1 ratio in 2018, eliminating 12 regulations for every new one in 2018.
- In 2017, the Trump administration eliminated 22 regulations for every new one.
- Since taking office, President Trump’s deregulation efforts have achieved $33 billion in regulatory savings.
- In 2018, these efforts alone delivered $23 billion in benefits to American families and business owners.
- President Trump has signed 16 Congressional Review Act resolutions into law, eliminating burdensome Obama-era rules and regulations.
- President Trump announced U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, which would have harmed America’s economy and cost American workers millions of jobs.
- President Trump signed an executive order to streamline the permitting process for infrastructure projects with a goal of cutting approval time from up to 10 years to an average of 2 years.
- President Trump signed legislation to roll back burdensome Dodd-Frank regulations that harmed community banks.
NEGOTIATING BETTER DEALS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: President Trump is negotiating fair and balanced trade deals that protect American industries and workers.
- President Trump negotiated a new trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to replace the disastrous and outdated North American Free Trade Agreement.
- Once enacted by Congress, the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) will better serve the interests of American workers and businesses.
- USMCA will incentivize billions of dollars in auto and auto parts production in the United States and create a freer and fairer market for American agriculture.
- USMCA also includes the strongest-ever provisions on labor, environmental, digital, and intellectual property protections to reflect the realities of the 21st century economy.
- The President renegotiated the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement to preserve and grow jobs in the American auto industry and increase American exports.
- The United States and Japan are set to begin negotiations on a United States–Japan Trade Agreement.
- President Trump is establishing a new trade relationship with the European Union (EU), working toward the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to transatlantic trade.
- President Trump has established a Trade and Investment Working Group to lay the groundwork for post-Brexit trade with the United Kingdom (UK) and has notified Congress of his intent to negotiate a free trade agreement with the UK.
- This year, President Trump filed a withdrawal notification with the Universal Postal Union, launching a one-year negotiation to secure fair international postal rates for American mailers.
- President Trump has expanded market access for American agricultural producers.
- Argentina has opened to American pork and beef, Brazil to American beef, Japan to lamb and Idaho chipping potatoes, South Korea to American poultry, and more.
- The administration authorized $12 billion to aid farmers affected by unfair retaliatory tariffs.
- The Trump Administration has begun the process to expand the sale of E15, or gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol, to year round.
- Under President Trump, the United States will no longer accept bad trade deals and unfair trade practices that harm American workers and industries.
- One of the president’s first actions after taking office was withdrawing the United States from the terrible Trans-Pacific Partnership, which incentivized outsourcing.
- In 2017, the administration oversaw 82 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.
- President Trump is holding China accountable for its unfair trade practices, such as the theft of intellectual property, by imposing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods.
- Following President Trump’s successful meeting with President Xi in Buenos Aires, both agreed to conduct negotiations over 90 days to address the United States concerns.
- American steel and aluminum jobs are coming back following President Trump’s tariffs to protect domestic industries that are vital to national security.
- President Trump imposed tariffs to protect American-made washing machines and solar products that were hurt by import surges.
UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY: President Trump is rolling back costly and burdensome regulations to unleash America’s incredible energy resources.
- After years of stifling regulation under the last administration, President Trump is unleashing America’s energy potential.
- America is the largest crude oil producer in the world and production has hit a record high.
- President Trump’s policies are helping to boost American energy exports.
- The administration has streamlined Liquefied Natural Gas terminal permitting.
- In 2017, the United States became a net natural gas exporter for the first time in 60 years.
- American coal exports increased by more than 60 percent in 2017.
- President Trump is expanding access to our country’s abundant natural resources.
- The president signed legislation to open up energy exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.
- In July 2018, the Department of the Interior announced it would hold the largest oil and gas lease sale in history.
- In 2017, the Administration approved construction of the Dakota Access pipeline and the cross border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
- The administration issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will export American petroleum products to Mexico.
- The president has ended the war on coal, cutting Obama-era regulations such as the “Stream Protection Rule” which was estimated to cost industries $81 million a year.
- President Trump is replacing the Clean Power Plan, a flawed Obama-era regulation that the Supreme Court ordered halted.
- President Trump rescinded the hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the oil and gas industry $32 million per year.
- The Trump administration curbed the burdensome Obama-era rule on methane, saving American energy developers hundreds of millions of dollars in regulatory costs.
EXPANDING OPTIONS FOR QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE: President Trump is expanding access to affordable healthcare choices and taking action to lower drug prices.
- President Trump’s administration is working to provide Americans with affordable alternatives to Obamacare.
- The Administration expanded short-term, limited duration health insurance plans that are expected to be nearly 50 percent cheaper than unsubsidized Obamacare plans.
- President Trump has expanded association health plans, allowing more employers to join together across State lines and affordably offer coverage to their employees.
- The administration proposed a reform to Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) regulations that will give consumers more freedom to purchase benefits that fit their needs.
- Roughly 800,000 employers are expected to provide HRAs for more than 10 million employees once the rule finalized.
- Americans have more healthcare freedom thanks to the president signing legislation that ended Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty.
- While healthcare premiums had been steadily increasing as a result of Obamacare, the average benchmark exchange premium will decline for the first time thanks to President Trump’s policies in 2019.
- Next year, Americans will benefit from more insurer participation on the exchanges.
- Medicare Advantage plans offer more benefit options than ever before, and average premiums in 2019 will be 6 percent lower than in 2018.
- President Trump launched an unprecedented campaign to drive down drug prices, leading more than a dozen drug manufacturers to enact price freezes, reductions, or rollbacks.
- In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a record number of generic drugs, breaking the previous record set by the Administration in 2017.
- The FDA’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 generic drug approvals are expected to bring nearly $9 billion in savings in 2017 alone.
- President Trump signed legislation eliminating contractual gag clauses that stopped pharmacists from informing patients about lower drug prices.
- The president put forth an initiative to stop global freeloading that drives up prices for American patients.
- The Administration provided Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans with new negotiating tools to drive down drug costs for American patients.
- The administration implemented reforms to the amount Medicare pays hospitals for drugs that are purchased under the 340B program, saving seniors $320 million in 2018.
- President Trump signed “Right to Try” legislation to expand access to experimental treatments for terminally ill patients.
FIGHTING BACK AGAINST THE CRISIS NEXT DOOR: President Trump mobilized his entire administration to combat the opioid crisis that has devastated communities across the country.
- President Trump launched an Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to confront the driving forces behind this crisis.
- The president signed the landmark SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the largest and most comprehensive legislative package addressing a single drug crisis in history.
- The president helped secure a record $6 billion in funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
- The administration provided more than $2 billion in grants in 2018 to help States, territories, tribes, and local communities prevent and treat opioid abuse.
- The administration pursued scientific solutions to prevent and treat addiction through the Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative.
- The president launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction and youth opioid usage.
- Last year, President Trump created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which recommends ways to tackle the opioid crisis.
- The administration declared the opioid crisis a nationwide Public Health Emergency in 2017.
- President Trump is working to cut off the flow of deadly opioids into our country and to disrupt the networks that distribute them to our communities.
- The administration secured first-ever indictments against Chinese nationals for fentanyl trafficking.
- The Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a surge to target fentanyl and heroin dealers in the districts with the most severe overdose death rates.
- The DOJ formed a Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement team and shut down the biggest Darknet distributor of drugs.
- Last year, the DOJ announced the largest healthcare fraud takedown in history, arresting more than 120 defendants with opioid-related crimes.
- The president launched a Safer Prescribing Plan that seeks to cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years.
- The administration has led four National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days, collecting a record-breaking 1,837 tons of expired and unneeded prescription drugs.
STANDING UP FOR THE SANCTITY OF LIFE AND PROTECTING RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: The President is committed to defending the right to life and religious liberty.
- Shortly after taking office, President Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy.
- President Trump defunded a United Nations (UN) agency for colluding with China’s brutal program of forced abortion and sterilization.
- The administration withdrew guidance that constrained State’s ability to exclude family-planning providers that provide abortion services from the Medicaid program.
- The Trump administration proposed new regulations to ensure Title X family planning funding does not go to projects that perform, support, or refer patients for abortion.
- The Trump administration issued regulations establishing new or expanded exemptions from the Obamacare contraceptive mandate based on religious beliefs or moral convictions.
- In 2017, the president issued an executive order to promote free speech and religious liberty.
KEEPING AMERICAN COMMUNITIES SAFE: President Trump has made clear that his first responsibility is to protect the safety and security of Americans.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation data shows violent crime decreased under President Trump’s watch in 2017, following two consecutive years of increases.
- United States Attorneys indicted the most violent criminals on record last year.
- Last year, the DOJ announced nearly $100 million in grant funding to hire hundreds of additional law enforcement officers.
- President Trump is cracking down on the vile MS-13 gang that has brought violence to communities across the country.
- In 2017, the DOJ worked with international partners to arrest and charge approximately 4,000 MS-13 members.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations arrested nearly 800 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
- President Trump signed an executive order to restore State and local law enforcement’s access to surplus equipment that can be used to help keep our communities safe.
- President Trump enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
- The DOJ announced the creation of the National Public Safety Partnership in 2017, launching a cooperative initiative with cities to reduce violent crime.
- President Trump signed legislation to improve the Federal firearm background check system and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.
ENFORCING OUR LAWS AND SECURING OUR BORDERS: From the first day of his administration, President Trump has worked to uphold the rule of law and secure our borders.
- President Trump released an immigration framework that would fix our broken immigration system through merit-based reform and provide the resources needed to secure our border.
- This includes closing the legal loopholes that enable illegal immigration, ending chain migration, and eliminating the visa lottery.
- President Trump secured funding to begin building the wall and construction has already begun in areas along the southern border.
- President Trump deployed the military to assist in securing the southern border.
- President Trump and his administration took action to require aliens seeking asylum to go to a port of entry to make their claim.
- Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended 17,256 criminals and 1,019 gang members in FY 2018.
- ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 158,581 aliens in FY 2018, an 11 percent increase from FY 2017.
- 90 percent of those arrested had criminal convictions, pending charges, or had been issued final orders of removal.
- ICE ERO increased removals by 13 percent in FY 2018 to 256,086, the majority of whom were convicted criminals.
- Removals of convicted criminal aliens increased by 14 percent from FY 2017.
- Nearly 6,000 known or suspected gang members were removed in FY 2018, a 9 percent increase from FY 2017.
- The Department of Justice prosecuted a record number of criminal immigration offenses in FY 2018, and increased the number of prosecutions for illegal entry by 84 percent over FY 2017.
- Immigration courts are now completing more cases than at any point since 2011
- President Trump kept his promise by launching the office of Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) within the Department of Homeland Security.
- The Administration has more than doubled the number of jurisdictions participating in the 287(g) program, which enables State and local law enforcement to aid immigration enforcement.
- President Trump has made our country safer by ordering the enhanced vetting of individuals entering from countries that do not meet our security standards.
- These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court ruling.
REBUILDING AMERICA’S MILITARY FORCE: President Trump is rebuilding our military and defending America’s interests across the world.
- President Trump ended the devastating defense cuts of the past Administration and has secured historic investments to rebuild our military.
- President Trump signed legislation providing $700 billion for defense in FY 2018 and $716 billion in FY 2019.
- President Trump is supporting America’s men and women in uniform, securing the largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
- The president issued a new National Security Strategy to keep America safe from all threats.
- The administration has also released new strategies specific to cybersecurity, biodefense, counterterrorism, and weapons of mass destruction terrorism.
- President Trump directed the first whole-of-government assessment of United States manufacturing and defense supply chains since the Eisenhower administration.
- President Trump initiated the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, improving United States deterrence policy and existing capabilities to counter nuclear threats.
- President Trump empowered our military commanders with broad authority in order to take the fight to ISIS, and the results are clear.
- ISIS has lost nearly all of its territory, more than half of which has been liberated since President Trump took office.
- All of ISIS’ territory in Iraq was successfully liberated.
- ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city Raqqah has been recaptured.
- President Trump announced a new Iran strategy to confront all of Iran’s malign activities and withdrew from the horrible, one-sided Iran nuclear deal.
- All sanctions that had been lifted or waived under the Iran deal have been reimposed.
- The administration has sanctioned more than 160 individuals tied to the regime’s support of terrorism, ballistic missile program, human rights abuses, and more.
- President Trump took decisive military action to respond to the barbaric use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime.
- President Trump directed strikes in response to the regime’s chemical weapons attacks in April 2017 and April 2018.
- The Trump administration has also rolled out sanctions targeting those tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
- President Trump is strengthening America’s cyber defense and directed the elevation of the United States Cyber Command into a major warfighting command.
- The president announced that the Department of Defense will work to create a Space Force to serve as an independent branch of the United States military.
RESTORING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ABROAD: President Trump is restoring American leadership on the world stage and advancing an America first agenda.
- President Trump held an historic summit with Chairman Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
- Since the summit, the leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both countries have met.
- Because of the President’s actions, North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
- The remains of POW/MIA service members from the Korean War are being returned to the United States.
- Prior to the summit, President Trump’s leadership helped secure the passage of historic UN sanctions on North Korea.
- President Trump followed through on his promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the American embassy there.
- President Trump withdrew the United States from the UN Human Rights Council due to its bias against Israel.
- The administration made clear that it does not accept the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over Americans and will continue to protect our sovereignty.
- President Trump has successfully advocated for cutting waste at the UN.
- Changes made to the organization’s structure allowed the UN to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from their budget, while making the organization more efficient.
- The President’s leadership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has encouraged members to increase their defense spending and realign the Alliance’s priorities.
- In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending among NATO allies.
- President Trump convinced the Alliance to strengthen counterterrorism activities, and NATO formally joined the coalition to defeat ISIS.
- President Trump’s administration is working to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific through investments and partnerships.
- President Trump has imposed tough sanctions on the corrupt regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
- President Trump has taken tough action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including Russia’s efforts to undermine United States elections.
- The administration has imposed sanctions on more than 200 individuals and entities related to Russia’s destabilizing activities.
- The Trump administration has enhanced support for Ukraine’s defense by stepping up sales of weapons to its military.
- The Trump administration has secured the release of numerous American citizens held abroad, including Andrew Brunson from Turkey, Josh Holt from Venezuela, and more.
- President Trump attended G20 summits in Argentina and Germany, where he promoted American First policies and encouraged closer cooperation.
- In 2017, President Trump conducted tours through Asia to promote America’s interests.
HONORING AMERICA’S COMMITMENT TO OUR VETERANS: President Trump is honoring America’s commitment to our veterans by ensuring they receive the quality care they have earned.
- President Trump secured a record $73.1 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide quality medical care for our veterans.
- This funding included $8.6 billion for mental health services, $400 million for opioid abuse prevention, $206 million for suicide prevention, and more.
- The president signed the VA MISSION Act, revolutionizing that VA healthcare system and reforming numerous services for our veterans.
- This legislation will consolidate and reform existing programs to give eligible veterans better access to healthcare providers in their communities.
- Thanks to this legislation, eligible veterans will have access to walk-in community clinics that offer immediate, local care.
- President Trump and his administration have expanded access to telehealth services for veterans, including through the “Anywhere to Anywhere” VA health care initiative.
- President Trump issued an executive order requiring the administration to improve access to mental health treatment and suicide prevention resources for veterans.
- President Trump signed the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, making it easier to fire failing employees and protect whistleblowers.
- Under President Trump, the VA has removed, demoted, or suspended more than 4,300 employees for poor performance.
- President Trump signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, streamlining the process used by veterans when appealing benefits claims.
- President Trump fulfilled his promise to create a new White House VA Hotline to provide veterans with 24/7 support.
- The VA is providing veterans with online access to wait time and quality of care data.
- The president signed the Forever GI Bill, providing veterans, service members, and their families with enhanced education benefits.
- Last year, programs at the VA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development helped more than 51,000 veterans find permanent housing and access supportive services.
TRANSFORMING GOVERNMENT: President Trump has followed through on his pledge to transform the Federal Government and increase accountability and transparency.
- President Trump’s administration submitted a plan to reorganize the executive branch in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
- In a historic show of transparency and accountability, the Trump Administration completed the Department of Defense’s first ever audit.
- The president implemented a five-year ban on lobbying for White House employees and a lifetime ban on lobbying for foreign countries.
- Each quarter since taking office, President Trump has donated his salary, fulfilling a promise he made to the American people.
- President Trump is reshaping our Federal judiciary, appointing judges who will follow the Constitution as written.
- The President has appointed Circuit Court judges at a record pace.
- President Trump has appointed Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.