Economic Growth
“Real median household income—the amount earned by those in
the very middle—hit $65,084 (in 2019 dollars) for the 12 months ending in
July. That is the highest level ever and a gain of
$4,144, or 6.8%, since Mr. Trump took office. By comparison, during 7½ years under President
Obama—starting from the end of the recession in June 2009 through January
2017—the median household income rose by only about $1,000.”
- 4.2
percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.
- For
the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3
percent over the calendar year.
Jobs
- 4
million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5
million since Trump took office.
- More
Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
- Jobless
claims at the lowest level in nearly five decades.
- The
economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
- Job
openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first
time on record.
- Unemployment
claims at 50 year low
- African-American,
Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached
record lows.
- African-American
unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
- Hispanic
unemployment at 4.5 percent.
- Asian-American
unemployment at a record low of 2 percent.
- Women’s
unemployment recently at the lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
- Female
unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October
1953.
- Youth
unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
- July
2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July
1966.
- Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades. July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
- Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
- Rate
for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
- Blue-collar
jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
- Poll
found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are
headed “in the right direction.”
- 68
percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
- Last
year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since
2005.
- Nearly
two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
- Optimism
about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
- Added
more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
- Manufacturing
employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
- 100,000
new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural
gas.
American Income
- Median
household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
- Wages
up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
- Paychecks
rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
- Council
of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4
percent over the past year.
- Some
3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
- Median
income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000
for the first time ever in history.
- Home-ownership
among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
- Poverty
rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their
lowest levels ever recorded.
American Optimism
- Small
business optimism has hit historic highs.
- NFIB’s
small business optimism index broke a 35-year-old record in August.
- SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s
small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time
high.
- Manufacturers
are more confident than ever.
- 95
percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the
highest ever.
- Consumer
confidence is at an 18-year high.
- 12
percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem
facing our country, the lowest level on record.
- Confidence
in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.
American Business
- Investment
is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
- Over
$450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including
more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
- Retail
sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that
retail sales increased by 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4
percent from July 2017.
- ISM’s
index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
- Worker
productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
- Steel
and aluminum producers are re-opening.
- Dow
Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record
highs.
- Dow
hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one
year.
Deregulation
- Achieved
massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions
to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.
- Signed
legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank,
providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.
- Federal
agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost
savings.
- Rolled
back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.
- Used
the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in
history.
Tax Cuts
- Biggest
tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs
act into law
- Provided
more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which
will go to families.
- Increased
the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small
Business.
- Nearly
doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
- Enabled the vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a
single page by claiming the standard deduction.
- Doubled
the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a
family.
- Lowered
America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to
allow American businesses to compete and win.
- Small
businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
- Cut
dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.
- 9 in
10 American workers are expected to see an increase in their paychecks thanks
to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
- More
than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses,
and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
- Over
100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
- Ernst
& Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker
compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
- Established
opportunity zones to spur investment in left-behind communities.
Worker Development
- Established
a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy
for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.
- Employers
have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or
retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.
- Signed
the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1
billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education
programs.
- Executive
order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.
Domestic Infrastructure
- Proposed
infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at
least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.
- Executive
order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority
infrastructure projects.
- Federal
agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure
projects.
- Rural
prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand
broadband access in rural areas.
Health Care
- Signed
an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American
households Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.
- Signed
the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which
will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.
- Signed
Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill
patients.
- Enacted
changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320
million on drugs in 2018 alone.
- FDA
set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers
nearly $9 billion.
- Released
a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading
multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse
price increases.
- Expanded
short-term, limited-duration health plans.
- Let
more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small
businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to
their employees.
- Cut
Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.
- Signed
legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also
known as the “death panels.”
- USDA
invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving
access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across
41 states
- Proposed
Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in
violation of the law.
- Reinstated
and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting
the global abortion industry.
- HHS
formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and
religious freedom.
- Overturned
Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from
defunding certain abortion facilities.
- Signed
executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced
to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with
Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.
Combating Opioids
- Chaired
meeting the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the
worldwide drug problem with international leaders.
- Initiative
to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new
measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.
- $6
billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
- DEA
conducted a surge in April 2018 that arrested 28 medical professions and
revoked 147 registrations for prescribing too many opioids.
- Brought
the “Prescribed to Death” memorial to President’s Park near the White
House, helping raise awareness about the human toll of the opioid crisis.
- Helped
reduce high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent in 2017.
- Opioid
Summit on the administration-wide efforts to combat the opioid crisis.
- Launched
a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid
addiction.
- Created
a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which
recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.
- Led
two National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days in 2017 and 2018, collecting a record number of expired and unneeded prescription drugs each time.
- $485
million targeted grants in FY 2017 to help areas hit hardest by the opioid
crisis.
- Signed
INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic
opioids before they reach our communities.
- DOJ
secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
- Joint
Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting
online illicit opioid sales.
- Declared
the opioid crisis a Nationwide Public Health Emergency in October 2017.
Law and Order
- More
U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed in the first year in office than ever.
- Confirmed
more than two dozen U. S. Circuit Court judges.
- Followed
through on the promise to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will
adhere to the Constitution
- Nominated
and confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme
Court.
- Signed
an executive order directing the Attorney General to develop a strategy to
more effectively prosecute people who commit crimes against law
enforcement officers.
- Launched
an evaluation of grant programs to make sure they prioritize the
protection and safety of law enforcement officers.
- Established
a task force to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities
across Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on
dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.
- Signed
an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling
transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.
- Violent
crime decreased in 2017 according to FBI statistics.
- $137
million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program to preserve jobs,
increase community policing capacities, and support crime prevention efforts.
- Enhanced
and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods to help reduce violent crime.
- Signed
legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex
trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or
facilitate prostitution.
- Created
an interagency task force working around the clock to prosecute
traffickers, protect victims and prevent human trafficking.
- Conducted
Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84
children and arresting 120 human traffickers.
- Encouraged
federal prosecutors to use the death penalty when possible in the fight
against the trafficking of deadly drugs.
- New
rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.
Border Security and Immigration
- Secured
$1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
- Construction
of a 14-mile section of the border wall began near San Diego.
- Worked
to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13
gang.
- ICE’s
Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and
associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
- Justice
worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges
against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
- Border
Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY
2017.
- Fighting
to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
- ICE
HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including
2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
- ICE
HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the
illegal import of fentanyl.
- ICE
HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
- Stop
Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to
keep dangerous drugs out of the United States.
- Signed
the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept
synthetic opioids.
- DOJ
secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl
manufacturers.
- DOJ
launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team,
aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
- Released
an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure
our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress
to fix our broken immigration laws.
- Authorized
the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
- Enhanced
vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet
security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our
country are identified before they enter.
- These
procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
- ICE
removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
- ICE
rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900
child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
- In
2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than
127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
- Over
76,000 with dangerous drug offences.
- More
than 48,000 with assault offences.
- More
than 11,000 with weapons offences.
- More
than 5,000 with sexual assault offences.
- More
than 2,000 with kidnapping offences.
- Over
1,800 with homicide offences.
- Created
the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to
support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
- More
than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program,
which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to
ICE custody.
Trade
- Negotiating
and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal
trade for the United States.
- Agreed
to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff
barriers, and zero subsides.
- Deal
with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
- Litigated
multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our
right to enact fair trade laws.
- Finalized
a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to
increase American automobile exports.
- Negotiated
an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
- Agreement
to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
- Secured
$250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion
in Vietnam.
- Established
a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the
groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
- Enacted
steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers
and strengthen our national security.
- Conducted
82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
- Confronting
China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other
way.
- 25
percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later
imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
- Conducted
an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair
licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
- Imposed
safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products
manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
- Withdrew
from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
- Secured
access to new markets for America’s farmers.
- Recent
deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture
to trade more fairly.
- Recent
agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of
American soybeans to Europe.
- Won
a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S.
agricultural exports.
- Defended
American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
- Opened
up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a
quarter-century
- American
beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a
decade
- OK’d
up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.
Energy
- Presidential
Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL
Pipeline.
- Presidential
Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national
interest and initiating the process to complete construction.
- Opened
up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.
- Coal
exports up over 60 percent in 2017.
- Rolled
back the “stream protection rule” to prevent it from harming America’s
coal industry.
- Cancelled
Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan and proposed the Affordable Clean
Energy Rule as a replacement.
- Withdrew
from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the
U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector
jobs by 2040.
- U.S.
oil production has achieved its highest level in American history
- United
States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.
- U.S.
has become a net natural gas exporter for the first time in six decades.
- Action
to expedite the identification and extraction of critical minerals that
are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity.
- Took
action to reform National Ambient Air Quality Standards, benefitting
American manufacturers.
- Rescinded
Obama’s hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the industry
$32 million per year.
- Proposed
an expansion of offshore drilling as part of an all-of-the-above energy
strategy
- Held
a lease sale for offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in
August 2018.
- Got
EU to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United
States.
- Issued
permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will cross the U.S.-Mexico
border.
Foreign Policy
- Moved
the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
- Withdrew
from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions
that had been lifted or waived.
- Treasury
has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
- Since
enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of
Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled
out of the country.
- All
nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November
2018.
- Historic
summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of
peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
- The
two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both
sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
- North
Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
- Negotiated
the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean
War.
- Imposed
strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner
circle.
- Executive
order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions
with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the
regime’s debt.
- Responded
to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
- Rolled
out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical
weapons program.
- Directed
strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical
weapons attack on innocent civilians.
- Joined
allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated
with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
- New
Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban
regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
- Treasury
and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban
regime, particularly the military.
- Changed
the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
- ISIS
has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been
lost under Trump.
- ISIS’
self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
- All
Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
- More
than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the
world.
- Action
to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine
the sanctity of United States elections.
- Expelled
dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and
ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
- Banned
the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the
company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
- Imposed
sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for
enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s
offensive cyber capabilities.
- Sanctions
against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control,
who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
- Sanctioned
100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression
in Eastern Ukraine.
- Enhanced
support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
- Helped
win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
- Helped
win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.
Defence
- Executive
order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo
Bay open.
- $700
billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
- Largest
military pay raise in nearly a decade.
- Ordered
a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date
and serve as a credible deterrent.
- Released
America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
- New
strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to
defend against biological threats.
- Administration
has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect
American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the
International Criminal Court.
- Released
an America first National Security Strategy.
- Put
in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and
relaunched the National Space Council.
- Encouraged
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defence
spending on their agreed-upon levels.
- In
2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defence
spending amongst NATO allies.
- Every
member state has increased defence spending.
- Eight
NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15
allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
- NATO
allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
- Executive
order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy
domestically and abroad.
Veterans affairs
- Signed
the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services,
walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
- Delivered
more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever
before.
- Strengthened
protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs
occurring within the VA.
- Signed
legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
- VA
MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
- Consolidated
and strengthened VA community care programs.
- Funding
for the Veterans Choice program.
- Expanded
eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
- Gave
veterans more access to walk-in care.
- Strengthened
the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
- Enabled
the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
- Signed
the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1
billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
- Worked
to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by
the Department of Defense, a decades-old priority.
- Issued
an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland
Security and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
- Increased
transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access
and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
- Signed
legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
- Harry
W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
- Lifted
a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
- Created
a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
- VA
employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than
4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
- Signed
the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA
employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.
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Thanks for your thoughts, comments and opinions, will be in touch. Peter Clarke