Commentary
By Frances Rice
President Donald Trump understands clearly that the survival of our nation depends on our
country being militarily and economically strong. The Obama Administration took actions that severely
weakened our military and economy. We elected Trump to be our president
and he is working to make our country economically and militarily strong again.
Below is an article about the $1.3 trillion budget bill with excessive spending
that Trump signed reluctantly because it provided much needed funding for our
military. Also below are facts about Trump’s other recent accomplishments he made on behalf of the people of America.
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Trump signs $1.3 trillion spending bill,
despite earlier threat to veto
President Trump signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending
bill Friday despite an earlier threat to veto the legislation due to the lack
of border wall funding and a fix for DACA.
Trump signed the mammoth legislation reluctantly, saying
in a press availability with other members of the administration that, in order
to secure a necessary increase in military spending, he had to give money to
Democratic projects that he derided as a "wasted sum of money."
"It's not right and it's very bad for our
country," he said.
But he said that military spending was very important,
and that concern overrode his thoughts about vetoing the legislation.
“Therefore, as a matter of national security, I've signed
this omnibus budget bill. There are a lot of things I’m unhappy about in this
bill…But I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again. I'm
not going to do it again,” he said.
He also called on Congress to end the filibuster in the
Senate and to give him a line item veto.
“To prevent the omnibus situation from ever happening
again, I'm calling on Congress to give me a line item veto for all government
spending bills," he said. "And the Senate must end -- they must end
-- the filibuster rule and get down to work.”
Trump had tweeted earlier Friday that he was considering
using the veto, saying that recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program “have been totally abandoned by the
Democrats.” He added that the border wall, which he said was "desperately
needed for our National Defense" is not fully funded.
The House adjourned Friday morning until Monday, meaning
that if Trump had vetoed the bill then the government would shut down.
Trump moved to end the DACA program in September, giving
Congress a six-month window to come up with a legislative fix. That deadline
has been delayed by court orders, but the fate of the 800,000 enrolled
recipients is still uncertain.
Trump addressed DACA recipients at the press
availability: "Republicans are with you," he said, before accusing
Democrats of blocking efforts to fix DACA "every step of the way."
The White House has tried to use the DACA issue to
convince Democrats to support approximately $25 billion in funding for Trump’s
central campaign promise. But a congressional GOP source told Fox News talks
broke drown after Democrats pushed for a path to citizenship to include also
those who are currently eligible -- expanding those covered to 1.8 million.
The spending bill passed by Congress includes only $1.6
billion for border measures -- much of which is for repairs to already existing
fencing. It explicitly rules out any new prototypes of the kind President Trump
viewed this month in California. But House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and the
White House pushed back against conservative concerns on Thursday, saying it
provided for 100 miles of border construction.
Democrats had claimed victory on the issue, pointing to
the fact that Trump's requests for new deportation agents and detention center
beds had gone unanswered, although they had expressed disappointment at the
failure to get a DACA fix in the bill.
The deal has also irked more conservative members of
Congress, who objected to the size and cost of the bill (which ran in at over
2,000 pages) as well as the failure to remove funding for Planned Parenthood
and so-called "sanctuary cities." Other Republicans approved of
the deal, pointing to a massive increase in military and infrastructure
spending as well as funding to help combat the nation's opioid crisis.
Trump’s veto threat was totally unexpected, particularly
as the White House had signaled Trump would support the bill if passed by
Congress. Most lawmakers have already left Washington for a two week recess.
Some are on overseas trips already.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and Mike Emanuel
contributed to this report.
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Did you know?
- According
to the University of Michigan, consumer sentiment in March jumped to a
14 year high as the President’s tax cuts boosted disposable incomes!
- NFIB
Small Business Economic Trends Survey optimism index hit a record high!
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
o President
Trump rolled out the immediate actions his Administration and Congress should
take to tackle schools violence, including supporting the STOP School Violence
Act, Fix NICS Act, and advocating for states to adopt Extreme Risk Protection
Orders.
o President Trump made Secretary DeVos
in charge of a commission to look at long term solutions, including age restriction
on certain firearm purchases.
o President
Trump nominated CIA Director Pompeo to be the new Secretary of State and Deputy
Director of the CIA Gina Haspel to be the first female Director of the CIA.
o The Treasury
Department sanction 18 Russian individuals and entities accused of interference
in the 2016 presidential election and undermining the countries cyber security.
o The President
issued an order, pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950, preventing
Broadcom’s hostile foreign takeover of the American company Qualcomm.
A REVIEW OT PRESIDENT TRUMP'S OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Delivering Tax Cuts & Tax Reform
“Six months ago, I promised that we would cut
taxes to bring Main Street roaring all the way back, and we did.”
– President Donald J. Trump
The President held a roundtable discussion on
tax cuts and tax reform in St. Louis, Missouri. President Trump listened to a
range of different voices to hear how tax reform has changed lives for
Missourians.
“Families right here in Missouri will save more than $4
billion in taxes, and that's just for this year alone. Four billion dollars
right in Missouri. And millions of workers are getting more bonuses, higher
wages, and more take-home pay,” President Trump said to the roundtable at the
Boeing Company.
Building Stronger Border Security
“The border wall is truly our first line of
defense.”
– President Donald J. Trump
President Trump traveled to San Diego, California, where
he got a firsthand look at border wall prototypes.
He also met with immigration
officials and took their input on what it takes to make our border safe again.
The President is fulfilling a promise to the American people by securing our border
and keeping our nation safe. “It will save thousands and thousands of lives,
save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars by reducing crime, drug flow,
welfare fraud, and burdens on schools and hospitals.
The wall will save
hundreds of billions of dollars — many, many times what it’s going to cost,”
the President said while looking at the wall prototypes.
Taking Immediate Actions to
Secure Our Schools
“Every child deserves to grow up in a safe
community surrounded by a loving family and to have a future filled with
opportunity and with hope.”
– President Donald J. Trump
President Trump is making sure our schools are safe and
secure, just like our airports, stadiums, and government buildings.
The President proposed expanding and reforming mental health
programs while also supporting legislation to strengthen background checks and
law enforcement operations.
In contrast to President Barack Obama, President Trump has
already taken aggressive moves to counter Russia’s malfeasance.
Here’s a quick
recap of President Trump’s actions:
o Imposed
sanctions on Russians engaged in cyberattacks on the U.S. election process
in 2016.
o This follows the signing legislation over
the summer to impose new
sanctions on Russia, and ordering the closure of Russian consulates in the
U.S.
o Joined
the international community in condemning Russia’s role in poisoning former
spy, Sergei Skripal.
o Sanctioned
Russians who participated in the Russian incursion in Ukraine.
o Personally approved the largest
sale of lethal weapons to Ukraine in years (Congress authorized such sales
in 2014, but the Obama admin never followed through).
o Bolstered
the NATO alliance by increasing funding, and cooperation with NATO partners.
o Working
to strengthen
U.S. domestic cybersecurity infrastructure against future attacks.
