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President Trump Speaks To A Joint Session Of Congress
On Tuesday, February 28, President Trump was invited to speak to a Joint Session of Congress, roughly 40 days after his inauguration, President Trump spoke boldly about his vision for America and also highlighting successes by his Administration. Those successful initiatives highlighted in his speech, include:
- Investing billions of dollars in the United States, which will create tens of thousands of new American jobs by American companies;
- Three trillion dollar gain in the stock market since November 8, 2016;
- Hiring freeze on non-military and non-essential Federal workers;
- 5 year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials –- and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government;
- Aggressive regulatory review; imposing a new rule which mandates that for every 1 new regulation, 2 old regulations must be eliminated;
- Approval of the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines;
- Withdrawing the United States from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Bold proposals included in the President’s speech included:
- Fair and free trade that promotes American businesses;
- $1 Trillion investment in infrastructure;
- Reform of the Affordable Care Act;
- Significant investment in Defense spending and repealing sequestration.
The onus for action was squarely placed on the shoulders of Congress during the speech, it remains to be seen how Speaker Ryan and Leaders McConnell will be able to get these initiatives through both Chambers and to the President’s desk.
For the National Association for the Self-Employed, efforts to overhaul the tax code and reform the health insurance are our primary focuses in the coming weeks and months. We look forward to contributing and reviewing proposed legislation that bring equity to the tax code and provide health insurance products that comprehensive and affordable.
Read the full transcript of the President’s remarks
Katie Vlietstra is NASE’s Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs.