Trump’s disdain for American families’ access to health care is matched only by his disdain for the rule of law.
Last night, the Jeff Sessions Department of Justice announced, outrageously, that it will not defend the ACA against a frivolous suit brought by GOP-led states because it “has become unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit is so absurd, and the DOJ’s refusal to defend the law so obscenely political, that career DOJ attorneys refused to sign on to the DOJ move—an almost unprecedented scenario.
The Trump Administration is demonstrating again that they will go to any length to strip Americans of their health care and allow insurance companies to punish their customers for getting sick—especially the 130 million Americans who have pre-existing conditions.
A CAP analysis shows that, thanks to Trump and his friends in Congress deliberately sabotaging the Affordable Care Act, health care premiums are already set to skyrocket for families by a national average of $1000 this year—far more than the typical working class family will save annually from Trump’s tax scam.
As icing, as if to make sure nobody misses their disdain for Americans having health care, Trump’s allies in the House of Representatives also passed a rescission package which will undermine funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
RENT HIKES FOR LOW-INCOME AMERICANS
Continuing the trend of the Trump Administration’s punishment of low-income Americans, HUD Secretary Carson—recently making headlines for spending tax dollars on luxuries for himself—proposed a plan to raise rents for people in subsidized housing as an “incentive to drive lower-income Americans, many of whom already have jobs, to work.”
A new study from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reveals that in the largest U.S. metropolitan areas, low-income tenants will see a 20% increase in rent per year.
Carson does not, however, plan to counteract the fact that the rent hike is estimated to be 6 times higher than the average growth in hourly wages. For many Americans, this will mean a risk of homelessness.
By the numbers, the plan will impact:
- More than 3 million children
TRUMP’S PAYBACK TO PUTIN
President Trump is once again delivering on Putin’s policy objectives, this time by suggesting the world forget Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and readmit the nation to the G-7 Summit.
This morning, after days of Twitter tirades against close U.S. allies Canada and France, Trump once more demonstrated the risk he poses to the national security of this country.
This morning’s statement is a perfect payoff for Putin: By calling for Russia’s reinstatement in the G-7, Trump not only further alienates our allies but also lets Russia off the hook for years of aggression, from Ukraine to our own election.
MARCH FOR THE OCEAN
#MarchForTheOcean. Tomorrow, thousands of Americans across the country will march to demand cleaner waterways and healthier oceans. Many human-caused threats—including climate change, offshore oil, plastic pollution, and more—jeopardize ocean health, coastal communities, and the American economy. It’s not too late to turn the tide. #WearBlue and join the March for The Ocean wave across the country.
OFF-KILTER
This week on Off-Kilter: The U.N. issues a scathing indictment of poverty and inequality in the U.S.; Uber and Lyft have adopted the gun lobby’s playbook to rewrite the laws in 41 states; plus the poverty news of the week ICYMI.