Tuesday, November 3, 2020

[Tombs]

My response was more toward the framing of the question than actually to answering it.

We're 11 months out from the election. If we have to declare now that we're going to vote for a bad (R) just because he's not a (D), then we're not a constituency that either side actually needs to try to win.

And again, more gun control has happened while "our guy" has been in office than in the previous 8 years with the so-called "most anti-gun president ever."

Sometimes it seems like our defense gives up less yardage than our offense loses.

Go ahead and show me another candidate with a path to victory who will defend our A2 rights more than Trump? What's that? All I hear is crickets.

These issues are best fought in the judicial branch, which Trump has proven that he is willing to stack it with conservative justices.
The second best way to fight it is in congress, which there we do actually have options with candidates who have a path.

We just don't need someone sitting at the top who's going to make matters more difficult than necessary.

If you want your perfect candidate, the only option is war, literally.

P.S. There is no such thing as an offensive gameplan when it comes to reclaiming rights taken by the state. The state never gives back your rights once it has taken them. The only offensive play is one that can't be discussed.

 

[CampingJosh]

Go ahead and show me another candidate with a path to victory who will defend our A2 rights more than Trump? What's that? All I hear is crickets.

There probably aren't any, but that's not because they don't exist. It's because so many Republicans have decided that Trump is the only choice in 2020 that they don't even need to ask the constituency.

Why cancel the primary? The answer most obvious to me is that the party doesn't care what we want.

If you want your perfect candidate, the only option is war, literally.

I still haven't asked for perfect. I've asked for better than "mostly bad."

P.S. There is no such thing as an offensive gameplan when it comes to reclaiming rights taken by the state. The state never gives back your rights once it has taken them. The only offensive play is one that can't be discussed.

I disagree. Here's a thread that seems to suggest there's optimism about at least the partial return of one right: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...n/441183-indianas-push-medical-marijuana.html

 

[CampingJosh]

You want Republicans that act like Schumer, Pelosi and Schiff?

Why can't we ask for a Jim Lucas-type at the federal level?

It's like McDonald's meal sizes: medium, large, and super sized. They're all bad; I want government to be small.

 

[2A_Tom]

Jim Lucas would not support Trump?

I have no idea what you are asking for.

No one beside Trump has any chance of being elected.

All that has been accomplished in three years Makes your mostly bad statement awfully inaccurate.

 

[bwframe]

If Lucas is your man, then get him on the ballot for congress.

The problem with the all-or-nothing crowd is all they ever do is complain. They cannot get anyone who could possibly win an election to run for them, consequently "all the parties and all the politicians are bad."

There is no good for them, so they just ***** and ***** and *****...

 

[CampingJosh]

Jim Lucas would not support Trump?

Jim Lucas might support Trump; I have no confidence that Trump would support Jim Lucas.

I have no idea what you are asking for.

Clearly.

If gun owners announce to the world 11 months ahead of the election that we're going to vote for Trump no matter what, then both sides can simply ignore our issues.

That's what this thread is all about, and I think it's counterproductive.

All that has been accomplished in three years Makes your mostly bad statement awfully inaccurate.

He's nominated one good SCOTUS justice and one OK justice.

I can't really point to much else that I see as positive.

 

[2A_Tom]

You could read this thread, you may be surprised.

 

[Dead Duck]

Winning at chess can take time.


For instant gratification, go to the chicken ranch.

 

[jamil]

I agree with your point in general.

However, what is the purpose of this particular poll, worded as it is, if not to shame all INGO members who don't support Trump?

That’s probably at least a little true. However, given the gun rights position next to each candidate though, it is more evident that the primary purpose of the poll is to get people to see that the least harm to gun rights is Trump. And that’s mostly true.

The problem with Trump is that too many people would let him get away with passing something serious. And he could do that. I think Tom is right that Trump doesn’t really understand the issues. If another event happened in the order of magnitude of Sandy Hook, Trump and many Republicans could defect. The only reason we got through it on the national level so far was gun owners holding their congress reps feet to the fire, with help from the gun rights orgs. Nothing got signed into law by Obama only because nothing got passed by the Senate. Barely.

We could have that kind of intensity again but with the narrower margins in the senate, it’s very likely something would go to Trump’s desk, and that’s a wildcard. In a second term, he doesn’t have to worry about reelection. He doesn’t have to worry about pandering to any groups. Does he sign an AWB or UBC bill into law? I honestly don’t know, but I kinda think he could. I am very confident, though, that any of the Democrats would definitely sign any anti-gun legislation. And that’s why I played Tom’s game.

 

[Dead Duck]

That’s probably at least a little true. However, given the gun rights position next to each candidate though, it is more evident that the primary purpose of the poll is to get people to see that the least harm to gun rights is Trump. And that’s mostly true.

The problem with Trump is that too many people would let him get away with passing something serious. And he could do that. I think Tom is right that Trump doesn’t really understand the issues. If another event happened in the order of magnitude of Sandy Hook, Trump and many Republicans could defect. The only reason we got through it on the national level so far was [STRIKE]gun owners holding their congress reps feet to the fire, with help from the gun rights orgs. Nothing got signed into law by Obama only because nothing got passed by the Senate. Barely.[/STRIKE] because the NRA was there to stop them...... PERIOD.

We could have that kind of intensity again but with the narrower margins in the senate, it’s very likely something would go to Trump’s desk, and that’s a wildcard. In a [STRIKE]second[/STRIKE] third term, he doesn’t have to worry about reelection. He doesn’t have to worry about pandering to any groups. Does he sign an AWB or UBC bill into law? I honestly don’t know, but I kinda think he could. I am very confident, though, that any of the Democrats would definitely sign any anti-gun legislation. And that’s why I played Tom’s game.

FIFY

 

[jamil]

FIFY

Well ****! You mean to tell me that I could have just sat on my ass and let the NRA do all the work? I spent untold hours crafting specific letters to dozens of specific lawmakers at state and federal levels. Sheesh, and all it woulda took is my annual membership dues. I’m sittin’ next one out for sure. Let the NRA and my $45 membership do all the work. Because gun owning citizens can’t do anything.

The **** are you talking about fixing it. You broke it dude. I meant it the way I said it.

 

[jamil]

Oh. And that third term is utter nonsense and hopefully you know it. You guys rightly detected the thing that was absurd about Fauxahauntas’s promise to end the EC. She would have override the constitution with an executive order. So because it’s your savior you want the 22nd amendment ignored by decree? That sticky **** you woke up with makes it obvious it’s all just a dream.

 

[CampingJosh]

The problem with Trump is that too many people would let him get away with passing something serious. And he could do that. I think Tom is right that Trump doesn’t really understand the issues. If another event happened in the order of magnitude of Sandy Hook, Trump and many Republicans could defect. The only reason we got through it on the national level so far was gun owners holding their congress reps feet to the fire, with help from the gun rights orgs. Nothing got signed into law by Obama only because nothing got passed by the Senate. Barely.

I think Trump would be leading the other Republicans to defect. They've been willing to ignore other principles to try to ride his coattails.

These last 11 years have shown me that Republican senators are willing to hold the line against a Democrat president but that they have no backbone to stand up to Trump.

I see Trump as having enormous influence over the party; it's far beyond what Bush ever had (and I'm not old enough to really remember any pre-Clinton administrations). If Trump made a deal to sign an AWB in exchange for funding a wall, I think he'd get the Republican-led Senate to approve it.

I didn't say that we'd be better off electing one of the others. But every four years we hear that the determining factor in the election will be the turnout. I want the Republicans to do something that makes me want to go vote for them, and they mostly haven't. Most of the positive that gets pointed out is inaction rather than them actually doing something I want.

 

[2A_Tom]

I think Trump would be leading the other Republicans to defect. They've been willing to ignore other principles to try to ride his coattails.

Your opinion is noted, but I do not see the facts to back it up.

These last 11 years have shown me that Republican senators are willing to hold the line against a Democrat president but that they have no backbone to stand up to Trump.

What are they supposed to be bucking the President on?

I see Trump as having enormous influence over the party;

The President is supposed to lead the party.

it's far beyond what Bush ever had

Bush was an appeaser that believed that if he was nice to the Democrats they would be nice to him in return. We will see how that works out for Chic-fil-A and the GBTQ+.

(and I'm not old enough to really remember any pre-Clinton administrations).

If Trump made a deal to sign an AWB in exchange for funding a wall, I think he'd get the Republican-led Senate to approve it.

Again your opinion is noted as lacking evidence.

I didn't say that we'd be better off electing one of the others. But every four years we hear that the determining factor in the election will be the turnout.

I want the Republicans to do something that makes me want to go vote for them, and they mostly haven't.


Most of the positive that gets pointed out is inaction rather than them actually doing something I want.

Your inaction in voting could give the Dems the victory.

I have seen you point out only one thing that you want, suppressors. A republican has recently introduced the bill in the House. You need to start writing letters to Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler &al and tell them you will support a democrat in 2020 if they get it passed.

 

[BugI02]

There probably aren't any, but that's not because they don't exist. It's because so many Republicans have decided that Trump is the only choice in 2020 that they don't even need to ask the constituency.

Why cancel the primary? The answer most obvious to me is that the party doesn't care what we want.



I still haven't asked for perfect. I've asked for better than "mostly bad."



I disagree. Here's a thread that seems to suggest there's optimism about at least the partial return of one right: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...n/441183-indianas-push-medical-marijuana.html

I see your position as a dangerous fallacy. It could be labeled "All Trump has had to do is fight 90% of the media, The Resistance, the Deep State and almost the entire Democratic party as well as back-stabbers in his own party. Why hasn't he fixed everything yet?"

 

[CampingJosh]

Your opinion is noted, but I do not see the facts to back it up.

What are they supposed to be bucking the President on?

The President is supposed to lead the party.

I would be happy with them bucking his nonsense on the border wall. The budget deficit has continued to grow during his term, not just in dollars but even as a percentage of GDP even. Neither of those is conservative.

The President can lead the party without being the only opinion that matters. And I'm not even sure that I believe that the President should inherently be the leader of the party. He can be, but he doesn't need to be.

Your inaction in voting could give the Dems the victory.

I have seen you point out only one thing that you want, suppressors. A republican has recently introduced the bill in the House. You need to start writing letters to Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler &al and tell them you will support a democrat in 2020 if they get it passed.

Yes, my inaction in voting could give the Dems the victory. That's why the Republicans should be actively trying to win my vote. Try to win voters rather than just being the less-bad alternative.

I've named the easiest thing that I want with regards to the topic of this forum: moving silencers from Title 2 to Title 1. But there are a lot of options that I would have been happy with.

The bump stock ban was an administrative rule change, which means it was 100% under the authority of the Trump administration. He could have said "no" at any point until it was a finalized rule. He's not pro-gun.

 

[2A_Tom]

OK Josh, You have your opinions, I have mine I do not want to argue with you so I will not. You do not like the thread, you have no obligation to participate. Your objections will not make it go away. Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

Trump is smarter than some of us give him credit for, and he knows how to play the long game.The Senate appointment of conservative judges, mostly under the radar, is playing the long game. Deferring any gun control scheme by saying "we'll look at it " and then letting it die in Congress, is playing the long game. Giving up bump stocks is a short game that has no effect on 99.9% of gun owners, and has no effect on a hundred million gun owners that see no purpose in that novelty, and satisfies tens of millions of voters on both sides of the aisle who are middle of the road.

 

[CampingJosh]

Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

That's one we can agree on! Merry Christmas, Tom.

 

[2A_Tom]

Washington Examiner says,

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...-in-just-20-months-relentless-promise-keeping
Excerpt
Economic Growth

• 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 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 record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at 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 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 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 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 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 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 offenses.
  • More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
  • More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
  • More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
  • More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
  • Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• 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.

Defense

• 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 defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
  • In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
  • Every member state has increased defense 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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