MADE IN AMERICA IS THE THEME OF THIS WEEK'S NATIONAL FOCUS REPORT

Editorial note: In this week's National focus report, the theme is MADE IN AMERICA, since President Trump proclaimed Made in America week yesterday. The main headline story, and related articles center around that. I waited to see if any of our congressional delegation to Washington DC had any word about keeping American jobs in America, or buy more American products, goods and services were even in their minds, and believe me I looked, not one even offered a soundbite about it.
No comments from Congressman Kilmer, or Senator Cantwell, as for Senator Murray she was too busy sounding off on the proposed Trump Care proposal which can replace the failure of the Obama Care ripoff!

So starting with her statement on that, then the main headliner today:

TRUMPCARE: Sen. Murray Calls on Republicans to Stop Sabotaging Families’ Health Care and Work With Democrats
PRESS RELEASE DATE 7. 18. 17
Source: https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=999B753D-568E-45E1-AD63-45BAA51985AE
(Washington, D.C.)  – Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate health committee, released the following statement on the future of Senate Republicans’ Trumpcare bill and the need for Republicans to stop sabotaging families’ health and instead, work with Democrats to continue making health care more affordable, accessible, and higher quality for families.
Trumpcare has been a failure since the start given all the ways it would raise families' health care costs and hurt patients, and it is now clearer than ever that writing a mean, partisan bill in secret is no way to get things done.
I’m thankful for the many people in our state who have been speaking up and telling their stories.
It’s very clear what needs to happen next.
Republicans need to reject this latest attempt to jam an even worse version of Trumpcare through.
And they need to work with us to quickly clean up the mess they made so that families don’t pay higher premiums and have fewer choices because Republicans, led by President Trump, broke the healthcare system, just to score political points and build support for their disastrous, failed bill.
I’m ready to get to work—and I hope Republicans stop the partisanship, stop the politics, and work with us to get this done.

WH: Remarks by President Trump at Made in America Product Showcase
press release issued July 17th
Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/17/remarks-president-trump-made-america-product-showcase
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Mike.  And you know, Mike, it is true that, as I walked through the halls, we saw so many great companies, but the gentleman who was in charge of Omaha Beef -- they do beef -- he hugged me, he wanted to kiss me so badly.  (Laughter.)  Because he said, our business is a whole different business now because you got China approved; the other administrations couldn’t even come close.  And I told him, you know how long it took?  One sentence.  I said, President Xi, we’d love to sell beef back in China again.  He said, you can do that.  That was the end of that.  Right?    Sonny.  The great Sonny Perdue.    So we’re very happy.
 But we’re here today to celebrate American manufacturing and to showcase the amazing products from all 50 states, made in the USA.  Remember in the old days they used to have "Made in the USA", "Made in America"?  But made in the USA.  We’re going to start doing that again.  We’re going to put that brand on our product because it means it’s the best.

In just a few months and moments, I will say what we’ve done over a short period of time and what we’re going to be doing over the next six months will be incredible.
We’ve signed more bills -- and I’m talking about through the legislature -- than any President ever.  For a while, Harry Truman had us, and now I think we have everybody, Mike.  I better say "think," otherwise they’ll give me a Pinocchio and I don’t like those -- I don’t like Pinocchios.  

In just a few moments, I’ll be signing a Presidential Proclamation to launch “Made in America Week” and to make today “Made in America Day.”
We are thrilled to be joined today by so many incredible members of my Cabinet.  Every member of my administration shares the same goal:  to provide a level playing field for American workers and for American industry.   And we are providing it much faster than other countries would like.  So it’s been really a pleasure.

We want to build, create, and grow more products in our country using American labor, American goods, and American grit.  When we purchase products made in the USA, the profits stay here, the revenue stays here, and the jobs -- maybe most importantly of all -- they stay right here in the USA.  
In the audience today we have skilled workers, we have business leaders whose American-made goods we are proudly displaying all over the White House and outside.  I saw fire engines.  I saw tractors from Caterpillar.  I saw some incredible machinery.  Make it right here.  We thank you for being here.  We’re honored to showcase your creations.  And I will say, they’ve really taken on, and some of you have built names that I know of for so long.  And its -- congratulations.  Right?  You in particular.  What a great job you’ve done.  Thank you very much.  And I saw you on television this morning.  You were fantastic.  I don’t know what you’re doing, exactly, but you could always have a second career.   You did a great job.  Thank you very much.

American workers, farmers, and innovators are really the best in the world -- we know that.  And what we’re doing [with] that is we’re displaying those talents.  You construct and harvest the products that fill our homes, feed our families, and defend our nation, and enrich our lives.  I want to make a pledge to each and every one of you:  No longer are we going to allow other countries to break the rules, steal our jobs, and drain our wealth -- and it has been drained.  It has been drained.
You’re going to see a lot of things happening over the next six months -- you know, statutorily and through a lot of different legal -- through the legal process.  It takes a while to get it set so that you’re allowed to do it.  You’re not allowed to do, but we’ve now mostly fulfilled all of that.  And over the next short period of time, you’re going to see things announced that you won’t even believe for our country and for selling product in our country and making product in our country, and things that are great for American jobs.  You’re going to be seeing that happening really quickly because we are totally set up, and the hard part now is done.  It is a long, horrible process, but we’re going to also get rid of some of that process for the future.  But we’re going to stand up for our companies and, maybe most importantly, for our workers.
For decades, Washington has allowed other nations to wipe out millions of American jobs through unfair trade practices.  Wait until you see what’s up for you.  You are going to be so happy.  This painful exodus of American jobs -- and I’ve been talking about it for years -- was also marked by a period of sluggish growth, falling incomes, surging welfare, and shrinking participation in the workforce.  Clearly, it’s time for a new policy -- one defined by two simple rules:  We will buy American and we will hire American.  Right, Governor?
My administration is removing the burdens and regulations on your companies so that you can compete, thrive, and grow.  How many of you have noticed this so far?  Because it’s a big, big difference, right?  That’s a big, big difference.  The people are coming up to me -- they can’t even believe it.  We took the farmer’s land away.  We took the homebuilder’s land away.  They have their land back now, and they’re building homes and they’re farming their farms, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.  And they’re so thankful.

So a lot of those regulations have been taken off; the rest are coming off.  And, by the way, we will have better protection than we've ever had, but we’ll also have something where you don’t have to wait 15 years for a permit and then when you go to the board, you lose.  And that’s a big portion of your life wiped out waiting for a permit.  We’re not going to let that happen.
But for our nation to really prosper, we must lower the tax on business -- one of the highest in the world -- and we must repeal job-killing Obamacare.  We have to do that.  (Applause.)  And I can tell you, we hope John McCain gets better very soon because we miss him.  He’s a crusty voice in Washington.  Plus, we need his vote.  (Laughter.)  And he’ll be back.  And he will be back sooner than somebody else would be back.  He’ll be back soon.
But we need that vote.  And we need a number of votes because we do have to repeal Obamacare, and we will end up replacing it with something that is going to be outstanding -- far, far better than failing Obamacare where premiums have gone up, in some cases over 200 percent this year; where every single element of it is bad, and the insurance companies, by the way, are fleeing, so people have -- in some states you have no insurance companies.
And we have some governors here, and we have senators here, and we have congressmen here, and women -- and I will tell you, it’s a very, very hard time they’re having with the Obamacare situation.  So we’re going to get that done, and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.  But they’re pushing very hard.  The Republican senators are great people, but they have a lot of different states.  Some states need this, some states need that.  But we’re getting it together, and it’s going to happen.  Right, Mike?
(Continued on page 2)


HUD MAKES $2 BILLION AVAILABLE TO LOCAL HOMELESS PROGRAMS
Funding notice encourages local applicants to use Housing First approach
Press release issued July 14th
https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2017/HUDNo_17-055
WASHINGTON – In an effort to prevent and effectively end homelessness, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making $2 billion available to support thousands of local homeless assistance programs nationwide. Funded through the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Program, HUD’s funding notice continues to encourage local applicants to use a Housing First approach to help individuals and families move quickly into permanent housing.  Read HUD’s Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).
HUD’s Continuum of Care homeless assistance grants support a wide variety of local programs from street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for individuals, including, veterans, youth, families, and persons experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.
“We know these grants can make a huge difference in ending homelessness” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson.  “HUD continues to forge deep relationships with our local partners to invest in proven programs that are working to reduce the scale of homelessness in their communities.”
HUD continues to place a major emphasis on ending homelessness for all persons experiencing homelessness, creating a systematic response to homelessness and improving how resources are used to end homelessness. These priorities will make it much more competitive and increase incentives for communities to improve their performance. As part of these priorities, HUD is continuing incentives to adopt best practices for rapid-rehousing and Housing First, an approach that has proven effective in helping communities to make progress on their goal of ending homelessness.
Additionally, HUD isencouraging communities to end veteran, chronic, family, and youth homelessness and to use their data to strategically target their available resources to end homelessness. Finally, to help communities reach these goals, there is greater flexibility provided to create a variety of new projects that will allow recipients to serve different populations of individuals and families experiencing homelessness as well as to support increased data collection and analysis.
HUD requires prospective grantees to submit applications electronically at www.grants.gov. Any changes to HUD-published funding notices will be made available to the public through a Federal Register publication and published on this government-wide portal. Applicants are urged to sign up for Grants.gov’s notification service to receive periodic updates or changes to these grant offerings.  The application deadline is September 28, 2017.



US DEFENSE DEPT. NEWS RELEASE DATED 7. 17. 17
 Department of Defense Announces Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions Student Interns and Faculty Fellows at Defense Laboratories for Summer 2017
Source: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1250031/department-of-defense-announces-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-an/
Arlington, VA -- As part of its Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) initiatives, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces that 81 student interns and 15 faculty fellows from these institutions will be engaged in basic research at defense laboratories for a 10-week period beginning in June 2017.  This is an annual opportunity for students and faculty from HBCUs and MIs to collaborate with the research scientists in the DoD Laboratories.  
For student participants, DoD hopes to foster their interest in graduate studies and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).  The students have research interests in a variety of fields from cyber security to quantum optics to human systems interaction modeling and simulation.  Their contributions to basic research during the 10 week internships will provide opportunities for the Department to expand its research outreach and excite young scientists about the work being done in the DoD Laboratories.
The faculty participants are given access to DoD state-of the-art equipment and new opportunities to participate in defense research projects. The ability to explore research ideas which they can then pursue at their home institutions will continue to inspire these faculty, and their peers, to apply for research support through DoD programs.
DoD recognizes these individuals and the value of their contributions to the defense mission.  Participants in the 2017 summer program represent 30 HBCUs and MIs and the research interests of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The names of the participants, their HBCU/MI affiliation, the hosting DoD laboratory, and their research topic areas are available at: https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DOD-HBCUMI-Internships-Summer-Faculty.pdf


U.S. EPA Approves Limits on Mercury in California Waters
Rules include new protections for Native American cultural use and subsistence fishing
Press release issued 7. 18. 17
Source: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/us-epa-approves-limits-mercury-california-waters

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the approval of new water quality criteria for mercury in California waters. The new rules, developed by the State Water Resources Control Board, set mercury limits in fish tissue to protect human health and aquatic-dependent wildlife. New protections also have been added for tribal cultural use and subsistence fishing.
In California, Gold Rush-era mining operations released millions of pounds of naturally occurring mercury, a potent neurotoxin, into state waterways. Once there, the toxic metal builds up in fish tissue and is consumed by people and wildlife. To address that risk, the state’s new criteria set maximum mercury limits in fish tissue for various species caught for sport, subsistence and cultural practices.
“We commend the State Water Resources Control Board for working with numerous tribes and dischargers to develop and adopt water quality standards for protecting human health and wildlife throughout the state from the harmful effects of mercury,” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s Acting Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “By focusing on mercury concentrations in fish tissue, these rules will have a direct and positive impact on public health and the environment.”
The state’s new rules set five new water quality criteria for mercury in fish tissue for tribal subsistence fishing, general subsistence fishing, prey fish, sport fish and for fish commonly consumed by the protected California Least Tern. The new criteria will help protect and inform the public about levels of mercury in popular sport fish like salmon, bass, sturgeon and trout.
“Salmon, bass, sturgeon and other popular fish like trout are sought after as a key food source by California Native American tribes, and other groups that depend on fish for sustenance, but are often contaminated by mercury.  Mercury is found in many fresh water bodies in California, and is largely a legacy of the Gold Rush era, and difficult to deal with, but cannot be ignored,” said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus. “This approval is an important step in focusing attention on what can be done to limit exposures.”
The new mercury criteria will apply to inland surface waters, enclosed bays, and estuaries of the state, except for water bodies where approved site-specific objectives already exist, such as: San Francisco Bay and Delta; Clear Lake; and portions of Walker Creek, Cache Creek, and Guadalupe River Watersheds.
For more information on the health effects of exposures to mercury, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effects-exposures-mercury
To view a copy of the approval letter and standards, please visit: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/mercury/docs/ca_hg_approval_letter_with_enclosures_signed_071417.pdf

WORLD NEWS AND EVENTS FOCUS REPORTS

Editorial Note: In today's edition we look at just world news and events, the following are articles I found and want to share with you.  



 Realizing 2030 Agenda Requires Teamwork to Rebuild Trust in Government, Ensure Fair Globalization, High-Level Political Forum Hears, as Ministerial Segment Begins
From UN press release dated July 17th
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ecosoc6860.doc.htm

The loss of confidence and trust between people and Governments, multilateral institutions and international organizations highlighted the paradox that problems were increasingly global in nature and could not be solved by individual countries, participants heard today, as the ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development got under way.

Globalization and progress had dramatically increased global trade and wealth and the number of absolute poor had declined, but it was also true that inequality had increased, stressed António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his opening statement, as the Council began its annual three-day segment with a series of reports, presentations and a ministerial-level general debate.
Calling the large number of people who had been left behind and the severe challenges brought on by high unemployment serious obstacles to development, the Secretary-General said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aimed at a fair globalization and to create conditions for people to trust again; not only in political systems but also in multilateral forms of governance and international organizations like the United Nations.
Urging leaders to reaffirm their commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change, he emphasized that the green economy was becoming the economy of the future, and that green business was good business.  Those that did not embrace that trend stood to lose or would fail to gain economic leadership in the years to come, he warned.
Pointing to the eminent fourth industrial revolution, he called on leaders to anticipate trends and work together to move away from being reactive in order to foresee what was coming and tailor investment accordingly.  In that context, reform must take place at all levels, including within the United Nations development system.  Only by working together would leaders be able to rebuild the trust that was needed to ensure the fair globalization that the world so desperately needed, he added.

“We have arrived at a period of unprecedented and stunning inequality,” declared Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, in a keynote address.  Global output this year was estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at $127 trillion, an average of $17,000 per each man, woman and child.  That sum was enough to end poverty, ensure universal access to health care and quality education, and provide the investments needed to transition to climate-responsible policies.  Yet, startling challenges persisted, he said, emphasizing that money that went to finance war and conflict could easily fund sustainable development for every person on the planet.

Spotlighting the world’s powerful coal, oil, and gas lobby, he warned: “It will kill the planet if it survives in its current form.”  In that context, he urged the super-rich who resisted taxation and managed the levers of power to accept their responsibilities.  “There seems to be no limit to the greed,” he lamented, noting that despite the extraordinary wealth in the world, 1 billion people still struggled to survive every day.
Indeed, the world was facing challenging and turbulent times, said Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava (Zimbabwe), President of the Economic and Social Council, who noted that although the prevalence of extreme poverty had steadily declined in recent decades, the total number of people living in extreme poverty — more than 767 million in 2013 — remained unacceptably high.  Inequality among and within countries remained deep; conflicts, tensions and terrorism were threatening humanity; and global temperatures were rising.  In the face of those rising challenges, solidarity and working together was more important than ever.

“We all know the basic steps ahead,” said Peter Thomson (Fiji), President of the United Nations General Assembly, who stressed that the necessary resources must be mobilized to meet the world’s sustainable development objectives.  Awareness of the Goals must be global so that all citizens understood they had rights and responsibilities on the long road to international sustainability.

Following the opening session, the Council reviewed the main messages from the Forum’s first week of deliberations, as presented by Economic and Social Council Vice Presidents Marie Chatardova (Czech Republic), Cristián Barros Melet (Chile), Jürgen Schulz (Germany) and Nabeel Munir (Pakistan).  It also received reports from the ministerial chairs of the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development: Lahcen Daoudi, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of General Affairs and Governance of Morocco; Francisco Guzman, Chief of Staff of the President of Mexico and Executive Secretary of the National Council for Sustainable Agenda of Mexico; Rosemarie Edillon, Undersecretary for Planning and Policy, National Economic and Development Authority of the Philippines; Gervais Meatchi, Director of Planning and Development of Togo; and Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Commissioner-General for Sustainable Development and Inter-Ministerial Delegate for Sustainable Development, Ministry of Environment, Energy and Seas of France.

Also today, the Council heard voluntary national reviews from Brazil, Luxembourg, Nepal, Monaco, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Kenya, Netherlands, Chile and Malaysia, during which countries detailed their progress and challenges in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
In the afternoon, the Council took up the Secretary-General’s reports on “Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges” and “Beyond gross domestic product:  multidimensional poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals”, as presented by Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs.  A report from the Committee for Development Policy’s nineteenth session was also presented to the Council by Committee Chair José Antonio Ocampo.
A general debate also took place, which included statements from high-level officials and representatives of Ecuador (on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), Maldives (on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States), Zambia (on behalf of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries), European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development (on behalf of the European Union), Sri Lanka (on behalf of the “Group of 15” developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America), Grenada (on behalf of the Caribbean Community), Luxembourg (on behalf of the Group of Friends of Children and Sustainable Development Goals), Philippines (on behalf of the Like-Minded Group of Countries Supporters of Middle-Income Countries), Chad (on behalf of the African Group).
Also participating in the general debate were speakers for Romania, Monaco, Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, South Africa, Lithuania, Thailand, Guatemala, Slovenia, Indonesia, Denmark, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Republic of Moldova, Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Council will meet again at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 18 July, to continue its general debate.



Related story
 Joint Efforts Can Rebuild Trust Needed to Make 2030 Agenda Key to Fair Globalization, Secretary-General Tells High-Level Political Forum

press release issued July 17th
Source: https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sgsm18615.doc.htm
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, in New York today:

Twenty years ago, when I was starting my functions as Prime Minister of Portugal, the world was surfing a wave of optimism.  The cold war had ended, technological prosperity was in full swing, the Internet was spreading and there was the idea that globalization would not only increase global wealth, but that it would trickle down and would benefit everybody on our planet.

Twenty years afterwards, I would say that the picture is mixed.  It’s true that globalization, technological progress have dramatically increased global trade, global wealth, it is true that the number of absolute poor has been reduced and that living conditions have improved all over the world but it is also true that globalization and technological progress together have been factors of increase of inequality.  Eight persons in the world have as much wealth as half of the world population.

At the same time, it is clear that people were left behind in the rust belts of this world, and youth unemployment became a severe problem in different regions of our planet, not only undermining the future of those young people, but also being an obstacle to the development of their countries and in some situations being a part of the global threat created by the fact that without hope they can easily be recruited by extremist organizations, and we see that impact in global terrorism today.  Now, it is true that that has generated a loss of confidence, loss of trust between peoples and Governments or political establishments, between people and international organizations like the United Nations, and between people and the idea of globalization itself, of global governance and of multilateral institutions.

I think it is important to recognize that there is a paradox because problems are more and more global, challenges are more and more global, there is no way any country can solve them by itself.  And so we need global answers and we need multilateral governance forms, and we need to be able to overcome this deficit of trust, and that, in my opinion, is the enormous potential of the 2030 Agenda; because the 2030 Agenda is an agenda aiming at a fair globalization, it’s an agenda aiming at not leaving anyone behind, eradicating poverty and creating conditions for people to trust again in not only political systems, but also in multilateral forms of governance and in international organizations like the United Nations.

At the same time, it’s clear that when one looks at today’s economy, the global economies are improving, probably more slowly than we would like, but the areas of fragility are also increasing — political fragility, institutional fragility, but also development fragility, and societal fragility; and fragilities to a large extent are responsible for many of the conflicts today and for the spreading of those conflicts and the linking of those conflicts to the global threat of global terrorism.

And this is why it is true that the agendas of sustainable development and the agendas of preventing [conflict] and sustaining peace need to be linked.  But, here, there is a caveat — that link should not be a pretext to move resources from development to security; on the contrary, that should make us understand the centrality of development in what we do and the need to make sure that with that centrality of development we are able to fully recognize that sustainable and inclusive development is in itself a major factor of prevention of conflict as it is a major factor for the prevention of natural disasters and other aspects in which the resilience of societies is so important today.

And indeed, if one looks at the global megatrends — population growth, climate change, food insecurity, water scarcity, chaotic urbanization in certain parts of the world — it is also true that all these megatrends are interacting with each other, are stressing each other.  And we have to recognize that climate change became the main accelerator of all other factors.  This is also the moment to clearly say that [with] the link to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there must be a very strong reaffirmation of our commitment to the Paris Agreement and to its implementation with enhanced ambition, because the Paris Agreement, by itself, is not enough for the objectives that the world needs in relation to global warming.  And this is something that I believe is very important, not only because of its absolute need for humankind and the future of the planet, but because it is also the right and smart thing to do.  We are seeing that the green economy is becoming more and more the economy of the future, that green business is good business, and those that will not bet on green economy, on green technologies, will inevitably lose, or not gain economic leadership in the years to come.

At the same time, it is very important that we recognize that we need not only be able to respond to the problems of those that are living in societies and that are under Government responsibility, but that human rights are also the rights of the people on the move, refugees and migrants, and so leaving no one behind will also have to inspire us to find ways to look into migration with a different perspective, not with a perspective of rejection, but understanding that is also an important component in solving global problems and that we need to find more legal avenues of migration and more ways to respect the human rights of migrants to make sure that they are not left behind in today’s world.  We know that the global megatrends are also making more and more people move in our world to prevent unnecessary movements, and to make sure that those movements that take place, take place in a regular way is another very important objective of not leaving anyone behind.

And then there is a central question of funding.  And I think it is important to reaffirm today very clearly that developed countries need to abide by their commitments in relation to official development aid, but at the same time that is not enough to fund the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  We need to create conditions to help States be able to mobilize more of their own resources, and that has to do, on one hand, with tax reforms within States, but also on mobilizing the international community to fight together tax evasion, money-laundering and illicit flows of capital that are today making sure that more money is coming out of developing countries than the money that goes in through official development assistance (ODA).

And at the same time, we need to make sure that the international financial institutions are able to leverage resources and to multiply their capacity to fund the implementation of the SDGs, and also that we help countries to be able to access global markets, financial markets, and to be able to attract private investment, without which it would be absolutely impossible to achieve these Goals.  And let’s also not only think about the problems of today, but also the problems of tomorrow.

We are facing a fourth industrial revolution that will have a dramatic impact on labour markets.  And this will be a problem for many developing countries that today rely on cheap manpower as their competitive advantage; and cheap manpower will probably see many jobs destroyed in the near future, with robotization and other forms of automation.  And at the same time, a problem for many developed countries — look at the possibility that one day in a country like the United States no more drivers might be necessary, no more drivers for cars, for trucks, and that is probably a very important source of employment in all societies in the world.

We need to be able to anticipate these trends, we need to be able to work together as countries, international organizations, not to be reacting, but to be foreseeing what is coming and investing in education, in training, in new skills, in the adaptations of the labour markets to be able to cope with the challenges of the future.  And for all that we also need to be able to reform — reform at the country level, reform at the United Nations level and that of other organizations.  Countries will look in different ways, depending on different situations, on a country-by-country basis, into their governance mechanisms, into the way they are able to guarantee the participation of citizens, of businesses and of civil society in development objectives.  In the ways they are able to fight corruption, or to guarantee not only civil and political rights, but also economic, social and cultural rights.

And as in the United Nations, we need to be able to understand that, even if the United Nations development system has produced many important contributions, namely in the context of the implementation of the [SDGs], we are not fully ready for the new challenges of the present 2030 Agenda.  That is why I presented to [the Economic and Social Council] a first report on the reform of the United Nations development system.  I will not be repeating here the 38 measures that are included in this first report but just say that there are a few central areas of concern.  First, the idea that we need to have at the country level empowered resident coordinators and more effective country teams, more coordinated and more able to deliver support to Governments according to Government strategies — because Governments and countries are the leaders of the implementation of the Agenda - and to be more accountable to those Governments at the country level.  At the same time, to have this level of coordination, transparency, accountability at the global level, being in this case accountable to [the Economic and Social Council] and to the General Assembly of the United Nations, and to consider that gender parity in the United Nations must also be an instrument in order to support gender mainstreaming, in the application of all policies that relate to the 2030 Agenda and to its objectives from the eradication of poverty to all the different areas, in the different sectors in which we need to be effective.

And finally, that funding needs to be in line with the objectives of coherence and the objectives of accountability that I have mentioned, and that is why we have the idea to propose a funding compact to guarantee exactly that coherence instead of the dispersion of funding that do not take into account the objectives that in each country, each Government is able to put in place for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

And I think that looking at this assembly, one can only be enthusiastic about the fact that there is a very strong commitment, not only for implementation of the Agenda, but a very strong affirmation of support for multilateral governance as the way to lead the 2030 Agenda, respecting the leadership of Member States, but recognizing that only by working together can we rebuild the trust that is needed, and we can make the 2030 Agenda that factor that brings the fair globalization the world needs in the present times.



Special Representative, Briefing Security Council on Iraq, Stresses Need to Address People’s Long-Standing Grievances, Needs, Aspirations

UN PRESS RELEASE dated 7. 17. 17
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc12913.doc.htm
Fresh from victory in retaking the northern city of Mosul from terrorists, Iraq must now address the long-standing grievances, needs and aspirations of its people, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General told the Security Council today, paving the way towards national settlement and reconciliation.

Ján Kubiš, who is also the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), said Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attributed that 10 July victory over Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) to the Iraqi security forces, as the only fighting force on the ground, and their “exceptional” efforts to save civilian lives.  Yet, the city’s historic liberation should not conceal the fact that the road ahead was challenging, notably in reclaiming territories in the Governorates of Ninawa and Anbar, Hawija District in Kirkuk Governorate, and elsewhere.

Presenting the Secretary-General’s latest report (document S/2017/596), he emphasized the need for demining, stabilization and reconstruction to enable the return of internally displaced persons.  The enforcement of law and order, rule of law, justice and accountability, as well as reforms, good governance and development were also critical.  “Da’esh’s ultimate defeat can only be secured through inclusive solutions,” he said, welcoming the guidance of the Al-Marja’iyya, who in their victory sermons, pressed those in power to view citizens as equals, regardless of religion, sect, ethnicity or nationality.
In that context, he expressed concern over the rising sentiment in favour of collective punishment of families perceived to be associated with Da’esh.  UNAMI had prioritized justice for those affected by human rights violations committed in the ongoing armed conflict.  It was pursuing a national strategy that aimed to allow domestic courts jurisdiction over international crimes, which would complement international efforts to gather evidence on crimes committed by ISIL.
Further, he said, as the fight to eliminate Da’esh was nearing a close, the United Nations was repositioning its response to sexual violence to support the reintegration of survivors into their communities.  It also had engaged with senior Iraqi officials on the establishment of the Interministerial Committee on Grave Child Rights Violations.
Mohammed Sahib Mejid Marzooq (Iraq) congratulated Government forces and their partners in liberating Mosul from the terrorist gangs of Da’esh.  In those operations, the Government had prioritized “people before land”, working to ensure civilian safety.  The fatwah issued by the supreme religious authority also had lent great momentum to that fight and work to preserve Iraq’s territory.
He said that, in the liberated areas, Iraq was restoring services and paving the way for 3 million displaced persons to return home.  It was in dire need of international support, especially in removing mines and other ordinances planted by Da’esh.  Such efforts were part of a plan for domestic governance which required financial and technical support, and consultations from international partners.

Welcoming efforts by Kuwait to alleviate the suffering of displaced Iraqis, as well by the European Union in supporting humanitarian and reconstruction needs, he reiterated the vital role of UNAMI and the United Nations country team in addressing those concerns.
Indeed, he said, Iraq was a unified federal State that enjoyed sovereignty based on a democratic federal Constitution adopted in 2005 by all segments of the population in a transparent referendum.  It reaffirmed the values of citizenry and political representation for all in its ministries and independent agencies.  With that in mind, it was important to implement resolutions 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2199 (2015) and 2253 (2015), and strengthen the rule of law.  Iraq was considering alternative ways to bring about justice, including through a draft resolution on evidence collection in crimes committed by Da’esh, and he pressed the Council to demand that Turkey withdraw its forces from Iraq.
More broadly, he said Iraq was working to strengthen its relations with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey and Iran, and continue its relations with Syria.  With Saudi Arabia, Iraq had established a coordination council, which both sides would elevate to the required strategic level.  They also had opened new cooperation in the areas of politics, security, economics, development, trade, culture and investment, and invigorated private sector partnerships to combat terrorism.  Iraq also would host preparatory meetings for the Mecca Conference.
Turning to the Kuwaiti file, he said Iraq was working to locate missing Kuwaiti persons and archives.  Furthermore, it was documenting witness information and carrying out field visits and excavations to find the remains of missing persons and Kuwaiti prisoners of war.  It would welcome the Council’s response to its request for extending UNAMI’s mandate for one year based on resolution 1770 (2007).
Luis Bermúdez (Uruguay) said Iraq’s victory over Da’esh was a huge step forward in the fight again terrorism internationally.  Crimes committed by Da’esh must not go unpunished.  The group was the product of a succession of unfortunate events starting with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, followed by the ideological intervention of certain countries in the region which provided arms, troops and supplies.  The United Nations must support reforms in Iraq and help ensure stability, he said, underscoring the need to fight corruption and ensure the rights of the entire population.
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, encouraged Iraq and its partners to rebuild infrastructure, ensure respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, focus on national reconciliation and facilitate the safe and voluntary return of internally displaced persons.  Proper attention also must be given to the issue of accountability for those who committed crimes against civilians, he said, underlining the need for the Government — with support from UNAMI and others — to undertake comprehensive security sector reforms.
Pedro Luis Inchauste Jordán (Bolivia), noting that 82,000 people had died in the campaign against Da’esh, robustly condemned all acts of terrorism, especially the use of civilians as human shields.  Those responsible must be investigated, prosecuted and punished.  He emphasized the need to focus on clearing all explosive remnants of war to enable the return of internally displaced persons.  He expressed hope that an electoral schedule and legal framework would be the fruit of consensus of all parties and stakeholders, and welcomed Iraq’s efforts regarding missing Kuwaiti citizens and property.


UN NEWS CENTER: Despite some improvements, food security remains dire in Syria – UN agencies

Source: https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=57198
18 July 2017 – In spite of improvements in wheat production in war-torn Syria – about 12 per cent more than last year's record low – the overall food security situation remains far worse than before the conflict, the United Nations food security and emergency food relief agencies have said.
According to UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), total wheat production estimates for 2017 stand at 1.8 million tonnes, in part due to an improved security situation. The estimate is, however, less than half of the pre-conflict ten-year average.
“The small improvement in the availability of food for Syrians is promising, but the needs remain high and more must be done to provide food for families affected by the crisis,” said Jakob Kern, WFP Country Director in Syria, said in a joint news release from the two UN agencies.
“With the evolving security situation, more farmers are expected to have access to cultivate their land again. Now is the time to step up our support, as agriculture is more important than ever for the livelihoods of many,” added Adam Yao, Acting FAO Representative in the country.
The improvements are also in part due to better rains which have increased water flows and water levels in many reservoirs, benefiting crops like wheat and barley, however high cost or unavailability of inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer, and the destruction of irrigation and storage infrastructure have added to the already complicated challenges before food growers.
Furthermore, opening of some supply routes have allowed trade to slowly recover but in many parts such as in eastern Aleppo, where the entire infrastructure and markets were devastated, the recovery has been at a very slow pace.
In the news release, the two UN agencies also noted that humanitarian access to some besieged areas has improved compared to last year but access to some places such as Deir-ez-Zor and Raqqa remain severely constrained.
Across the country, food prices continue to remain at record highs and an estimated 6.9 million Syrians are still food insecure and an additional 5.6 million people are likely to become food insecure without the regular food assistance they receive every month, they added.
The information provided by the UN agencies was gathered during their latest Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM), which visited Syria in May, this year. This is the fourth food security mission to the country since the onset of the crisis and each mission provides an impartial and balanced assessment of the agricultural and food security situation.

FOR MORE WORLD NEWS AND EVENTS SEE PAGE 2

Sen. Murray, Democrats Warn Trump Administration Against Further Efforts to Target Retirement Savings Programs

press release issued July 14th
Source: https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=A6E7C135-69BA-4775-83D9-353B4F9E5339

Washington D.C. – Today, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate HELP Committee, Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Bob Casey (D-PA), Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, and Richard Neal (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Committee, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin urging him to maintain and promote as planned the myRA program. The myRA program is a starter retirement savings account for individuals who are otherwise unable to save for retirement because they are not covered by an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan and/or they do not have enough savings to meet the minimum balance required to open a private-sector individual retirement account (IRA).
Democrats are concerned myRA is at risk following efforts by the Trump Administration to push Senate Republicans to thwart state and city-run retirement savings programs that would have benefited millions of people in Washington state and across the country.
“Given that this Administration has worked to reduce access to retirement plans for millions of Americans, it is more critical than ever for the Treasury to strengthen one of their remaining options for retirement savings,” wrote the members to Secretary Mnuchin.
Last December, it was reported that the Treasury Department would do more to highlight myRA on government websites, as well as promote it through TurboTax in an effort to bolster the program’s enrollees. Democrats are calling on Secretary Mnuchin to execute these plans swiftly.
“As you are no doubt aware, 55 million Americans lack access to a workplace retirement plan,” concluded the members. “We urge you to execute these plans swiftly and demonstrate that this Administration is committed to helping hardworking families save for retirement.”
Text of letter Sen. Murray sent:
Dear Secretary Mnuchin,

We write today to encourage the Treasury Department to demonstrate its commitment to the myRA program.  As you are aware, myRA is a starter retirement savings account for individuals who are otherwise unable to save for retirement because they are not covered by an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan or they do not have enough savings to meet the minimum balance required to open a private-sector individual retirement account (IRA).  Given that this Administration has worked to reduce access to retirement plans for millions of Americans, it is more critical than ever for the Treasury to strengthen one of their remaining options for retirement savings.
Earlier this year, under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the reversal of two rules promulgated by the Department of Labor in 2016.  The rules were designed to provide certainty to states and certain political subdivisions regarding the establishment of retirement savings programs for private-sector workers who are not covered by employer-sponsored retirement plans.  Last week the Department of Labor published these rule reversals in the Federal Register.[1] We strongly disagree with these actions given that the country is in the midst of a retirement crisis. As you are no doubt aware, 55 million Americans lack access to a workplace retirement plan.[2]  Moreover, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that almost half of all households with Americans age 55 and older have no retirement savings.[3]
Last December, it was reported that “[t]he Treasury Department said it will do more next year to highlight myRA on government websites, as well as promote it through TurboTax” in an effort to bolster the program’s enrollees.[4] We urge you to execute these plans swiftly and demonstrate that this Administration is committed to helping hardworking families save for retirement.


During Senate Hearing, Sen. Murray Secures Funding Commitment From Transportation Secretary Chao on Critical Puget Sound Transportation Project
press release issued July 14th
https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=04BB2891-99F4-4BB3-97F5-D28D5233D072

Washington, D.C.) –  Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, pushed U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao during a July 13 Senate hearing on federal funding for the Lynnwood Link Extension and secured a commitment from the Secretary that federal funds previously appropriated by Congress for the project will be disbursed. This multi-year transit project, a priority that would ease congestion in Puget Sound and boost the regional economy, is partially funded by the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program, the primary federal grant program that supports major public transit capital investments in Washington state and nationwide. Congress approved $100 million in funding for the Lynnwood Link Extension in last year’s budget, but President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request slashes the CIG program by $1.18 billion and would only fund projects which already have signed grant agreements with the federal government. Five projects in Washington state, including the Lynnwood Link Extension, could be negatively impacted by cuts to the CIG program, and Sen. Murray pressed Secretary Chao on whether funding for the project that was appropriated by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget would still be awarded to the Lynnwood Link Extension upon submission of their final proposal, prompting Secretary Chao to commit to following Congress’ directive to fund the project.

Sen. Murray’s questions follow several efforts to raise the importance of CIG funding for transportation projects in Washington state with the Trump Administration, including an April 6 letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging the inclusion of $2.3 billion for CIG in the FY18 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, written questions on CIG submitted for the record to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on May 25, and a June 8 letter to Director Mulvaney on CIG, as the Trump Administration’s rationale for eliminating funding for transit projects was increasing support at the local level through ballot initiatives and specifically calling out Seattle, Los Angeles, and Denver.


Short and Blase: “The fundamental error in the CBO’s health-care projections”
Shared on the White House webpage an op ed in the Washington Post
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/15/short-and-blase-fundamental-error-cbos-health-care-projections
 By Marc Short and Brian Blase, Washington Post, July 15, 2017

“The American people — and their representatives in Washington — deserve the most accurate assessment possible of the effects of critical health-care legislation. Although the CBO generally plays a valuable role in the legislative process, as Obamacare’s ongoing failure clearly demonstrates, the CBO’s health-care model is fundamentally flawed.”
In the coming days, the Congressional Budget Office will release an updated analysis of the Senate bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. The CBO will likely predict lower health insurance coverage rates if the bill becomes law. The American people and Congress should give this prediction little weight in assessing the bill’s merit.
The reason: The CBO’s methodology, which favors mandates over choice and competition, is fundamentally flawed. As a result, its past predictions regarding health-care legislation have not borne much resemblance to reality. Its prediction about the Senate bill is unlikely to fare much better.
The forthcoming analysis of the Senate bill will likely contain additional projection errors. It will almost certainly assume that many additional states would expand Medicaid under Obamacare, even though other agencies, such as the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, have determined this is highly unlikely. An assumption that states will expand Medicaid means that the CBO will determine that millions of people will “lose” Medicaid coverage under the Senate bill — but these people were never enrolled in the first place.
The American people — and their representatives in Washington — deserve the most accurate assessment possible of the effects of critical health-care legislation. Although the CBO generally plays a valuable role in the legislative process, as Obamacare’s ongoing failure clearly demonstrates, the CBO’s health-care model is fundamentally flawed. The CBO’s failure to update the model means its forthcoming analysis of the Senate bill will be no better — and perhaps worse — than its disproven Obamacare projections. Although the media and the political left will certainly seize on it, the CBO’s estimates will be little more than fake news.
Read full article from WP

 US TREASURY:  Fact Sheet: Social Security And Medicare Trustees Report
7/13/2017 ---press release date
https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/sm0122.aspx

WASHINGTON - Today the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees issued their annual financial review of the programs.
The projections indicate that income is sufficient to pay full scheduled benefits until 2028 for Social Security's Disability Insurance program, until 2029 for Medicare's Hospital Insurance program, and until 2035 for Social Security's Old Age and Survivors Insurance program.  The Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund remains adequately financed throughout the projection period, but only because SMI is financed, in part, by general revenues.
The Trustees project that Medicare costs will grow from approximately 3.6 percent of GDP in 2016 to 5.6 percent of GDP by 2041,  and will increase gradually thereafter to about 5.9 percent of GDP by 2091. The costs of the Social Security program equaled 5 percent of GDP in 2016 and are expected to rise to 6.1 percent of GDP by 2037, decline to 5.9 percent of GDP by 2050, and then rise slowly to 6.1 percent of GDP by 2091.
Social Security
The Social Security program consists of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund.  The Trustees project that the hypothetical combined Trust Funds will be depleted in 2034.  The 75-year actuarial deficit for the combined trust funds is estimated at 2.83 percent of taxable payroll, up from 2.66 percent of taxable payroll estimated in last year's Report.  This reflects a 0.05 percentage point worsening due to extending the projection period and valuation date one year, and a 0.12 percentage point worsening due to new data and improved projection methods.
While the projections for the combined Trust Funds are less favorable than last year, the near-term projections for the DI Trust Fund are more favorable.   It is now projected that the DI will have sufficient funds to pay full scheduled benefits until 2028, five later than projected last year due to lower-than-expected recent applications for and awards of DI benefits.
Social Security's total income from taxes and interest is projected to exceed its total costs through 2021; however, cost is projected to exceed non-interest income throughout the projection period. This deficit will average approximately $51 billion between 2017 and 2020.

Medicare
Medicare has two Trust Funds: the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund and the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund.  The Trustees project that the HI Trust Fund will be able to pay full scheduled benefits until 2029, a year later than projected in last year's report.   After trust fund depletion in 2029, the share of scheduled benefits that can be paid from dedicated revenues is 88 percent for the remainder of 2029, declines slowly to 81 percent in 2041, and then rises gradually to 88 percent in 2091.
The 75-year actuarial deficit in the HI Trust Fund is projected at 0.64 percent of taxable payroll, down from 0.73 percent projected in last year's report. This improvement reflects a 0.01 percentage point worsening due to extending the projection period and valuation date one year, and a 0.10 percentage point improvement due to new data and changed assumptions.
The SMI Trust Fund, which includes Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D, remains adequately financed into the future due to financing being derived from general revenues and beneficiary premiums.  The aging population and rising health care costs have driven the costs of the programs to rise steadily from 2.1 percent of GDP in 2016 to approximately 3.4 percent of GDP in 2037. Three quarters of these costs will be financed from general revenues, while the remaining will be financed from premiums paid by beneficiaries.
After the Reports are transmitted to Congress, the Social Security report will be posted at https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2017/index.html and the Medicare report will be posted at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/ReportsTrustFunds/
(Related story on page 3)


In today's edition

page 2
MORE STATE RELATED STORIES

 page 3
BUSINESS AND FINANCE

Page 4
WORLD & NATIONAL

 Cantwell & Bipartisan Group of Senators Urge DOD to Accelerate Transfer of Excess Military Vehicles to Support Fire Departments
Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter today to Defense Secretary James Mattis urging the Department of Defense (DOD) to reverse direction on implementing new red tape that would slow the transfer of excess federal vehicles and equipment to state and local fire departments.
In February 2017, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) issued new guidance for demilitarizing non-combat military vehicles deemed in excess to DOD. The new guidance also covered trucks that would normally be transferred to state and local firefighter departments through the DOD’s Firefighter Property (FFP) program.  Local firefighting departments would be required to obtain special certificates, which necessitate collecting Social Security numbers and performing background checks on all of the firefighters affiliated with the agency, in order to continue to be eligible to receive excess equipment.  Fire service organizations warn that the new guidance will make it more difficult for local departments to obtain the vehicles, and some departments say they will be forced to abandon the FFP program.
“Several states have reported that the burden associated with these new requirements will cause delays in vehicle transfers and force some states to terminate their participation in the FFP program altogether,” the senators wrote. “As the United States continues to struggle with growth in wildfires and suppression costs, now is a highly inopportune time to impede the abilities of local fire departments to acquire vehicles under the FFP program.”
The FFP is a program that helps local firefighting agencies obtain excess government vehicles and equipment that the local agencies could not otherwise afford. Over the last 10 years, $1.2 billion worth of equipment has been donated to state and local firefighting agencies through this program.  The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has partnered with Joint Base Lewis-McChord in carrying out this program, and there are over 130 other local firefighting departments in Washington that also qualify for this program.
“The IAFC thanks Senator Cantwell for her continued leadership in combating wildland fires across Washington and the United States. FFP is an important program which allows fire departments to have access to excess vehicles and fire trucks which ordinarily would have been out of their reach. These vehicles significantly improve the ability of fire departments to protect their communities. The IAFC appreciates the work of Senator Cantwell and others to ensure fire departments can continue accessing these important vehicles,” said Chief John Sinclair, the Fire Chief of the Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue Department and President and Chair of the Board of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
The letter is cosigned by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), James Inhofe (R-OK), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Carper (D-DE), James Lankford (R-OK), John Barrasso (R-WY), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Steve Daines (R-MT).----from press release issued July 14th ( see text of letter on page 2)





Cantwell Speaks Out on New Junk Insurance Provision of Latest Trumpcare Bill
Cantwell: “So it turns out that these junk plans… don't even count as insurance, and everybody that's in the real insurance market would then end up having to pay more.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate to oppose the latest version of Senate Republicans’ Trumpcare bill, released earlier this afternoon.
The Senator called out a new provision added to the bill allowing insurers to sell “junk” plans that would not cover essential health benefits, which must be covered under current law. She noted a similar strategy was attempted in Washington state in the 1990s.
“The state of Washington tried this… a group of state legislators allowed these junk plans to be sold along with compliant plans. Guess what happened? Nearly all of the insurers in our state pulled out of the individual insurance market and a death spiral ensued. Why? Because the cost then of that individual market was so high and so great, they couldn't service it,” said Cantwell in her remarks.
A transcript of the senator’s remarks can be found below:
Sen. Cantwell: Thank you, Mr. President. I know my Republican colleagues are working on a version of the health care bill that they have been talking about today, and I know my colleagues are going to try to say they are protecting the sickest of Americans, and they are saying that they do want to insure people with preexisting conditions so that they don't have to pay through the nose. But I think the president called the House version of this attempt a very mean bill. I think the original Senate bill was just as mean if not meaner, and the number of people that were cut off of Medicaid over a period of time can be left without access to care.
Today's bill now also includes an amendment, or a package of ideas, by my colleagues from Texas and Utah, a provision that allows insurers to sell junk insurance on the individual market as long as they offer at least one plan that is real insurance. Then insurers could also offer a bunch of plans that, as CBO called them, aren't really insurance. That is, they could just cover one or two things, and, yes, they would be cheaper, but if CBO doesn't even consider them insurance, how are they insurance? So I think the whole notion of junk insurance being invested into this bill is very problematic.
Under junk insurance plans, you could limit or deny coverage of essential benefits, including hospitalization, maternity care, preventative care, prescription drugs, laboratory care, and substance abuse treatment. So that's what you could limit, and we wouldn't want those limited. This is why CBO says if you can't go to the hospital and get care, then it's not really insurance, and I have to agree with them on that. These plans could charge people more, or simply deny them, based on preexisting conditions, and these plans could offer policies that pay out less than 60% of the health care expenses, leaving beneficiaries with these insurmountable deductibles that would make it hard for them to pay.
And these plans would also impose a lifetime cap on insurance. I just had a young woman come to my office today who has been treated at Seattle Children's Hospital in my state. They live in a neighboring state but Seattle Children's Hospital is such a regional entity in the state of Washington, in Seattle, and we're so proud of that, but they told me about the debilitating disease that this young child was born with and how many surgeries she had. Literally, the brain treatments that she has had to receive, she told me and her mother told me, if there had ever been any type of lifetime caps, ‘we would have exhausted them in the first few years.’ I'm so proud that she came to see us today and is continuing to talk about why capping health care plans would be so devastating to somebody like her. ( Remarks of speech continued page 2)




 WASH. State AGO FILES CAMPAIGN FINANCE COMPLAINT AGAINST KITTITAS COUNTY DEMOCRATS
OLYMPIA —The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) filed a complaint in Thurston County Superior Court today alleging campaign finance violations by the Kittitas County Democrats. Specifically, the AGO asserts the committee failed to timely report a total of $18,639 in contributions and $16,277 in expenditures in 2012 and between 2014 and 2017.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson recused himself from any involvement in the matter.
In May, the AGO received a Citizen Action Notice alleging multiple violations of the state’s public disclosure laws by the Kittitas County Democrats.
After receiving the notice, AGO staff determined the Kittitas County Democrats failed to timely file numerous reports of contributions received and expenditures made during the years of 2012 and 2014-2017.
Among the reporting deficiencies, the Kittitas County Democrats:
Failed to timely disclose $18,639 in contributions on 77 separate reports, ranging from one to 198 days late.
Failed to timely disclose $16,277 in expenditures made and in-kind contributions received on 31 separate reports, ranging from one to 519 days late.
In May 2016, the Kittitas County Democrats were fined by the Public Disclosure Commission for failing to timely report contributions and expenditures for 2013. The commission imposed a $500 penalty with $400 suspended, so long as the committee did not violate campaign finance laws within four years.
The state seeks penalties and injunctive relief. The defendant will have 20 days from the date they are served to respond to the state’s complaint.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Linda Dalton is handling the case.
When the Attorney General’s Office receives a Citizen Action Notice, it has 45 days to investigate and respond to the citizen. If the Attorney General’s Office or local prosecutor does not initiate litigation, the individual may sue in the name of the state. If litigation is successful, any penalties awarded go to the state, and the individual’s attorney can recover attorney fees and costs. If the citizen’s litigation is unsuccessful, the defendant may recover attorney fees from the state.
The Attorney General’s Office enforces the state’s campaign finance disclosure law to ensure free, open and fair elections in Washington state. A summary of campaign finance case resolutions is available here. http://www.atg.wa.gov/enforcement-campaign-finance-laws
From press release issued July 14th
http://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ago-files-campaign-finance-complaint-against-kittitas-county-democrats


 DOH: State disciplines health care providers
OLYMPIA -- The Washington State Department of Health has taken disciplinary actions or withdrawn charges against health care providers in our state.
The department’s Health Systems Quality Assurance Division works with boards, commissions, and advisory committees to set licensing standards for more than 80 health care professions (e.g., medical doctors, nurses, counselors).
Information about health care providers is on the agency website. Click on “Look up a health care provider license” in the “How Do I?” section of the Department of Health website (doh.wa.gov). The site includes information about a health care provider’s license status, the expiration and renewal date of their credential, disciplinary actions and copies of legal documents issued after July 1998. This information is also available by calling 360-236-4700. Consumers who think a health care provider acted unprofessionally are encouraged to call and report their complaint.
Benton County
In May 2017 the secretary of health denied an agency-affiliated counselor credential to Keyton Riley Sykes (CG60713550). Between 2013 and 2015, Sykes was convicted of three gross misdemeanors and five misdemeanors.
In June 2017 the secretary of health conditionally granted a certified medical assistant credential to Chelsey Nicole Mortimore (CM60465982) and ordered her to complete continuing education in anger management. In 2015 the state Department of Social and Health Services found that Mortimore abused a vulnerable adult and will not allow her to be employed in caring for or having unsupervised access to vulnerable adults. Her home care aide application was denied in 2016 as a result of that finding.
Clark County
In June 2017 the Nursing Commission entered an agreement with registered nurse Deanna Lea McShane (RN60208635) that requires her to participate in a substance abuse monitoring program. McShane didn’t comply with a previous substance abuse monitoring contract.
In June 2017 the secretary of health ended probation for registered medical assistant Anita Marie Bailor (MR60414915). (continue page 2)

page 2: Continued stories from page 1


page 3: BUSINESS & FINANCE
US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Why America Needs a Fully Functional Ex-Im Bank

page 4 ( World & National News)
Security Council Extends Mandate of United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2367 (2017)

Kilmer, Herrera Beutler Successfully Add Funding for Fishery Disasters in Washington state to Key Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03) successfully added $20 million for fishery disasters in Washington state to a key House Appropriations Bill. The U.S. Department of Commerce in January issued multiple fishery disaster declarations in Washington state.
The commercial fishery failures impacted communities along the Olympic Peninsula and Southwest Washington. The announcement cleared the way for additional resources to be brought in to help mitigate the economic distress felt by these communities and support efforts to restore salmon runs, but up to this point, no funding had been approved by Congress.
This investment mean jobs,” said Kilmer. “Declines in salmon runs have impacted our communities – everyone from the worker at the bait and tackle shop to the folks running a boat. Now, we are taking concrete steps to actually get the resources our region needs to restore our runs and keep the economy moving forward.”
“A lot of hardworking folks along our coastal communities have been impacted by the fishery disasters – fishing guides, commercial and charter fleets, resorts, and other local businesses that depend on a healthy fishing industry,” said Herrera Beutler. “It’s important that we assist communities where livelihoods rely on our fisheries when a disaster is declared.”
The disaster declarations the members previously pushed for include: 2015-2016 Quileute Tribe Dungeness crab, 2015 Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay coho salmon, and 2015 Quinault Indian National Grays Harbor coho salmon. Fishing communities have been eligible for investments in projects that could encourage fishery recovery and job training, among other initiatives.
The commercial and recreational fishing industry in Washington state alone supports over 67,000 jobs and contributes over $300 million in revenue. The fishing and processing industry in Pacific County contributes over $150,000,000 to the local economy. In Grays Harbor County, the 2015 landing for Westport totaled more than 80 million pounds and was valued at roughly $65 million.
The members originally called for the declarations in letters to U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker last December. ----press release issued from Kilmer July 13th

During Senate Hearing, Sen. Murray Secures Funding Commitment From Transportation Secretary Chao on Critical Puget Sound Transportation Project

(Washington, D.C.) –  Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, pushed U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao during a July 13 Senate hearing on federal funding for the Lynnwood Link Extension and secured a commitment from the Secretary that federal funds previously appropriated by Congress for the project will be disbursed. This multi-year transit project, a priority that would ease congestion in Puget Sound and boost the regional economy, is partially funded by the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program, the primary federal grant program that supports major public transit capital investments in Washington state and nationwide. Congress approved $100 million in funding for the Lynnwood Link Extension in last year’s budget, but President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request slashes the CIG program by $1.18 billion and would only fund projects which already have signed grant agreements with the federal government. Five projects in Washington state, including the Lynnwood Link Extension, could be negatively impacted by cuts to the CIG program, and Sen. Murray pressed Secretary Chao on whether funding for the project that was appropriated by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget would still be awarded to the Lynnwood Link Extension upon submission of their final proposal, prompting Secretary Chao to commit to following Congress’ directive to fund the project.
Sen. Murray’s questions follow several efforts to raise the importance of CIG funding for transportation projects in Washington state with the Trump Administration, including an April 6 letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging the inclusion of $2.3 billion for CIG in the FY18 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, written questions on CIG submitted for the record to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on May 25, and a June 8 letter to Director Mulvaney on CIG, as the Trump Administration’s rationale for eliminating funding for transit projects was increasing support at the local level through ballot initiatives and specifically calling out Seattle, Los Angeles, and Denver.---press release issued July 14th

ON PAGE 2: VETERANS: Sen. Murray Secures IVF Coverage, Caregiver Services, Mental Health Programs and More in Military and Veterans Bill

ON PAGE 3:  Statement from Inslee regarding newest U.S. Senate Republican health care proposal/ local meetings and commentary

 PAGE 4: Secretary-General Launches First-Ever Action Plan for Religious Leaders, Actors on Preventing Incitement to Violence


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Murray, Cantwell on Secretary Zinke’s National Monuments Review

Hanford Reach National Monument Is Off the Table
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, spoke to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about his proposed recommendation not to make changes to the Hanford Reach National Monument. The Senators made the following statements:
“Today, the Department of the Interior confirmed what so many Washingtonians have known all along—that the Hanford Reach, designated after years of collaboration in the Tri-Cities community, is worthy of protection for generations to come,” said Sen. Patty Murray, who led efforts in the 1990s to establish the Hanford Reach National Monument. “I commend everyone who made their voice heard during this process. Because of you, the Trump Administration is getting the message loud and clear that families in our state and around the country are ready to fight back against ill-conceived efforts to roll back protections for our prized public lands.”
"Today, I reminded Secretary Zinke that President Trump does not have the authority to rescind the lawful status of our protected national monuments in the first place and taxpayer dollars should have never been used for the Trump administration’s unlawful attack on the Antiquities Act,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell. “Now that Secretary Zinke agrees that the protection for the Hanford Reach National Monument should not be changed, the Trump Administration should abandon this review and the ill-advised effort to undermine national monuments altogether. An attack on one of our national monuments is an attack on all of them.”---press release issued July 12th
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/murray-cantwell-on-secretary-zinkes-national-monuments-review



Related story
US DEPT of INTERIOR: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s Statement on the End of the Monuments Review Public Comment Period
(WASHINGTON) – On Monday, July 10, the formal public comment period closed for the review of national monuments. More than 1.2 million comments were received on Regulations.gov and thousands more were received via traditional mail. Twenty-seven national monuments designated since January 1, 1996 that are more than 100,000 acres, or that were considered to have inadequate public input are under review in accordance with President Donald J. Trump’s April 26, 2017, executive order.
“Too often under previous administrations, decisions were made in the Washington, D.C., bubble, far removed from the local residents who actually work the land and have to live with the consequences of D.C.’s actions. This monument review is the exact opposite,” said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. “President Trump and I opened the formal public comment period – the first-ever for monuments designated under the Antiquities Act – in order to give local stakeholders a voice in the decision-making process. After hearing some feedback, I'd like to remind and reassure folks that even if a monument is modified, the land will remain under federal ownership. I am strictly opposed to the sale or transfer of our public lands, and nothing in this review changes that policy.
“These comments, in addition to the extensive on-the-ground tours of monuments and meetings with stakeholders, will help inform my recommendations on the monuments,” Zinke said. “I appreciate everyone who took the time to log-on or write in and participate in our government.”
As required by the executive order, Secretary Zinke submitted an interim report to the White House in June with various recommendations and observations on Bears Ears National Monument, which suggested the monument be reduced in size to conform with the intent of the Antiquities Act, that of designating the smallest compatible area. [Update:  Version with text is available here.] The report also recommended the creation of a national conservation area, and official co-management by the local Tribal governments.
The report came after Zinke spent several days on the ground in Utah touring the monument ​by air, car, foot, and horseback,  speaking with stakeholders from Tribal, local, state and federal government, as well as representatives from the conservation, historic preservation, agriculture, tourism, and education sectors. The Secretary met with the Bears Ears InterTribal Coalition while ​in Salt Lake City ​on May 7, and the Acting Deputy Secretary Jim Cason held a four-hour follow-up meeting with the Bears Ears Commission and the InterTribal Coalition on May 25.
The Secretary also traveled to Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, and to Boston to hold meetings on the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument off the coast of New England. The Secretary plans to visit Oregon, New Mexico, and Nevada in the coming weeks.
Regarding the comment period, the executive order stated:

In making the requisite determinations, the Secretary is directed to consider:
(i) the requirements and original objectives of the Act, including the Act’s requirement that reservations of land not exceed “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected”;
(ii) whether designated lands are appropriately classified under the Act as “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, [or] other objects of historic or scientific interest”;
(iii) the effects of a designation on the available uses of designated Federal lands, including consideration of the multiple-use policy of section 102(a)(7) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(7)), as well as the effects on the available uses of Federal lands beyond the monument boundaries;
(iv) the effects of a designation on the use and enjoyment of non-Federal lands within or beyond monument boundaries;
(v) concerns of State, tribal, and local governments affected by a designation, including the economic development and fiscal condition of affected States, tribes, and localities;
(vi) the availability of Federal resources to properly manage designated areas; and
(vii) such other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.
(from the press release from the Interior Dept. dated July 11th)
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-secretary-ryan-zinkes-statement-end-monuments-review-public-comment-period





 On Day of Action, Cantwell Defends Open Internet Protections
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, on the Net Neutrality Day of Action, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) took to the Senate floor to defend net neutrality – the rules that maintain an open and free internet. Cantwell stressed the importance of an open and free internet to Washington businesses, the internet economy, and everyday consumers.
“We're here today to draw attention to one of those important economic issues before us -- the need to preserve an open internet with strong net neutrality laws. We do not want to see American consumers run over by large cable companies who are demanding and demanding higher rates,” said Cantwell in her floor remarks. “Net neutrality, meaning you have an open internet that's not artificially slowed down unless you pay a ransom, is important for small businesses and start-ups and entrepreneurs who rely so much now on an integrated business model where internet access, marketing, advertising, products, and services to reach customers is critical. We need an open internet.”
In May, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai began the process of abandoning net neutrality, neglecting his agency’s responsibility to act in the public interest. Rolling back the rules threatens to erase the opportunities created by equal access and chokes the internet’s powerful economic engine, one that has been roaring since the rules were passed in 2015.
Earlier this month, Senator Cantwell hosted pro-net neutrality FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for a town hall focused on net neutrality. The two heard directly from constituents about the benefits of a free and open internet and how rolling back net neutrality protections would hurt their jobs and businesses.
In the Senate, Cantwell led the charge to establish net neutrality rules and ensure equal access to the internet. She was an early advocate for the FCC to take up net neutrality and used her position as a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee to keep continuous pressure on the Commission during the drafting and implementation of the Open Internet Order – the rules that enshrine net neutrality – in 2015.
A full transcript of Senator Cantwell’s remarks is below.
Sen. Cantwell: Mr. President, I come to the floor with my colleagues. The senator from Hawaii has been coordinating a loud and resounding voice to stop the FCC. I want to thank him for his organization. We'll be joined by our colleague, Senator Wyden from Oregon, and perhaps the other senator from Oregon and several others to talk about this issue. We're here today to draw attention to one of those important economic issues before us – the need to preserve an open internet with strong net neutrality laws. We're facing a pivotal moment. A strong and open internet is without question one of the great innovations of our time and one of the great job creators of our time. Yet, the Trump Administration stands poised to undo the bedrock principle of [net] neutrality in the face of evidence that we know means it would undermine our economy and undermine future job growth.
The FCC has announced its intention to go against the demands of five million American consumers and reverse what is an existing recall so that big cable companies and telecom providers could erect toll lanes. That is, if you want fast internet speed, you have to pay more. This would threaten a fundamental nature of our internet and an innovation economy.
Last week, FCC Commissioner Clyburn and I had a town meeting on net neutrality in Seattle. More than 300 people attended and not one was in favor of paying higher prices to their cable company for worse or inhibited internet services. Many people shared their personal stories about how the internet with toll lanes would affect them negatively, and we heard from many small businesses and start-ups that they were afraid of losing business because they might have to charge higher prices to their customers if these important protections were reversed. I heard from people that have health problems and their concerns about health emergencies while at home and the fact that the absence of net neutrality rules would mean that their small hometown doctor could not get critical information to the medical practitioners who are dealing with a patient in an emergency so that they could get important life-saving treatments.
So whether you're a doctor examining a patient via telemedicine in an emergency room in Seattle or a student in a rural community trying to access the internet to get information for a test or research, a fast connection is not just something that you have a little concern about. Being artificially slowed down in favor of big companies that buy faster lanes would turn our economy in the wrong direction. Our economy is in the midst of a massive technological transformation. As technology advances, incredible opportunities and new jobs are created. Every business plan and every start-up relies on the ability to get access to its consumers and to get access to content. So largely as a result of innovation and proliferation of hundreds of start-ups in the United States, the internet economy today is now worth $966 billion and accounts for almost 6% of our GDP. This is a higher percentage of the US economy than any other industry sector including construction, mining, utilities, agriculture, and education.
So net neutrality, meaning you have an open internet that's not artificially slowed down unless you pay a ransom, is important for small businesses and start-ups and entrepreneurs who rely so much now on an integrated business model where internet access, marketing, advertising, products, and services to reach customers is critical. So we need an open internet. We need it to foster job creation, competition, innovation, and the almost three million Americans who already rely on that internet economy today. When net neutrality was implemented a year-plus ago, we were protecting and making sure that there was no un-level playing field. Basically because of the regulations, we were able to help small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive. But our internet providers and our internet gatekeepers, without net neutrality, would be seized upon by gatekeepers who wanted to change that position.
One slice of the internet economy, the app economy, which is growing every single day, consists of everybody who makes money and has a job thanks to applications and mobile apps powered by the internet. Today, 1.7 million Americans have jobs because of this economy. Nearly 92,000 of those are in my state of Washington. And over the past five years, the app economy has grown at an annual rate of 30%. I don't know another sector that's growing that fast. The average rate for all other jobs is about 1.6%. So by 2020, the app economy could grow to over $100 billion.
Why is this so important? Because we all know that these various applications and apps make our lives better. They make it easier. They're helping us in a busy world do the things that are so important to us with more ease and more certainty. The internet economy is dynamic and supercharged in creating this job growth. And this phenomenon of economic growth and trajectory would not be able without the internet as a platform for economic activity. This is why it's so important that the FCC not, in the dark of night, put down a rule without public comment to try to stop and change this direction that has already been protected by past FCC commissioners. That's why my colleagues and I are here today on a date when everybody is trying to raise awareness because the FCC could act as early as August 17 to try to change these rules.
It's important we oppose new FCC action trying to dismantle an open internet. We need to make sure that we are talking about the harm to consumers, the harm to innovation, and that internet speeds for American consumers are important and they shouldn't be burdened by a cable company telling you, holding you at ransom to pay more just to get faster speeds. Consumers are already struggling with high prices. Cable bills rose 39% from 2011 to 2015, eight times the rate of inflation. In 2015 average cable consumer TV bill was $99 a month. Just a year later, the average consumer cable bill had risen by 4 % to $103. My guess is a lot of people listening to this now are probably thinking, boy, where are we today?
One of the most popular arguments by the enemies of an open internet is say it suppresses investment and leaves consumers with poor broadband infrastructure. Well, that's a false claim. Data shows that investment by publicly traded cable companies and big telephone companies was 5% higher during the two-year period following our protection of an open internet. So clearly people are continuing to make investment. So, Mr. President, I want to make sure that people understand that we do not want to see a change in this policy. We do not want to see American consumers run over by large cable companies who are demanding and demanding higher rates. We want to make sure that we don't end up with a two-tiered internet system, one for big companies who will pay and pay and pay for faster rates and consumers who are left with a very slowed-down, economically-challenged internet that makes it hard for us to continue to innovate. So I encourage the American consumer to go out and contact the FCC Yes, your voice can be heard. The FCC has already received five million comments, and they have until August 17 to hear more. Today we're asking everybody in America to say ‘please don't slow down my internet connection. Don't hurt our economy. Don't hurt American business. Invest in innovation and keep an open internet for the future.’ I thank the President, and I yield the floor. ------from the press release issued July 12th
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/on-day-of-action-cantwell-defends-open-internet-protections

ON PAGE 2:  AGO FILES CAMPAIGN FINANCE COMPLAINT AGAINST SEIU WASHINGTON STATE COUNCIL

Sen. Murray highlighted stories of WA state constituents who are in recovery from opioid addiction, rely on Medicaid, but are scared that Trumpcare will set them back

Washington D.C. – Led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate health committee, today Senate Democrats took to the Senate floor to share stories from their constituents on the damage Trumpcare will cause and urge advocates and families to keep making their voices heard in opposition.
Last week, Sen. Murray heard directly from several patients and providers in Everett and Seattle about how devastating Trumpcare would be to Washington state, including local efforts to address the opioid crisis. In her Senate floor speech, Sen. Murray talked about meeting with Daniel Veach and Rachael Erks, who both shared how Medicaid has helped them continue their recovery from substance use disorder, but now worry that if Trumpare is passed, all the progress they’ve made would be at risk. In Washington state, over 260,000 people with Medicaid would lose coverage and nearly 30,000 patients could lose access to treatment for opioid addiction and other substance use disorders under Trumpcare.

Full text of Senator Murray’s floor speech:
"M. President, from the moment President Trump and Republicans began trying to jam Trumpcare through Congress, I heard from family after family in my home state about the damage their efforts to undermine families’ health care would do. And this last week was no different.
Again and again, my constituents told me what a difference it makes to have affordable insurance—to know that benefits like substance use treatment are covered—and to worry about how they would  manage if Trumpcare ever becomes law.
I know some of my Republican colleagues went out of their way to avoid these kinds of stories while they were home, so I wanted to make sure they hear a few examples now that they are back in town. And I appreciate my Democratic colleagues who will be sharing stories they heard from their constituents over the past few days as well.
M. President, like many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I come from a state where the opioid epidemic has had a devastating impact. It has been both heartbreaking and inspiring to talk with patients and families who are doing everything they can do fight back. And right now, the message I’m getting from them—loud and clear—is: we don’t want Trumpcare.
One of my constituents, Daniel, was injured in the military and given a prescription for painkillers. He was on them for eight years—and during that time, he told me his three daughters wondered why he wouldn’t play with them. Eventually Daniel changed doctors and was prescribed Suboxone, which made all the difference for him.
He’s now able to work again and manages a grocery store—but he relies on Medicaid for health care coverage, which covers the hundreds of dollars a month his prescription costs. Daniel says that if he loses Medicaid coverage under Trumpcare, he won’t be able to make ends meet—and all of his progress would be threatened.
I also heard from my constituent Rachael in Seattle, who was addicted to opioids and living in her car when she found out she was eligible for Medicaid. Rachael got connected with Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, where she received wraparound health services, including mental and primary health care.
She and her husband are now successfully in recovery and raising a family, and Rachael is going to school. But just like Daniel—they do not know what they will do if Trumpcare becomes law and Medicaid coverage is taken away from them.
These are just two of countless stories I’ve heard from patients, families, and doctors in my home state and nationwide. I’ve heard from cancer survivors who have fought back as hard as they can—and worry that Trumpcare will allow insurance companies to price them out of care because they’re labeled with a pre-existing condition.
Young parents of medically fragile children, who stay up at night worrying about how to afford care for their toddler if lifetime caps on coverage are imposed under Trumpcare. Seniors who simply don’t have the savings to cover the premium spikes that Trumpcare would cause.
Women and men who are furious—and rightly so—that a group of 13 men wrote a bill in secret to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of women’s health care, removing a quality, affordable provider from communities where it is already difficult to get care.
These stories are powerful. They make it undeniably clear just how much Trumpcare would hurt people. So it’s no wonder that Senate Republicans spent the last week laying low and avoiding defending the indefensible.
M. President, Senate Republicans have read the same independent Congressional Budget Office analysis as we have. They’ve heard from the countless doctors, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes, and patient advocates about all the ways Trumpcare would raise families’ costs and take away coverage.
They know that people across the country completely, resoundingly reject Trumpcare. It is the least popular bill in three decades according to one study. All in all, Trumpcare shatters every promise President Trump and Republicans made about “providing insurance to everybody” and “making sure no one is worse off.”
And—incredibly—the extreme right-wing still thinks it leaves too much of the Affordable Care Act intact! But M. President—even though it seems you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wants to stick up for Trumpcare—including President Trump—Senate Republican leaders are still doing everything they can to jam it through Congress as quickly as they can.
They’re working on backroom deals as we speak. And coming up with new ways to sweeten the deal for Senate Republicans who are rightly wary of voting for a bill that would so clearly do so much harm.

In particular I want to address the ongoing effort by extreme conservative Senators to double-down on pulling the rug out from under patients with pre-existing conditions.
They’ve put together a two-track plan to make middle class workers and families pay more…
If they get their way, Trumpcare will tell patients with pre-existing conditions—or anyone who happens to get sick in the middle of the year—“tough luck”…
…and they will do that in a way that even conservative experts predict will cause premiums to skyrocket…
And everyone else will be burdened with dramatically higher out-of-pocket costs when they need care.
Senate Republicans are coming up with other ideas too—like an opioid fund that a Republican governor said is like “spitting in the ocean.”
But let me be clear: there is no “fixing” Trumpcare. No tweak around the edges is going to turn Trumpcare—which is just a tax break for special interests in the health industry on the backs of patients—into a health care bill that actually helps people.

Trumpcare is mean at its core—and unless it is dropped altogether, Senate Republicans are going to have to decide whether they stand with their party or the people they came here to represent.
So—to everyone who has called, written, rallied, or tweeted—you are having an impact.  You are why Trumpcare isn’t already law. But you can’t give up now—and Democrats here in the Senate won’t either.
We are going to keep doing everything we can to make sure Senate Republicans can’t hold their noses and vote for Trumpcare just to hand big corporations a tax break and President Trump a hollow political win.
And I also want to remind my Senate Republican colleagues—again—we’ve made clear all along—there is a better way. Democrats are ready and willing to work with you on policies that make health care more affordable and workable for patients and families.
So I hope you listen to the stories my Democratic colleagues are bringing to the floor, think about how devastating Trumpcare would be, and do the right thing by dropping this mean bill once and for all so that we can get to work on real healthcare solutions that help more people afford care, get covered, and stay healthy.
If you do—you won’t have to defend this defenseless bill a minute longer. Thank you and I yield the floor. "-----from a press release issued July 11th
https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=7B34ACE3-B463-4C6D-A4C8-C42BFBE0C913

 Related Story from the White House: White House Statement on CEA Analysis of BCRA Medicaid Provisions

"The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) has analyzed the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) estimate of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), particularly the bill’s effect on Medicaid since this effect has not been adequately analyzed. Although CBO’s estimates should be discounted because of the large errors made by the agency in estimating the toll of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), CEA’s analysis provides important information about the undescriptive CBO estimate regarding BCRA’s effect on federal Medicaid spending.
While the media has reported that the BCRA makes significant Medicaid “cuts,” the BCRA results in at least $265 billion more federal Medicaid spending between 2018 and 2026, relative to 2017 levels of spending. This spending could be as high as $554 billion if CBO is wrong that people will drop Medicaid coverage simply because of repealing the individual mandate. Moreover, a large part of the reported “cuts,” which are actually reductions in the rate of federal Medicaid spending growth, result from CBO’s unlikely assumption that more than half of non-expansion states adopt the Medicaid expansion by 2026. Of crucial importance, the BCRA puts Medicaid on a sustainable trajectory. Specifically:
CEA found that in CBO’s analysis of the BCRA, 60 percent of the reduction in future increases in Medicaid spending will result from repealing the individual mandate and ending the enhanced match rate for states that have not already adopted Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
CEA estimated that repealing the individual mandate will result in Medicaid spending over the next decade to be $289 billion less than under current law as CBO believes that 4 million people, on net, in 2018 and 7 million people, on net, in 2026 will leave Medicaid. This estimate is likely substantially inflated since Medicaid enrollees currently pay little to no out of pocket costs and most are not subject to the individual mandate penalty.
CEA found that CBO’s analysis assumes that more than half of non-Medicaid expansion states will choose to adopt expansion under current law, and therefore Medicaid spending will increase by $170 billion over the next decade. But given that state legislatures in several expansion states, such as Ohio and Arkansas, are trying to trim Medicaid expansion due to cost overruns and that states’ share of the expansion bill increases over time, it is unlikely that many non-expansion states would adopt the expansion by 2026. In direct contrast to the CBO estimate, the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does not predict additional states will expand under current law.
CEA found that the remainder of reduced federal Medicaid spending over the next decade from CBO’s analysis totals $313 billion and is largely attributable to the phase-down of the enhanced match rate from 2021 to 2024 and structural Medicaid reforms. The phase-down of the enhanced match rate must occur for two important reasons. First, the Federal Government’s discrimination against traditional populations, such as the disabled and low-income children, pregnant women, and seniors in favor of the expansion population of non-disabled, working-age adults must end. Second, expansion costs are substantially higher than expected as many expansion states have richly rewarded healthcare special interests with federal money through the enhanced match.
The structural Medicaid reforms—capped allotments combined with additional state flexibility—will help preserve the program for those who truly depend on it while protecting taxpayers against wasteful and inefficient spending.'----From a press release issued July
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/12/white-house-statement-cea-analysis-bcra-medicaid-provisions

ON PAGE 2: Washington ranked No. 1 state for business
This year’s CNBC Top States for Business ranking looks at workforce, infrastructure, quality of living, more