President Donald Trump done so far part 2

Donald Trump done so far  link to story

January 19
Presidential Proclamation 119: [Proclaiming] January 22, 2018, As National Sanctity of Human Life Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential tradition dating back to 1984, although Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did not observe it, this proclamation ostensibly reaffirms America’s commitment to fighting the dehumanization of certain classes of people based on race, ability, or similar categories. However it is primarily concerned with asserting the executive branch’s commitment to protecting unborn children. To wit, it’s a reaffirmation of Trump’s pro-life, anti-abortion credentials, gussied up with text about protecting mothers, the elder, and the disabled.
Who It Will Affect: As always, pro-life groups will mark this day with commemorations for aborted fetuses and other anti-abortion events. These groups will be happy to see the White House making this day as well. But it’ll piss off the pro-choice camp, as it usually does.


January 12
Presidential Proclamation 117: [Proclaiming] January 15, 2018, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation commemorates Martin Luther King, Jr.’s contributions to the civil rights movement in American, and this year marks the 50-year anniversary of his assassination. Trump’s text acknowledges that King’s work reminds us that America can easily slip into injustice, against which we must endeavor to fight. It further claims that his administration is fighting for equality, through economic development, which will bring jobs and prosperity to marginalized communities. It also calls for Americans to not just mark the say with commemorations of King, but with acts of community service.
Who It Will Affect: Americans across the nation marked King’s birthday with the usual acts of service and remembrance, just as Trump’s order suggests. However many also used the day to point out Trump’s hypocrisy, having spent a good chunk of the day on a golf course rather than in community service as his predecessors have since the 1990s. It’s also a convenient time for Trump critics to highlight the latest in a series of accusations of racism against the president.

January 10
H.R.2331: Connected Government Act
What It Will Do: This act recognizes that many federal websites are hard to navigate or load, especially on the small screens of cell phones, which Americans increasingly use to look at the internet, especially during natural disasters. (According to one recent study, only 59 percent of federal websites are mobile friendly and only 36 percent load quickly on mobile phones.) It requires that 18 months after this act passes, all new federal websites, or revamps of existing websites, must be mobile friendly. In three years, the Office of Management and Budget and General Services Administration are instructed to prepare a report on the implementation of this law’s requirements to that point.
Who It Will Affect: This is a commonsense public engagement and good governance measure that will, in theory, make it easier for citizens to access federal information and tools.

H.R.2228: Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This law instructs the attorney general and secretaries of the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to prepare a report for Congress on mental health practices and services in their departments that might be good models for federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. It instructs the Office of Community Oriented Policing to update a 2015 report on case studies of how programs designed to improve law officers’ health and wellbeing and report to Congress on this matter. It makes it possible for existing programs offering grants to state and local police forces to offer them for mental health and wellness pilot programs. The attorney general is also instructed to develop education materials with the Department of Health and Human Services to inform mental health providers about law enforcement culture and the special needs of and special therapies proven to work best for officers. Additionally, the attorney general is instructed to identify effective examples of law enforcement-focused crisis hotlines nationwide and recommend to Congress whether it should create a new such hotline or how it can support existing help lines. He is also instructed to review the efficacy of annual mental health checks for law enforcement officers and consult law enforcement officers on their mental health and wellness needs.
Who It Will Affect: This measure was developed with input from police organizations and broad bipartisan support. While some in society may have their problems with cops, few would argue that we should not attempt to ensure the mental wellness of those given great force and power over our lives, or that this job comes with unique mental stresses.



H.R.2142: INTERDICT Act
What It Will Do: This bill offers $9 million in new funding to US Customs and Border Protection to stock up on chemical screening devices used to detect fentanyl and other synthetic opioids at border checkpoints and mail facilities.
Who It Will Affect: Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are incredibly powerful substances highly implicated in the increasing mortality of the opioid crisis in America. They are mostly produced abroad and come into the US through the mail system or across border checkpoints. This is a bipartisan measure to reduce the flow of a proven dangerous substance into the United States. However, many may still see it as a far cry from the level of action Trump promised to take against the opioid crisis in America during his presidential campaign.

H.R.863: To Facilitate the Addition of Park Administration at the Coltsville National Historical Park, and for Other Purposes
What It Will Do: In December 2014, Congress approved the creation of a national historical park on the site of Sam Colt’s 19th-century firearms manufacturing facilities in Hartford, Connecticut, to recognize a chapter in American industrial history. However the private company developing many of Colt’s old properties and the National Parks Service later agreed that the building chosen for the administrative and visitor center for the park wasn’t a good fit. This bill modifies the park’s creation to reflect the change of that center to another building.

H.R.699: Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act
What It Will Do: In 2009, Congress enacted a major land management bill that set acres of forest around Oregon’s Mount Hood up for a land swap agreement that would turn it into protected wilderness. However the details of that land swap got tied up in messy litigation for years—it’s all a bit esoteric and highly local to Oregon. A deal was finally reached to allow 100 acres of forest on one slope of the mountain to be developed and 700 acres to be preserved as wilderness. This act just clarifies and codifies the parameters of that deal.
Who It Will Affect: Those eager to see wilderness around Mount Hood protected will be happy to see a long administrative and legal slog finally put to bed.

H.R.381: To Designate a Mountain in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest as “Sky Point”
What It Will Do: This bill recognizes the service and memory of US Marine Corps Staff Sargent Sky Mote, who died in 2012 while protecting fellow service members from an attack by a rogue Afghan police officer at a military base in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. It does this by naming a previously unnamed peak in the Humphrey Basin at which he and his family used to camp after him.
Who It Will Affect: This will be a welcome gesture to those who knew and cared for Sky Mote, especially those who visited this peak with him.

January 9
Executive Order 57: Supporting Our Veterans During Their Transition from Uniformed Service to Civilian Life
What It Will Do: Due to the challenges of transitioning back to civilian life after service, veterans in America are particularly at risk for suicide. According to recent Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, about 20 vets end their lives every day. The risk of suicide is up to two times higher in the first year of a veteran’s transition back to civilian life. Yet as of now, only 40 percent of veterans qualify for relevant support services, and must prove that their problems resulted from their service in order to receive any sort of help.

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This order recognizes that reality. It then calls on the secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to address this service gap. They are tasked with developing a plan within 60 days to improve veterans’ access to support services in the first year after their service. One-hundred eighty days after that, they are to draft a report on the implementation of their plan, its efficacy in reducing veteran suicide rates, further reforms needed, and a timeline for full implementation. No funds are provided for this effort, which will be financed using existing department budgets.
Who It Will Affect: Since this order only calls for the development of some kind of plan, it’s hard to say what effect it will have. However, officials have floated a number of ideas already, like increasing the number of relevant facilities, extending post-deployment access to a service providing face-to-face reintegration counseling and a 24-hour helpline, developing tools to help service members begin their transitions back to civilian life while they’re still in uniform, and reducing the barriers to access to services for recent veterans. Hopefully, these tweaks will bring suicide prevention services to all of the 265,000 individuals transitioning out of military service every year.

Presidential Memorandum 92: For the Director of National Intelligence
What It Will Do: To protect citizens’ privacy, intelligence reports circulated to government officials usually redact their names. These names can be “unmasked” if an official makes the case that it is necessary for them to understand the value of any given intelligence report. Trump notoriously cried fall about this process last year, saying reports that the Obama administration requested to unmask some of his associates in a report proved he’d been “wiretapped.”

This memorandum gives the Director of National Intelligence 30 days to develop a policy that will shift the standards for how every element of the intelligence community processes requests from federal, state, and local officials to unmask citizens’ information. It is expected to significantly tighten standards, making it harder to uncover names linked to intel reports.
Who It Will Affect: Depending on the policy enacted in a month’s time, this could be frustrating for officials trying to figure out how important or meaningful any given piece of intel may be. However, it will increase the privacy and information security of citizens. The fact that Trump is asking for this after his tizzy last year, though, will prompt suspicion about his motives.

Presidential Memorandum 93: Delegation of Responsibilities under the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016
What It Will Do: Under Section 301 of the act named in this action’s title, the president’s office is tasked with identifying non-state actors across the world engaged in egregious violations of religious freedoms and then putting them in an annual report. In this action, Trump just offloads this upcoming duty from his office onto the secretary of State.
Who It Will Affect: This is just another instance of Trump shirking the nuts and bolts duties of his office. It’s not surprising by now.

January 8
Executive Order 56: Streamlining and Expediting Requests to Locate Broadband Facilities in Rural America
What It Will Do: This order acknowledges the importance of affordable and reliable broadband to success in the modern economy, and the chronic lack of access to said resources in rural America. (As of 2016, the federal government estimated that 39 percent of rural Americans lacked high-speed internet, versus 4 percent of urban Americans.) To address this massive and chronic issue, this order just commits the Trump administration to following provisions of a 2012 law that mandated the federal government draw up standard forms for broadband companies to apply to put wireless facilities on federal properties. Trump’s main innovation here is requiring officials to evaluate the efficacy of the current forms and, within 180 days, identify any revisions that could be made to them. Officials are instructed to see how many form applications were approved, why rejected forms were rejected, and monitor the time from an application to a decision to see if any other reforms are merited.
Who It Will Affect: Even the White House acknowledged that this was an incremental step toward a larger policy, which will probably require serious federal funding. (Estimates place the cost of improving rural broadband access at $80 billion.) It does nothing to address the lack of incentives to develop rural broadband, or the lack of competition in rural marketplaces. At best, it’s a minor band aid that could help projects in the works a bit.

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Presidential Memorandum 91: Supporting Broadband Tower Facilities in Rural America on Federal Properties Managed by the Department of the Interior
What It Will Do: This action is a corollary to Executive Order 56. (See above.) It instructs the secretary of the Interior to develop a plan to make it easier for broadband developers to access federal facilities managed by his department. Within 180 days, he is to report to the president on his progress.
Who It Will Affect: Basically the same as for Executive Order 56. It’s a tiny move to address a huge issue. And it’s disappointing, both for tech development wonks and those living in under-connected rural areas, considering all the other actions Trump could have taken on this issue

H.R.1927: African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This act recognizes the importance of the African American civil rights movement and those who made sacrifices for it. It authorizes the National Park Service to create a US Civil Rights Network, tying together relevant operations within the Service, that will be tasked with coordinating and facilitating projects to commemorate the history of that movement. The Network will operate for seven years, tending to relevant events and historical sites and developing and disseminating new educational materials on the issue.
Who It Will Affect: Those interested in preserving the history of this vital chapter in American history will appreciate this gesture, although it remains to be seen what the network will do.

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H.R.1306: Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act
What It Will Do: This bill grants 18,519 acres of land in Oregon to the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians and 14,742 acres to the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. These tribes were not recognized by the government until the 1980s; this act finally gives them control over sovereign territory. It also restores sovereignty over forest management to the Coquille Tribe on their lands, which was not granted to them when they received their sovereign territory in 1996. The secretary of the Interior is instructed to firm up the boundaries of and terms of federal access rights to these lands in the coming months.
Who It Will Affect: This is a monumental development for three tribal groups, and may have some effect on facilities operating on these lands before this status change.

H.R.1242: 400 Years of African-American History Commission Act
What It Will Do: This bill commemorates the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans in the English colonies in Virginia in 1619. It creates a 15-member commission, composed of government officials, members of civic societies, and historians, to be appointed within 120 days. The commission will plan, develop, and carry out activities recognizing and highlighting African-American history since that point in time, and it will be authorized to provide grants of up to $20,000 to support related activities at all levels. The commission is unfunded, but will be authorized to raise money for its activities. (Estimates place its projected expenses at about $6 million.)
Who It Will Affect: This is a bipartisan measure, and a routine act of recognition, on par with Commissions created to highlight English heritage in America in light of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia.

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H.R.560: To Amend the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Improvement Act to Provide Access to Certain Vehicles Serving Residents of Municipalities Adjacent to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and for Other Purposes
What It Will Do: About 30 years ago, Pennsylvania gave a portion of a state highway passing through the area mentioned in this bill’s title to the National Parks Service. It subjected the road to a ban on commercial traffic on National Parks–operated roads, which would have caused potential trouble for adjacent towns and for businesses operating in the area. At the time, and for years since, waivers were issued for certain forms of commercial transit on this road. Those waivers lapsed in 2015. This act restores them until September 30, 2021, at which point they will need restoring again.
Who It Will Affect: This will make life easier for businesses and towns in and around the recreation area in question, but will have no wider effect.

H.R.267: Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Act of 2017
What It Will Do: In 1992, the federal government recognized several sites associated with the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., as a collective national historic site. This bill adds one building, the former headquarters of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that King co-founded, and upgrades the collective site to national park status—the first such entity in Georgia.
Who It Will Affect: This is a welcome gesture of recognition to efforts to preserve and elevate the history of the civil rights movement and the memory of King and those involved in them.

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S.1766: SAFER Act of 2017
What It Will Do: In 2013, Congress passed a previous version of this act allocating funds to help process the tens of thousands of backlogged rape kits sitting in evidence lockers nationwide. This bill reauthorizes that program until 2023. It also ensures that pediatric nurse practitioners can receive training in sexual assault examinations.
Who It Will Affect: This bill mostly maintains a status quo—which clearly is not good enough, given America’s continuing massive rape kit processing backlog.

S.1532: No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act
What It Will Do: This bill mandates that anyone who uses a commercial motor vehicle in committing a felony related to human trafficking should be disqualified from holding a commercial vehicle license.
Who It Will Affect: This bill is an effort to keep bad actors from re-abusing America’s road systems for trafficking purposes, so it plays to law and order types as well as those who have supported a host of anti-trafficking measures passed in recent years.

S.1393: Jobs for Our Heroes Act
What It Will Do: This bill makes it easier for veterans to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to get work in the transit industry. It does this by widening the scope of people at Veterans Affairs facilities authorized to give them a required medical examination and allowing them to count their time spent driving vehicles in the Armed Services towards their commercial vehicle driver’s test.
Who It Will Affect: The commercial transit industry is in the middle of a huge driver shortage, projected to be 50,000 people this year and to reach 174,000 by 2026 under current trends. It has long eyed veterans as a potential source of competent drivers.

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January 3
Executive Order 55: Termination of Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity
What It Will Do: On May 11, Trump established the commission named in this order’s title ostensibly to enhance voter confidence in American election systems and find ways to deter fraudulent voter registration or voting. But from the beginning, many observers noted it seemed to be more intent on substantiating Trump’s claims that millions of people voted illegally against him in 2016, costing him the popular vote. Multiple studies have found that such voter fraud is extremely rare and Trump has offered no evidence to back his assertions. It was also seen as a potential vehicle for the promotion of nationwide voter restriction measures that would likely disproportionately disenfranchise poor and minority voters.

When the commission made sweeping requests for voter data in June, the vast majority of states balked, and some joined civil rights organizations to file lawsuits alleging federal overreach. In July, the commission published emails from its critics without redacting the sensitive personal information of individual citizens, sparking another round of backlash. In November, one of the few Democrats who agreed to participate on the commission concluded that it was not as constructive and apolitical an exercise as he’d hoped and that he was being frozen out of its communications; he filed a lawsuit and in December a judge found grounds in it to compel the commission to hand over more information to its own member. Also in the fall, the Government Accountability Office launched an investigation into the commission’s funding, internal operations, and handling of sensitive voter information.

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This order disbands the commission after only two meetings (in July and September) and before it could yield any findings. In related statements, the administration has blamed the deluge of non-compliance and lawsuits and stated that it will pass on the task of investigating voter fraud to the Department of Homeland Security.
Who It Will Affect: Commission members on both sides of the aisle were reportedly blindsided by this decision; just last week reports emerged that it would hold its third meeting in January. Democrats and voting rights activists have been celebrating this move. However voter restriction supporters point out that the Department of Homeland Security may be able to move faster than the commission, and with fewer potential barriers. Trump also continues to insist, baselessly, that voter fraud is a rampant problem and that America needs a national voter identification law. So this is a mixed result for both sides of the voter fraud and access debate.

December 29
Presidential Proclamation 116: [Proclaiming] January 2018 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
What It Will Do: This is an annual presidential duty that calls on Americans to acknowledge the continued existence and prevalence of human trafficking—some 25 million individuals are currently bonded into forced sexual or physical labor in brothels, factories, homes, and on farms and vessels worldwide—and recommit government to eradicating the practice. Some 7,500 cases of trafficking were reported in America in 2016, an increase of 2,000 cases over the previous year; this plays into Trump’s (overblown) rhetoric about a wave of crime plaguing the nation. It has also been a priority on his daughter and adviser Ivanka’s agenda. Trump uses most of his text to applaud his administration’s work on this issue, and notes he will be signing two bills related to combating trafficking on America’s road systems later this month.
Who It Will Affect: Organizations dedicated to ending human trafficking will appreciate this recognition of the issue, and mark the month with educational and awareness-raising events nationwide. However, some will likely take the opportunity to note that Trump’s draconian stances on immigration seem to be making it harder for trafficking victims to come forward for fear that they will not be able to secure protective visas and may ultimately be deported.

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December 22
Presidential Proclamation 115: To Take Certain Actions under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and for Other Purposes
What It Will Do: This proclamation maintains the status quo on a number of trade deal provisions, like one providing duty-free access to US markets for Israeli agricultural products that’s been in place since 2004 but needs annual reauthorizations. It also makes minor tweaks to a number of provisions of several trade deals. Most significantly, it reverses Obama-era decisions to deny Gambia and Swaziland duty-free trade access to American markets under the act named in the proclamation’s title. That access is contingent on maintaining or improving political freedoms and human rights standards. Obama decided that those two nations were not living up to their obligations, but Trump seems to feel they’re making progress.
Who It Will Affect: This decision will make ramifications for some exporters in a number of nations. But most significantly it will be a major boon to industries in the two African nations. Critics of these nations’ governments may question whether they really have made enough progress on political access and human rights to warrant this reversal, however.

Executive Order 54: On Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay
What It Will Do: Earlier this year, Trump set pay raises for federal employees in 2018 at levels slightly below what they would have automatically received under current law. However, he noted that his order would not take effect if Congress decided to set a different rate. Legislators didn’t act on this issue, so this is Trump enacting his rate changes for 2018.
Who It Will Affect: Most federal groups believe Trump is exercising unnecessary austerity, while conservatives think he’s not going far enough in equalizing federal and private sector compensation rates. Trump may reduce pay increases further next year, exacerbating these debates.

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H.R.1370: An Act to Amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to Require the Secretary of Homeland Security to Issue Department of Homeland Security-wide Guidance and Develop Training Programs as Part of the Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign, and for Other Purposes
What It Will Do: This bill was originally the “Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign Authorization Act of 2017,” which codified a longstanding Department of Homeland Security initiative coordinating efforts at reducing human trafficking. It also called for the development of guidelines and training on how to identify traffickers and their victims, get assistance for victims, and collect and share records on suspected or convicted offenders and their current modes of operation. And it appropriated $819,000 for these efforts and required a report to Congress on its status within 18 months.

However, as Congress approached a December 22 deadline to re-fund the government or face a federal shutdown, dealmakers needed a legislative vehicle that’d already passed through both chambers to insert new funding language and pass it as quickly as possible. So they stripped this bill of its original language and turned it into a bill that funds the government at current levels until January 19. The bill also appropriates extra funds for a number of health programs that Congress never got around to reauthorizing this year through the end of March, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program. But it does not resolve any of these programs’ ultimate fates. And it appropriates substantial funds for new ballistic missile acquisitions, defense projects, and relevant research and development in the military.
Who It Will Affect: This bill mostly keeps the government afloat for a couple more weeks. However it’s just queuing up another major funding showdown soon after Congress returns from its holiday recess. Legislators are taking serious flack for failing to resolve the fate of CHIP and other healthcare programs.

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H.R.1: An Act to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Titles II and V of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2018
What It Will Do: This is the Republicans' big tax bill, the most significant change to the American tax code since 1986. The legislation is over 1,000 pages long and was passed so quickly, and with so little debate or oversight, that we don’t actually understand everything it will do yet. There’s a good chance that elements of the bill will be clarified or amended in the coming months and years. Here are the most significant parts of the bill:

While the bottom individual income tax bracket stays the same, the other six brackets are reduced by one to six points. The top income bracket goes down from 39.6 to 37 percent.
Most individual deductions are eliminated, save for up to $10,000 for state and local income and property taxes, medical expenses, and some mortgage interest.
In return, the standard deduction is almost doubled. Child tax credits are also doubled, with a slight increase in how much of the credit is refundable. This credit can also be applied to other dependents, like the elderly, not just children now.
The cutoff lines for the estate tax is doubled to $11 million for an individual and $22 million for couples, reducing tax burdens on the wealthiest Americans and those who will inherit their wealth. The level at which the alternative minimum tax kicks in to prevent undue gaming of the code by the wealthy is increased as well.
The individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, which imposes a tax penalty on those who do not purchase insurance, is eliminated starting in 2019.
The corporate tax rate is reduced from 35 to 21 percent. Deductions and loopholes for corporations are largely left in place.
Individuals who report their business income as personal income, also known as "pass through" companies, can now deduct up to 20 percent of their business income on their individual taxes. This attempts to keep pass0through rates competitive with corporate rates. However this provision comes with all sorts of caveats, limiting the type and level of deductions that can be made and restricting doctors and lawyers who make more than a certain amount of money from using it, among other fine-grained limitations.
Multinational corporations are now taxed under a “territorial system,” in which their foreign income and operations will not be taxed by the US government. Income stored overseas to date is encouraged to return home under a one-time “tax holiday,” imposing a low 15.5 percent rate on cash and 8 percent on non-cash assets coming back into the US.
Only the corporate tax provisions of the bill and the end of the ACA mandate are permanent. The other provisions of the bill, including those for pass throughs, phase out by 2025.
The bill also contains a provision opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) up to oil and natural gas drilling, ending debates dating back to ANWR’s foundation in 1980.
Who It Will Affect: Starting next year, the majority of Americans will receive some tax relief, while rates will rise only for some people and usually not the most vulnerable. However this relief will be marginal for most Americans, and benefits will accrue mostly to the wealthiest individuals. Once the individual tax provisions of this bill run out, taxes could start going up for many Americans. Republicans seem to be banking on future Congresses re-passing those provisions, though—and possibly cutting other programs, like welfare, to do so—in a bid to avoid inflicting pain on middle-class taxpayers. The bill also changes the way inflation is calculated for tax brackets, shifting to a slower calculation, which may degrade the value of tax cuts and increased deductions over time, even if they are renewed.

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Republicans seem to hope that the tax relief they do offer in the immediate future will benefit them politically, overcoming the intense unpopularity of the tax bill and the rushed, partisan process by which it was created. But both the political and the practical, human-level consequences of this hugely consequential piece of legislation remain unclear.

December 21
Executive Order 53: Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption
What It Will Do: This is the first utilization of the Global Magnitsky Act, signed into law about a year ago, which allows the president to impose financial and visa sanctions on foreigners suspected of or proven to have perpetrated human rights violations or acts of corruption. Trump here lists 13 individuals, with the Treasury Department listing another 39, who will now have their financial or property assets moving through America frozen and face new limits in their ability to do business with Americans or American institutions or to travel to the US. The two lists cover people from a Balkan arms dealer to a Pakistani surgeon to a Guatemalan congressman to former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. They also notably target a general involved in Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing of its Rohingya Muslim minority, a Chinese security officer implicated in the death of a human rights activist, and several Russians in or affiliated with that country’s government. The sanctions went into effect the day the order was signed.
Who It Will Affect: Directly, this order just covers the 52 individuals. But it also sends signals about how the sweeping sanctions powers of the Global Magnitsky Act could be used during the Trump administration. It sends limited signs as well that the US will continue to exert some pressure on the standard human rights abuser states. However, the sanction of one officer has already irked China. Threats of retaliation may limit how widely Trump decides to use these powers.

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S.Con.Res.31: A Concurrent Resolution Authorizing the Use of the Rotunda of the Capitol for a Ceremony to Award the Congressional Gold Medal to Bob Dole
What It Will Do: On September 14, legislation was enacted officially conferring the Congressional Gold Medal upon Bob Dole.This action just permits a ceremony awarding that medal to be held in the Capitol Rotunda on January 17, 2018.

Who It Will Affect: Bob Dole and anyone else attending his award ceremony.

December 20
S.1266: Enhancing Veteran Care Act
What It Will Do: This bill authorizes officials in charge of medical facility networks within the Department of Veterans Affairs to contract nonprofit third-party organizations that accredit other healthcare organizations and programs in America to investigate their facilities. The hope is that these reports will turn up deficiencies or failures that internal reviews might not.
Who It Will Affect: This is a basic and bipartisan bit of good governance, aiming to provide external oversight to an institution that has very publicly failed to live up to its potential or to adequately police itself in the recent past. Hopefully it will help to root out failures and abuses, ultimately improving medical care for veterans across the nation.

Executive Order 52: On a Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals
What It Will Do: This order was seemingly timed to the release, a day prior, of the United States Geological Survey’s first comprehensive report since 1973 on 23 minerals critical to tech, military, and other operations in the US. It found that for all but two of those minerals, at least 50 percent of the American supply is dependent on foreign exporters, with 20 minerals highly tied up in trade with China. Trump’s order instructs the Department of Defense to publish a list of key minerals of concern within 60 days. Within 180 days, six federal agencies are tasked with submitting a report to the president laying out strategies for reducing reliance on these minerals, increasing domestic recycling and reprocessing of them, and decreasing permitting process burdens for potential mine operators, among other things.
Who It Will Affect: This order will excite domestic mineral extraction firms, eager to see more support for their operations and protections against international competition. However it’s unclear how Trump will boost domestic production, considering that it is low because importing many of these minerals from the countries we do is much cheaper. China meanwhile may take this as another attack on Sino-American trade relations; it remains to be seen how it will process this highly speculative order. And Democrats and environmental organizations will likely respond with fear and apprehension, as this order may serve as a smokescreen for Trump to justify further ripping into environmental regulations on national security grounds.

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December 18
S. 371: Department of State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017, Improvements Act
What It Will Do: This is a mostly technocratic adjustment to an earlier bill setting policy and spending priorities for the State Department. It mostly loops the appropriations committees of the Senate and House into oversight provisions in the bill, and makes a few legalese tweaks.
Who It Will Affect: Few folks outside of State functionaries and relevant committee members.

H.R.288: Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2017
What It Will Do: A number of federal agencies provide diverse grants to Native American communities nationwide to enhance their education, skills training, and job placement. But the diverse sources of support often lead to bureaucratic issues sorting people into the right programs or getting them set up across multiple initiatives. This law allows Native American communities to pool different federal programs together into consolidated, centralized employment and training programs at the tribal level to streamline their services.
Who It Will Affect: This may make it easier for members of Native American communities to find the support they need to find employment and financial security. It has received support from a number of communities.

December 15
Presidential Proclamation 114: [Proclaiming] December 17, 2017, as Wright Brothers Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating to 1963, this proclamation commemorates the day the Wright brothers’ biplane first lifted off at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, ushering in the age of aviation in the United States. Trump’s text gives a brief overview of the last 114 years of aeronautic innovation in the US and notes that the spirit of the Wright brothers is at the heart of the American narrative.
Who It Will Affect: As in years past, aviation and relevant historical societies will mark this day with commemorations nationwide.



December 8
Presidential Proclamation 113: Delaying Submission of the Small Business Administration Report under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015
What It Will Do: On May 18, Trump announced his intentions to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by March 2018. In late June, the Small Business Administration (SBA) started convening a working group to analyze the potential impacts of this move on small businesses in America, and to feel out small business priorities and concerns for the trade deal, as per the provisions of the act mentioned in this proclamation’s title. This was the first time such a group had been assembled under this law, and would have been a major step in incorporating small business voices into major trade negotiations. The working group was expected to issue a report on small business priorities and concerns around this time of year.



December 7
Presidential Proclamation 112: [Proclaiming] December 7, 2017, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation honors those who lost their lives or were injured in the December 7, 1941, attack on a military instillation in Oahu, Hawaii, by Japan. It also honors those who served in the war.
Who It Will Affect: Veterans groups and historical organizations across the country will mark this day with commemorations and informative events, as they always do.



December 5
Presidential Memorandum 88: Delegation of Authority Under Sections 506(a)(2)(A) and 652 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
What It Will Do: Under the provision listed in this action’s title, the president is responsible for deciding when to draw down the allocation of resources for government and military education and training programs abroad, and then to direct that drawdown. Here, Trump abdicates that duty to the Secretary of State, directing him to make determinations and actions on $22 million in United States educational and training activities operating in Iraq at the moment.
Who It Will Affect: This is just the umpteenth instance of Trump shirking some of his more technical and hands-on duties to his cabinet. The actual implications of this action for US operations in Iraq remain to be seen.

December 4
Presidential Proclamation 110: Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument
What It Will Do: In December 2016, Obama used his authorities under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to declare the creation of the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, largely as a response to requests from regional Native American leaders for better protections for major cultural and historical sites on its grounds. In this proclamation, Trump points out that the Antiquities Act requires that the president protect only the smallest amount of land absolutely needed to protect a unique cultural or scientific site. His administration, he says, has determined that the monument actually covers many sites that are not unique or that have other forms of protection. So he here unilaterally reduces the size of the monument by 1,150,860 acres, or 85 percent of its current size, paring it down to two sites, including the Bears Ears buttes themselves. This is the largest-ever reduction of a national monument and, with the provisions in Presidential Proclamation 109, the first modification of a monument in over half a century.
Who It Will Affect: Trump made his animus toward Bears Ears clear almost from its inception. He construes many monuments as federal overreaches that limit local control over their lands. He shares this view with many conservative Western lawmakers, who have applauded this action. So there’s not a whole lot to change physically, on the ground, with regards to its management.

Presidential Proclamation 107: [ Proclaiming] December 1, 2017, as World AIDS Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1993, this proclamation honors those who’ve lost their lives to the AIDS/HIV crisis since the first recorded case of the disease some 36 years ago. Trump’s text is almost a copy of Obama’s, albeit a little vaguer and briefer. It notes that, as of 2014, 1.1 million Americans were living with HIV and trumpets America’s suggests in reducing infections by 18 percent between 2008 and 2014. Trump then somewhat crassly frames this as a cost-saving success on lifetime medical expenses. He also boasts about America’s success in providing antiretroviral treatments and helping to reduce the spread of infections in several sub-Saharan African nations through foreign aid projects. He vows that his administration will continue to advance efforts to combat this global health crisis.
Who It Will Affect: Public health and AIDS/HIV-specific advocacy groups will mark this day with commemorations and educational or outreach events worldwide. However, many of these same groups are using the day to strike out at Trump. His proposed 2018 budget would have sliced into the foreign aid projects his proclamation lauds. His reinstitution and expansion of a rule that US aid money cannot go to clinics that provide or advise patients to seek out abortions will likely cripple many health service providers in at-risk communities. His moves to slash health program budgets in the US and to attack the Affordable Care Act create new risks for infection and mortality within the United States. To top it all off, the LGBT community has also used the day to attack Trump, as his proclamation did not, in contrast to years past, acknowledge the oversized burden the AIDS/HIV crisis has placed on their communities.



H.R.1545: VA Prescription Data Accountability Act 2017
What It Will Do: For some time, the Department of Veterans Affairs has reported secure data on prescriptions of controlled substances issued to veterans receiving care at VA facilities to state programs that track prescription practice in hopes of tackling opioid abuse. This bill clarifies that data-sharing authority, extending it to dependents and others treated at VA facilities and to prescriptions through outside facilities approved to work on the VA’s behalf. The hope is that this will make it easier to track and address veteran-linked opioid abuse.
Who It Will Affect: This is a bipartisan bill with strong support from veterans’ organizations. It may have a positive impact on tackling the national opioid crisis. It’s entirely unobjectionable.


November 17
H.R.304: Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2017
What It Will Do: Medical officials have long issued standing orders that allow emergency medical services personnel, like paramedics, to administer life-saving controlled substances, like anti-seizure medication or pain treatments, on the spot to patients they encounter in critical condition without direct physical supervision or permission. However, the validity of these orders has come under question due to developing DEA regulations. So this bill protects the right to issue those orders, and also clarifies clearly who can give them, how the DEA can grant permissions to issue them, and how controlled substances used by emergency responders must be stored and transported.
Who It Will Affect: This bill mostly maintains and clarifies a status quo. It has been hailed by emergency responder and other medical organizations.

H.R.3031: TSP Modernization Act of 2017
What It Will Do: Under existing rules, federal employees can only withdraw partial sums from their Thrift Savings Plans (TSPs), the fed’s retirement savings scheme, once at age 59 and once after leaving government service. This lack of flexibility has led many former employees to, in recent years, withdraw all their savings from TSPs and roll it into other retirement savings vehicles. To preserve the integrity of the program, this legislation allows multiple partial withdrawals linked to age or after leaving government service, and more flexibility in the timing and amount of periodic payments issued from those accounts.


Presidential Proclamation 106: [Proclaiming] Thursday, November 23, 2017, as a National Day of Thanksgiving
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1863, this proclamation marks Thanksgiving. Trump’s text recounts the rosy, whitewashed traditional story of the Pilgrims and American perseverance and reverence for god. It also takes a beat to honor the response of law enforcement, first responders, and others in the wake of a string of disasters this year.

Presidential Proclamation 105: [Proclaiming] November 19 through November 25, 2017, as National Family Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating to 1987, this proclamation emphasizes the importance of the family as a core social unit and family values as a lynchpin of American norms. Trump uses his text to hype up his tax plan, which he claims will make it easier for families to do whatever it is families do. He also insists that his administration’s approach to the opioid epidemic will help to strengthen America’s families and thus the nation overall.
Who It Will Affect: Family values groups across the nation will mark this week with events and commemorations. However, Trump’s text just draws more attention to his massively controversial and unpopular tax plan and anemic opioid response efforts.


November 10
Presidential Proclamation 104: [Proclaiming] Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War
What It Will Do: Th Trump’s text recognizes the 500,000 Americans who served in Vietnam in 1967, as well as the 9 million who served over the course of the entire 13-year conflict. He honors the 58,000 who lost their lives and the 1,253 still missing in action.
Who It Will Affect: Veterans and Vietnam War-specific organizations across the nation will mark this commemoration, parallel to Veterans Day, with events and memorials nationwide.

Presidential Proclamation 103: [Proclaiming] November 13 through November 19, 2017, as
National Apprenticeship Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty since 2015, this proclamation recognizes the value of apprenticeships in helping employers find workers with the skills they need that do not often get taught at high schools or colleges. Trump touts his June executive order that seeks to expand the government’s apprenticeship promotion program and calls on businesses to use this week as a challenge, motivating them to develop their own apprenticeship programs.
Who It Will Affect: Businesses and trade groups may examine the issue of apprenticeships with renewed vigor this week, if not rise to the occasion of Trump’s challenge.


November 8
Presidential Proclamation 101: [Proclaiming] November 9, 2017, as World Freedom Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 2001, this proclamation marks the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which it touts as a symbol of the triumph of freedom over communism. Trump’s text calls, in boilerplate terms, for the acknowledgement of those who fight for freedom around the world and for the continued cooperation of nations around the world to fight radicalism and terrorism.
Who It Will Affect: Conservative groups tend to focus on this commemoration as signaling the virtues of liberal Western democracy over all other systems and venerating the ghost of Ronald Reagan.


November 7
Presidential Proclamation 100: [Proclaiming] November 11, 2017 as Veterans Day
What It Will Do: A presidential duty dating back to 1919, this proclamation marks the federal holiday (since 1938) named in its title. Trump’s text makes the standard notes about honoring the service of veterans and the importance of caring for them as a society even after a conflict ends. His text touts his dedication to rebuilding the American military and the legislation he his signed to date improving the Department of Veterans Affairs. He also puts a special spotlight on Vietnam War veterans, because he will soon be visiting Vietnam.
Who It Will Affect: Government bodies and veterans associations will mark the day, as usual, with commemorations and ceremonies nationwide.

November 6
Presidential Memorandum 86: Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
What It Will Do: In 1994, Bill Clinton declared the risk of the proliferation of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons of mass destruction a risk to American interests and established a state of emergency in an executive order that slapped sanctions on individuals linked to that proliferation. Those sanctions were expanded in 1998 and 2005. The executive order establishing that state of emergency needs to be renewed every year for its sanctions to stay in effect, under law. This is Trump’s first renewal of that 23-year-old sanctions regime.
Who It Will Affect: This move just maintains the status quo.


Presidential Memorandum 85: Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Burundi
What It Will Do: In 2015, Obama decided that an outbreak of repression and political violence in Burundi was detrimental to American national interests and issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in the nation, imposing sanctions on those linked to the transgressions. Under law, for those sanctions to stick the president needs to renew that order every year. This is Trump’s first renewal of those two-year-old sanctions.
Who It Will Affect: This mostly just maintains a recent foreign policy status quo. But it will likely disappoint Burundian officials, who had hoped Trump would back off the sanctions.

Presidential Memorandum 84: A Letter from the President to the Congress of the United States [Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Iran]
What It Will Do: This is just Trump following a statutory requirement to notify Congress of his decision to extend sanctions on Iran in Presidential Memorandum 83, below.

Presidential Memorandum 83: Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Iran
What It Will Do: Soon after the Iranian Islamic revolution and related US hostage crisis kicked off in 1979, president Jimmy Carter issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in Iran that posed a threat to American interests. The order imposed sanctions on individuals involved in the crisis.The order must be renewed every year. This is the latest renewal of those sanctions.

November 5
Presidential Proclamation 99: Honoring the Victims of the Sutherland Springs, Texas Shooting
What It Will Do: This proclamation honors the victims of the mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and prays for the healing of their families and loved ones. It also calls for flags at federal properties, military facilities, and embassies to fly at half mast in commemoration of these victim until November 9.

November 2
H.R.1329: Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2017
What It Will Do: Unlike Social Security benefits, Veterans Affairs payments do not rise automatically each year to match inflation. Congress must pass an annual bill enacting that cost-of-living adjustment. This is 2017’s iteration of that routine legislation. It boosts payments to vets with service-linked disabilities and their dependents by about 1 percent starting on December 1.
Who It Will Affect: This will impact millions of veterans and many more of their dependents. The increase is not huge—on average, a $25 boost per month. But it’s one of the largest increases of the decade; cost-of-living adjustments have been suppressed as an austerity measure across the government for years.

H.R.1616: Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This bill authorizes the operation of the Secret Service’s National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) through 2022. The NCFI trains state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officials in preventing and detecting cyber crime, and helps to equip their agencies with relevant materials. The bill also authorizes the Bureau of Justice Assistance to help law enforcement detect, investigate, and prosecute white-collar and cyber crimes.
Who It Will Affect: The NCFI has been operational since 2008 and has already trained thousands of agents across the nation. So this bill mostly maintains the status quo, while making it possible for perhaps a little more money to go towards white-collar crime operations.

H.R.2989: Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission Act
What It Will Do: This bill opens by recognizing Douglass’s exceptional rise from slavery to the forefront of the nascent American civil rights movement, as well as his vital role in abolitionism, contributions to the Union in the Civil War, and service in national government. It affirms that all Americans would benefit from learning more about and following the examples laid out by Douglass. The act creates a commission to plan and carry out federal activities to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his 1818 birth.

S.190: Power and Security Systems (PASS) Act
What It Will Do: Security systems, smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide monitors, among other potentially life-saving electronic systems, have in the past been exempted from power efficiency standards that would have increased their prices substantially without much gain. These exemptions were set to expire this year. This act extends them to 2021 for some devices, 2023 for others.
Who It Will Affect: This is a pretty harmless continuation of the status quo with bipartisan support.

S.504: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act of 2017
What It Will Do: In 1995, an idea emerged among members of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum that would see the creation of a special travel document allowing expedited customs proceedings for frequent business travelers. In 1997, a few states launched APEC Business Travel Cards, commonly known as ABT Cards. The United States was one of the last nations in the bloc to issue its own iteration on these cards; in 2011, Obama signed a law allowing American citizens to apply for them. These cards lasted three years at a go and were issued for a small fee that covered the costs of the program. In 2016, Obama signed legislation extending their duration to five years. In America, they allow travelers to speed through customs and border patrol, while in other nations they offer varied levels of expedited entry and act as pre-processed multiple-entry visas for 59 to 90 day stays. This program was temporary, though, and set to expire on September 30, 2018. This law makes the ABT Card program permanent.
Who It Will Affect: The codification of this program was a simple and bipartisan issue with strong business community support and will benefit tens of thousands of American travelers.

S.782: Providing Resources, Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This bill reauthorizes the national Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force program, which has worked to catch child porn distributors since 1998, through 2022.
Who It Will Affect: This just continues a program that no one would ever oppose for five years.

S.920: National Clinical Care Commission Act
What It Will Do: This bill creates the commission in its name, to be housed within the Department of Health and Human Services. It will explore ways to improve care available to individuals with diabetes, and perhaps other insulin-related autoimmune disorders, including improving the coordination and leveraging of federal programs relevant to the issue. Within three years of its first meeting, it will issue a report on all of its findings and recommendations on clinical care for individuals with diabetes. It will disband within 60 days of issuing this final report, or by the end of fiscal year 2021, whichever comes first.
Who It Will Affect: There’s been support for a body like this among diabetic care advocacy groups for some time. This move will earn some appreciation and respect from them, as well as other public health advocates and individuals with diabetes.

S.1617: Javier Vega, Jr. Memorial Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This bill names a border checkpoint in Sarita, Texas, after the individual named in its title. Vega served as a border patrol agent, primarily at this border control point, from 2008 to 2014, when he was killed while protecting his family from a violent robbery at the hands of two undocumented immigrants while on vacation. His death was ruled, after public pressure, a line-of-duty fatality.
Who It Will Affect: Vega’s family and community will appreciate this bill. He is apparently a local hero; a street in Sarita was recently named after him as well. Yet while the man’s memory and bravery deserve to be recognized, this recognition comes at a politically charged moment. Vega’s case has been a focal point for Breitbart and nativists, who see it as proof that illegal immigrants are often a violent threat to American safety.

November 1
H.J.Res.111: Providing for Congressional Disapproval under Chapter 8 of Title 5, United States Code, of the Rule Submitted by Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP) Relating to “Arbitration Agreements”
What It Will Do: This is the first use of the Congressional Review Act, under which Congress can block a new rule from coming into effect by a simple majority vote, since mid-April. It’s also the 14th use of the CRA this year, and the 15th usage of the power ever.

In 2010, the BCFP, a body created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, initiated a study on “arbitration agreements.” These clauses, often buried in the fine print of financial services contracts, prevent consumers from suing companies for transgressions and bind them to use an arbitration system outside of the courts. The BCFP determined that these agreements are detrimental to millions of Americans, and often prevent companies from feeling full legal repercussions for their missteps. So in mid-July, it instituted a rule that would, starting in March 2018, have prevented companies from putting language into arbitration agreements preventing consumers from joining class action suits on transgressions. This resolution prevents that rule from taking effect, leaving arbitration agreements in full force.
Who It Will Affect: Advocates of the rule claim that its last-minute cancellation, by a 50-50 vote in the Senate—all 48 Democrats and two Republicans voted against it, with Vice President Pence breaking the tie—will benefit large financial institutions at the expense of consumers and of justice. It will prevent companies like Equifax from feeling the full potential repercussions of their failures. Financial institutions and most Republicans, however, view this as a victory against overreach by and flawed logic on the part of the BCFP. They also argue that blocking the rule will keep financial services costs low, benefitting consumers.

Presidential Proclamation 98: [Proclaiming] November 2017 as National Veterans and Military Families Month
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation honors the contributions of service members and the families who support and often have to find a way to get by for long stretches without them. Trump's text instructs the Department of Veterans Affairs to take point on commemorating this month, and notes that his administration has made great strides over the last nine months in reforming that troubled agency to better serve this population.
Who It Will Affect: The VA will, as instructed, mark the month with events nationwide. Trump may choose to take a victory lap on his VA achievements, which are actually numerous. But his critics will use that celebration to point out that his VA is one of the strongholds of Obama holdovers in his administration, and that most of the successes in reforming the VA in his term are not his own achievements, but bipartisan measures that have long been in the works.

October 31
Presidential Memorandum 82: Notice Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Sudan
What It Will Do: In July, Donald Trump delayed a decision on whether or not to make the easing of some sanctions on Sudan initiated by the Obama administration. (See Executive Order 38.) In mid-October, Trump finally decided to make those changes permanent. However, this policy shift left a number of sanctions on Sudanese individuals and restrictions on Sudanese-American trade in place due to continuing concerns about the state of their government and its progress in rectifying human rights abuses. This text confirms that Trump does not think Sudan has made enough progress to lift those remaining sanctions and restrictions. So he indicates that he will renew them for another year.
Who It Will Affect: As with Trump's previous decisions on Sudan, this is a mixed bag. The Sudanese and American companies eager to explore its new markets will be dismayed that Trump didn't move beyond his initial openness to easing sanctions. Human rights groups and Sudanese dissidents will be happy he's not letting the country totally off the hook.


Presidential Proclamation 97: [Proclaiming] November 2017 as National Family Caregivers Month
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation honors the sacrifices of family members who often put parts of their lives on hold to care for chronically ill, disabled, elderly, or injured kin. Trump's text stresses that this dedication shows the value of respect for life at all stages and the importance of the family unit in society. He claims that his administration remains committed to finding ways to help caregivers.
Who It Will Affect: Caregiver groups will mark the month with events and commemorations.

Presidential Proclamation 96: [Proclaiming] November 2017 as National Entrepreneurship Month
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 2012, this proclamation honors the importance of entrepreneurship in the narrative of American character and to the national economy. Trump specifically celebrates female entrepreneurs, noting that there are 11 million women-owned firms in the nation, employing millions and generating over a trillion dollars in annual revenues. He stresses that his administration is, by cutting regulatory red tape and fighting in trade deals to protect American intellectual property, creating an environment in which entrepreneurship can prosper.
Who It Will Affect: Entrepreneur groups across the nation will make this month with events and celebrations. However some may use it to hit back at Trump, as entrepreneurs regularly note that his immigration policies are detrimental to the growth of small firms.


Presidential Proclamation 95: [Proclaiming] November 2017 as Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation emphasizes the importance of safeguarding vital infrastructure against accidents, attacks, capacity strain, natural disasters, and a host of other issues. Trump's text touts American infrastructure as among the most secure in the world, but points out that we've seen this year how natural disasters like hurricanes can still break through our defenses. He argues that his administration is making it easier for businesses to invest in infrastructure spending and relevant research and development through tax reform and deregulation.
Who It Will Affect: Various government agencies and infrastructure-related groups will mark this month with informational events. However Trump critics may use the month to point out how Trump has repeatedly failed to roll out his long promised infrastructure plan. Some may also point to Trump's phenomenal failures in responding to hurricane damage in Puerto Rico to question his commitment to the ideals he touts in this proclamation.

Presidential Proclamation 94: [Proclaiming] November 2017 as National Adoption Month
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1998, this proclamation honors the thousands of families who choose, every year, to give homes to children in need. Trump throws in some pro-life messaging, saying they prove that no child, born or unborn, is ever unwanted. He also notes that this year his administration will focus on promoting the importance of adopting older youths who often find it harder to find a home.
Who It Will Affect: Government agencies and pro-adoption groups with mark this month with informational events nationwide.

October 26
Presidential Memorandum 81: Temporary Certification for Certain Records Related to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
What It Will Do: Trump had claimed he's committed to transparency on records related to the investigation of the 1963 assassination of JFK. In truth, the documents in question would have been released under the provisions of a 1992 law even if he hadn't lifted a finger. Trump only has the power under that law to delay the release of records on national security or foreign policy grounds. That's precisely what this text does. Trump here allows 180 days for the review of all redactions in released documents and calls for the declassification of anything that cannot be justified. He gives agencies until March 12, 2018, to apply for the postponement of the release of records they're still holding back, and says he will make a final decision on these records on April 26, 2018. This covers a couple hundred documents, containing thousands of pages, that were not released as part of the week's highly anticipated document dump.
Who It Will Affect: This is mostly a minor irritation to historians and a major boon to conspiracy theorists, who will seize onto any remaining redactions of postponed declassification to stay that something sinister remains uncovered. However, as most of the texts released parallel to this memorandum just reinforce what is already known about the assassination and the deficient investigation that followed, it seems unlikely this order will deeply affect on the average citizen's understandings of history.


Presidential Memorandum 80: For the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies [Regarding] Combatting the National Drug Demand and Opioid Crisis
What It Will Do: The memorandum calls on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare a public health emergency around the opioid crisis and take actions with the new powers that gives the agency. Specifically, HHS is expected to expand telemedicine services into rural communities, cut some red tape around grant money distribution, and shift some extant grant allocations towards the crisis. HHS can also tap into the Public Health Emergency Fund to address the crisis, but this chronically underfunded pool had only $57,000 remaining in it at the time this memorandum was released and there were no guarantees from Trump or his allies that it would be bolstered soon.
Who It Will Affect: While addiction services advocates welcome any progress towards addressing what has become a leading public health crisis, This action feels anemic to many, especially in light of his rhetoric on the issue. Trump has promised to throw resources into improving access to life-saving overdose treatments, the development of painkillers with a lower risk of abuse, and the expansion of treatment options—a massive national response that basically accords with what advocates believe is necessary.

Trump has dithered in declaring a crisis, long after his own commission on this issue requested it as the first and most important step in an interim report in July. That commission is expected to issue a report on November 1 that should become a blueprint for a more robust administrative strategy on the opioid crisis, but that report is a month behind schedule due to chronic staffing and support issues. Trump's HHS is itself understaffed, and his drug czar nominee had to withdraw from consideration after reports emerged about his apparent role in exacerbating the opioid crisis as a congressman.

H.Con.Res.71: Establishing the Congressional Budget for the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2017 and Setting Forth the Appropriate Budgetary Levels for Fiscal Years 2019 through 2027
What It Will Do: This resolution lays out a $4 trillion blueprint for spending in the 2018 fiscal year, though it is not legally binding. Its real practical function is that it triggers the reconciliation process, by which Republicans can pass tax cuts and a bill that would allow for oil drilling in an arctic preserve, with a filibuster-proof simple majority vote.
Who It Will Affect: This will energize Republicans, who see it as giving momentum to tax reform, their biggest legislative initiative. But triggering this process does nothing to overcome the many practical difficulties still facing tax reform efforts.

S.585: Dr. Chris Kilpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017
What It Will Do: Kilpatrick was a psychologist at a Veterans Affairs (VA) facility in Tomah, Wisconsin, who was fired after questioning the overmedication of patients. He committed suicide the same day. Testimony on his death and related retaliations against VA whistleblowers led to this effort to improve protections for those disclosing violations of law, mismanagement of public resources, abuses of power, or public endangerment. Specifically, it makes it easier for employees appealing their termination to transfer out from under their previous supervisor while on probation, limits supervisors' access to employees' medical files, and requires all agencies to improve their training on responding to complaints of whistleblower protection violations.


It also establishes a procedure for examining whether suicides were related to retaliations for whistleblowing. It requires that supervisors found guilty of a prohibited personnel action be suspended for at least three days upon their first infraction, with higher punishments thereafter. Agency heads are responsible for making sure all new employees learn about whistleblowing protections and how to safely disclose sensitive information. The Comptroller General of the United States is ordered to author a report on retaliation against employees while on probation after an attempt to fire them. Finally, the bill contains a few miscellaneous VA-specific provisions: improving outreach on mental health services for VA employees and responses to threats made against employees.
Who It Will Affect: Any move to better protect whistleblowers and secure consequences for retaliations against them is generally seen as a commonsense good-governance move. This bill is no exception, and has been met with widespread support.

H.R.2266: Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017
What It Will Do: This bill started out as the "Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017," a simple measure extending 14 temporary judgeships to special bankruptcy courts in seven states and Puerto Rico and adding four new temporary judgeships in three other states. These temporary positions typically last for five years. It also increased the fees debtors declaring bankruptcy have to pay to the United States Trustee System for handling their cases, although this fee expansion will only apply to certain cases. The fee increase would pay for the judgeships. It also made some small adjustments to technical details of the bankruptcy declaration process.



H.Con.Res.85: Providing for a Correction in the Enrollment of H.R.2266
What It Will Do: This resolution just changes the name of the pending bill cited in its title to reflect the fact that it has been converted from a contained measure adding a few judges to bankruptcy courts temporarily to a fast-pass vehicle for post-hurricane disaster relief.

S.Con.Res.26:A Concurrent Resolution Authorizing the Use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the Unveiling of the American Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Chair of Honor
What It Will Do: This resolution does exactly what it says in the title. Inspired by a chair left open at a NASCAR track in Bristol, Tennessee, Chairs of Hope are vacant chairs left in public venues to remember POW/MIA service members. They exist in venues across the nation, and last year Congress approved the placement of one in the Capitol. This just authorizes the use of one venue, which Congress has to green light for any purpose, for its unveiling.


October 24
Executive Order 50: Resuming the United States Refugee Admissions Program with Enhanced Vetting Capabilities
What It Will Do: Trump's March 6 iteration of his notorious travel ban instituted a 120-day suspension of the nation's refugee admissions program, during which officials were to review its vetting standards. Court injunctions delayed this ban until June, when the Supreme Court let it go into force. The ban then expired on October 24. This order responds to that review and expiration.

It resumes the refugee program, but notes that the United States has increased data collection, interview, and biometric check standards for refugee applicants. It also notes that the secretaries of Homeland Security and State can always reconsider what categories of people constitute a threat and institute adjustments to the administration of the program as they see fit.

The details of these shifts are not clear in the text, but reports indicatebut reports indicate that, for starters, refugees are now required to provide a longer history of their residences and more detailed contact information for their family members. Standards have reportedly been increased for what criminal records should lead to a denial of refugee status. The "Following-to-Join" program that reunites refugees with their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 in the US has been suspended. And 11 countries, believed to likely include Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, are subject to a 90-day review. During the review, applications from these countries will be considered case-by-case.
Who It Will Affect: Refugee advocates believe these changes will slow down refugee applications. That's not great, as the world is in an unprecedented refugee crisis and America already had a massive applicant backlog and one of the world's strictest vetting policies in place. The freeze on family reunifications would have affected 2,500 refugees over the past year, about 5 percent of all applicants. The 11-nation review could effectively halt admissions to individuals from those nations, who made up 44 percent of the refugee population entering the US over the last year. As such, this order could at least halve the flow of refugees into the nation, targeting some of the hardest-hit and highest-need nations, predominantly Muslim areas. Many refugee advocates see this, and the slowdown increased vetting will impose, as a functional continuation of the program's suspension. They will likely launch numerous court challenges.

Presidential Memorandum 78: [Proclaiming] October 24, 2017, as United Nations Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1946, this proclamation recognizes the value of the UN in securing global peace, human rights, freedom, and national sovereignty. Trump's text claims the institution is more vital now than ever. Then it calls on member nations to live up to and reaffirm their commitments and boasts about America's leadership in guiding the UN response to North Korea, which seem to subtly reinforce Trump's longstanding position that the UN is freeloading off of the US.
Who It Will Affect: The UN and many member states will mark this occasion with events and commemorations. However the standard platitudes in this text will only serve to highlight how hypocritical they seem coming from Trump. He has made it clear that his "America first" agenda is in opposition to multilateral agreements between nations and international bodies.He's also been quite clear in stating that he believes the UN is an unproductive institution and wishes to wind down US involvement with it.

October 23
Presidential Memorandum 77:Notice Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Democratic Republic of Congo
What It Will Do: In 2006, President George W. Bush declared the conflict in the DRC a danger to American foreign policy interests, invoking sanctions powers against those involved in it in an executive order. The sanctions need to be reauthorized every year to stay in effect. In 2014, Obama not only reauthorized, but also strengthened them in a new executive order. In this order, Trump reups both actions for another year.


Executive Order 49: Amending Executive Order 13223
What It Will Do: On September 14, 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order that, using executive powers granted to the presidency after the 9/11 attacks, expanded a fair bit of technical capabilities and leeway for the military to operate. This action amends that old order, making it easier for branches of the military to recall a wider swathe of retired officers back to active duty.
Who It Will Affect: This was expected to be used primarily to fill the Air Force's longstanding pilot shortage. The Air Force is vital to longstanding strategies against ISIS, and may be vital to Trump's proposed ramp up of action in Afghanistan against the Taliban as well. It is 1,500 pilots short of the 20,300 it needs to operate at full capacity, 1,000 of those being fighter pilots1,000 of those being fighter pilots. Many qualified pilots today prefer more lucrative and safe jobs in the commercial sector. However, the Air Force has stated that it does not intend to use this authority, raising questions about why the order was even promulgated. This may stoke fears that the order is a prelude to active military conflict with North Korea.


October 18
S.652: Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This bill reauthorizes a program supporting the early detection and treatment of deafness and hardness of hearing in infants and young children. It specifically adds that the programs should cover young children and makes a few technical tweaks, as well as laying out tens of millions in funding to keep it operational through 2022.
Who It Will Affect: A significant number of children are born every year with hearing issues, or develop them early in life; detecting and addressing this early yields substantial gains for children, putting them on a better platform to succeed in life. Maintaining this program is a no-brainer.

H.R.1117: To Require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Submit a Report Regarding Certain Plans Regarding Assistance to Applicants and Grantees during the Response to an Emergency or Disaster
What It Will Do: This bill directs the head of FEMA to, within 90 days, share plans with key congressional committees on how to better provide guidance to disaster funding applicants on procedures to secure relief.
Who It Will Affect: FEMA does its best to make navigating its system as simple as possible for those who have suffered through a disaster. But after every crisis, it becomes clear that the process still has some hitches and flaws, as would any massive federal bureaucratic maze of processes. Pushing on FEMA to address those issues makes sense, and will hopefully reduce existing stresses and complications for future disaster victims.

S.178: Robert Matava Elder Abuse Prosecution Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This is a sweeping piece of legislation intended to increase the detection and prosecution of crimes against the elderly, especially physical and psychological abuse and financial scams. In it, the Senate acknowledges that most of these cases go undetected (by some estimates, only 2 percent of elder scams ever get reported), but notes that an estimated $2.9 billion is taken from the elderly every year in crimes, elders who suffer abuse are much more likely to die earlier than those who don't, and half of all people with dementia suffer at least one case of abuse. The bill is named after an elder abuse victim—a World War II hero from Connecticut whose son robbed him and left him penniless; he died six years ago in poverty.

The bill contains a host of provisions. But in short, it instructs the attorney general to create a resource group to share best practices for how federal prosecutors can handle elder abuse cases, craft model power-of-attorney language and best practices for improving proceedings on elder guardianship to prevent elder abuse, designate "elder justice coordinators" to field elder abuse cases and ensure data is collected on them, and work with federal, state, and local agencies to improve data collection on elder abuse crimes. The secretary of Health and Human Services is instructed to contribute data on abuse of elders within adult protective services, and the FBI is directed to train its agents to better handle these cases. The Bureau of Consumer Protection will get an elder justice coordinator to promote best practice. Also, laws on telemarketing scams are amended to include email marketing and stipulate that those convicted of these scams forfeit any money or material goods they acquired in the schemes, as well as any devices or technology they used to perpetrate them, to the state.
Who It Will Affect: This legislation will be appreciated by every elder advocacy group, as the massive scale of elder abuse and crime has become increasingly clear and concerning over the last decade, but many observers have worried that responses to date have not been systematic or serious enough. This is some of the strongest and broadest legislation on the topic. Hopefully it will lead to a real uptick in protections for and prosecutions of crimes against a particularly vulnerable and chronically neglected population.


October 16
Presidential Memorandum 76: Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Significant Narcotics Traffickers Centered in Colombia
What It Will Do: In 1995, President Bill Clinton enacted an executive order that used a national emergency to justify imposing sanctions on those involved in or doing business with those involved in Colombian drug trafficking. However the law that allowed those sanctions only authorized them for a year at a time; the emergency has had to be reauthorized annually. This is Trump's first re-up on this status quo.
Who It Will Affect: This just continues a 22-year-old policy.

October 13
Presidential Proclamation 92: [Proclaiming] October 15 through October 21, 2017, as National Character Counts Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1993, this proclamation observes the importance of developing character in American citizens, especially children—although even Trump's text recognizes how amorphous a concept "character" is. He mentions grit and integrity, and throws in a Ronald Reagan quote for good measure, then makes out a note about honoring the families, communities, and educators who help children to develop character.
Who It Will Affect: Groups across the nation will mark this week with events on how to develop character. However, for all but diehard Trump supporters, this proclamation will feel ironic and sad, as this year it comes from a flim-flam man with a proven track record of lying egregiously and a demonstrably selfish spirit, or put another way, an apparent lack of character.


Presidential Proclamation 91: [Proclaiming] October 15, 2017, as Blind Americans Equality Day
What It Will Do: An annual proclamation dating back to 1964—and originally known as White Cane Safety Day until Obama renamed it in 2011—this proclamation celebrates the achievements of visually impaired and blind Americans. It also recommits America to leading in global standards in creating opportunities for, respecting, and opening avenues for civic engagement with blind and visually impaired individuals. Trump's text doesn't mention any achievements or focus on civic engagement, though. Instead he hones in on the idea of finding employment for the blind, and uses the document as an opportunity to pat himself on the back for his so-called jobs plan, which he implies will somehow benefit the blind.
Who It Will Affect: Advocacy groups will mark this day with events about, for, and with blind and visually impaired Americans. As with every time Trump marks an event related to disability, this proclamation will focus attention for some on his apparent disregard for, if not outright toxic treatment of, disabled Americans, which this tracker has previously explored.
For More: Why the Deaf Community Fears President Trump

Presidential Proclamation 90: [Proclaiming] October 15 through October 21, 2017, as National Forest Products Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation recognizes the role the forest industry, forest products, and recreational forests play in our lives. Trump highlights especially the role the industry plays in rural job creation and highlights how the demand for forest products actually incentivizes the continual replanting of healthy forests—quasi-environmentalism.
Who It Will Affect: Forestry groups around the nation will mark this day with events and commemorations.

October 12
Presidential Memorandum 75: Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This bill offloads the responsibility for assigning and issuing waivers for sanctions on Iran and its citizens related to its missile program and human rights abuses, among other issues, from the president to the secretaries of Homeland Security, State, and the Treasury.
Who It Will Affect: This is just the third time Trump has offloaded responsibilities put upon him by this act, which he likely did not wish to sign. (See our write-ups of Presidential Memoranda 58 and 69 for more on this.) However this responsibility shirking is more focused on Iran than in the past, which seems odd, given how eager Trump seems to be to appear personally and directly tough on Iran and how he has reportedly clashed with the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, among others within his administration, on his views on Iran.

Executive Order 48: Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States
What It Will Do: This long-awaited (and dreaded) order doesn't actually do anything concrete immediately. Mostly it instructs government officials to look into changing regulations to facilitate three discrete actions:

Allow small businesses to form less restricted Association Health Plans (APHs). In the pre-ACA era, APHs allowed small groups nationwide to form associations to provide healthcare, but allowed them to pick which state's healthcare regulations to follow, leading to many plans that didn't cover much. As part of a broader crackdown on "skinny' plans, the ACA put restrictions on what groups could form APHs and essentially required that they meet certain benefit requirements. This text suggests that Trump would like to reverse these changes, allowing APHs to evade ACA requirements.
Extend the periods people could get coverage under short-term limited-duration insurance plans (STLDIs) and make it easier to reapply for coverage. STLDIs exist to help people who know they will be going through life changes, like a job change, obtain insurance, but they tend to provide catastrophically low coverage. The ACA shortened the periods people could hold these plans from 364 to 90 days to encourage people to buy real insurance and made it much harder to reapply for this short-term coverage. These plans are not subject to the coverage requirements of the ACA, nor can they be paid for with ACA subsides. Trump seems to be angling to simply reverse these ACA restrictions.
Make it easier for employers to provide their employees with health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), tax-advantaged accounts from which individuals can draw to pay health expenses. The ACA limited the types of expenses they could be used for; this action seeks to largely reverse those restrictions.
Who It Will Affect: We won't know exactly how the Trump administration decides to tweak existing regulations for months at least, and the full effect of this order may not be felt until 2019. However the intention seems fairly clear: Make it easier for people to buy plans that do not include the pre-existing conditions protections or coverage requirements of the ACA. These plans would be attractive to pools of young and healthy, thus low-risk, individuals, drawing them out of the ACA's exchanges. That would raise the premiums the increasingly sicker and older pool left behind in those plans. They would benefit the young and healthy in the short-term, but could leave them up shit creek if they ever suffered a major health event. As such, the order seems to be part of a calculated effort to implode the ACA, claim that it was always a failure, and force Democrats to the table to develop a replacement system Republicans would prefer.


Conservatives love this move, as they see it as aligned with their ideology on personal freedom. Democrats have decried it as needless cruelty in the name of partisan gains. Insurance and healthcare advocacy and industry groups hate it because it will sew uncertainty and instability within the market. And it may irk moderate Republicans who saw the importance of stabilizing insurance markets for the good of their constituents.

Presidential Proclamation 89: [Proclaiming] October 2017 as National Energy Awareness Month
What It Will Do: This proclamation is similar to past National Energy Action Month proclamations. However it focuses entirely on the administration's commitment to enact an "America First" energy plan. This, the text states, means a plan that turns America into an energy exporter by 2026 and encourages the exploitation of our coal, oil, and natural gas resources, as well as the development of hydroelectric, nuclear, and other novel energy projects and sectors. Trump touts increases in coal exports over the last year and moves to make America the top supplier of liquid natural gas. He also frames energy independence as an issue of national security importance. This is a clear re-articulation of his backward-looking policies, which fetishize old energy as a sign of old American industry and value, and which throw the primacy of green energy to the future of the economy, environment, and world to the wind.
Who It Will Affect: MAGA-heads will love this, as will old, dirty energy production groups. It will likely reinforce fears amongst environmental and clean energy groups.


October 10
Presidential Proclamation: [Proclaiming] October 11, 2017, as the 88th Anniversary of General Pulaski Memorial Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1926, this proclamation honors the legacy of General Casimir Pulaski, a Polish noble recruited to join the Revolutionary War effort after a failed bid at rebelling against Russian control of Poland. He served honorably in the war for independence and is credited with saving George Washington's life. He died due to wounds incurred in a battle with the British in October 1779; in 2009, he became one of only eight individuals to be granted honorary United States citizenship by Congress posthumously. The proclamation also honors the bonds between America and Poland and the contributions of Polish Americans and the 9.5 million Americans who claim Polish heritage to US culture. Trump's text mentions all of this, and basic platitudes, but contains no wider statements.
Who It Will Affect: Polish-American groups around the nation will mark this day with events.

October 8
Presidential Memorandum: Immigration Principles and Policies
What It Will Do: This is Trump's official outline of everything he wants included in any bill that would codify the protections for "dreamers," immigrants illegally brought to the US by their parents as children. It's basically a list of all of his immigration campaign promises, plus a raft of even more hardline conservative proposals that have been floated in the past. This includes funding for his wall, denying certain federal grants to "sanctuary cities," and reducing legal immigration.
Who It Will Affect: This series of over-the-top demands may be nothing more than a Trumpian opening salvo in negotiations on protections. However the administration has sent mixed signals on whether or not that is the case. It has not officially threatened to veto any bill that did not contain these provisions, nor prioritized any of them clearly. And Trump's months of flip-flopping on the issue of dreamers—and apparent reversal from his statements last month that he'd be open to narrow legislation protecting them—makes it hard to trust anything the administration says on this matter moving forward. So however serious this list may be, it will likely have the effect of souring all negotiations on dreamer protections and fueling a huge immigration debate in Congress in the coming months.


October 6
S.327: Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017
What It Will Do: Under existing Securities and Exchange Commission rules, brokerages issuing reports on stocks for potential clients cannot be sued for botching facts or omitting key details that might lead investors to make poor decisions. This act extends those protections to exchange-traded funds (ETFs), baskets of stocks and bonds traded like stocks on exchanges that have risen in popularity lately. The SEC has to develop "safe harbor" regulations facilitating this within 180 days and implement them within 270, and would not be able to take action for botched or omitting reports within that period.
Who It Will Affect: The financial sector supports this bill, arguing this will make it easier for them to provide clients with information about products they are interested in without fear of liability for incidental errors. However, consumer protection advocates worry this will make it easy for brokers to act in their own interest and against the interests of consumers in strategic ways with impunity. Congress seems to, on a bipartisan basis, side with the financial sector here.

H.R.2519: The American Legion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act
What It Will Do: This bill authorizes the United States Treasury to mint 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 regular half-dollar coins commemorating the 1919 founding of the American Foreign Legion (AFL). It recognizes the AFL's historic role leading the push for veterans' rights, elevating and fixing problems within the Department of Veterans Affairs, and reacting to wider needs and disasters in American communities. The bill specifies that these coins will be legal tender. It is to be embossed with some kind of AFL-linked emblem, but the exact choice is left to the Secretary of the Treasury. It will be issued throughout 2019. The Treasury is authorized to sell the coins at surcharges of $35 for a $5 coin, $10 for a $1 coin, and $5 for a half-dollar coin, with proceeds going to the AFL. Allowances are made for reasonable discount prices for pre-orders before 2019 and for bulk orders.
Who It Will Affect: This coin will be appreciated by many in or affiliated with the AFL, as well as those touched by its works. It is also generating some enthusiasm in coin collection circles. Beyond that, though, this bill is supremely uncontroversial.

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S.810: A Bill to Facilitate Construction of a Bridge on Certain Property in Christian County, Missouri, and for Other Purposes
What It Will Do: For five of the last seven years, and continually since July 2015, a one-lane bridge over the Finley River in the Ozark region of Missouri has been closed due to flood damages. Local officials want to build a new, wider bridge nearby. However the ideal site for this new bridge is closed to construction under federal regulations. This is the result of a deal struck between local officials and the feds wherein the latter supplied the former with funds to buy the Riverside Inn, a property repeatedly damaged by floods, and repaired at federal expense, and raze it. The restriction was meant to prevent new structures from imposing the same costs on taxpayers. However officials believe a new bridge is vital for local infrastructure, needs to be developed quickly, and can be developed without facing the same costly flood risks.

This bill waives those federal restrictions and allows the immediate development of the new bridge. However, it stipulates that this waiver of restrictions means that developers must ensure the new bridge will be resistant to flooding, and that the federal government will not provide future disaster assistance for the property or future improvements to it.
Who It Will Affect: The folks who will use this bridge will likely be happy..

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S. 1141: Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This bill expresses Congress's belief that evidence shows the participation of women in efforts to prevent, mitigate, and resolve conflicts around the world lead to more robust results, especially in limiting violent extremism, countering terrorism, and stabilizing societies. However, Congress finds that women are underrepresented in these efforts. As such, Congress officially makes it American policy to promote female participation in these efforts in a meaningful way, and to promote this policy in other nations and with international organizations. As part of this, Congress seeks to promote women's safety, access to resources, and dignity worldwide, and to collect and analyze gender data to help better detect and respond to emerging conflicts, as well as to find new ways of analyzing and monitoring women's empowerment.

It specifically calls upon the president to develop a government-wide strategy on how to implement these goals, in consultation with other federal agencies and departments, including measurable goals, timetables, and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Within two years, the White House is tasked with updating key committees on the progress of the new strategy's implementation.

Who It Will Affect: In theory, this could affect any number of individuals around the world and in the US government. However for now it just create a ton of work for just about every federal agency or department as they develop these new strategies, guidelines, and trainings. We will only get a sense for the potential practical impact of this new government policy once these reports start to emerge.



Presidential Proclamation 87: [Proclaiming] October 8 through October 14, 2017, as National School Lunch Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1962, this proclamation recognizes the value of making sure that American children are healthy and well fed, and the importance of our over 70-year-old school lunch programs in ensuring that they are. Trump's text notes that these programs operate in over 100,000 schools and residential child-care institutions, feeding 31 million children daily. He acknowledges research on the importance of a low-sugar and nutrient-rich diet for mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing and for learning in schools.
Who It Will Affect: Nutrition advocates and other organizations will host events and publicize resources throughout the week on the issues of healthy eating habits and child hunger. However it'll be hard for many to take this proclamation seriously coming from Trump, whose personal views on diet and exercise are so laughably unhealthy and unscientific that he is essentially the inversion of the messages school lunch programs try to send. His proposed 2018 budget would have also slashed funding to the federal agencies that help to bolster school lunch programs, and his Secretary of Agriculture has moved to loosen pro-healthy eating regulations on school lunch programs.

Presidential Proclamation 86: [Proclaiming] October 9, 2017, as Leif Erikson Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1964, this proclamation honors the voyage of the explorer named in its title, the first documented European to reach America around a thousand years ago, touching off a brief period of Nordic contact with a colonization in the far northeast of the continent. It also honors the contributions of Nordic Americans to US culture. Trump's text name drops a number of innovations, and praises the Nordic countries for their strong economic ties to the US as well as their role assisting America in its war on terror. He shares sympathies with a few Nordic cities that have suffered recent terrorist attacks.
Who It Will Affect: This proclamation is a point of pride for Nordic Americans, who have long felt overshadowed by Christopher Columbus and his day. Nordic American organizations will host events across the nation celebrating their culture.

Presidential Proclamation 84: [Proclaiming] October 8 through October 14, 2017, as Fire Prevention Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty since the 1920s, this proclamation recognizes the dangers of fires, noting that 1.4 million blazes broke out in the US last year and that they caused 3,360 deaths and 15,700 injuries in 2015, the last year for which data was available. It also stresses the importance of mitigating these risks through prevention and preparedness efforts, like minding stoves, campfires, fireworks, and cigarette butts. Trump's text also acknowledges the forest fires that have plagued the American West this summer, destroying at least 650 buildings. And he stresses the importance of working smoke alarms and plans for how to escape a fire allowing for two exits that children can memorize and low mobility individuals can utilize.
Who It Will Affect: On October 8, federal facilities will fly their flags at half-mast in memory of the citizens and firefighters who have died due to blazes. Throughout the week, fire awareness groups will host events to help people bone up on their preparedness and prevention skills.


October 5
Presidential Memorandum 73: Integration, Sharing, and Use of National Security Threat Actor Information to Protect Americans
What It Will Do: This text, addressed to over two dozen agency heads and presidential aides, is a very long-winded and legally cautious instruction to a few cabinet members and intelligence community officials to start exploring new technological tools to better aggregate, share, and analyze information on national security threat actors. The new framework should protect the integrity of that information, as well as the rights and liberties of individuals it pertains to, and should regularly be monitored by the folks who devise it in case it needs to be amended or scrapped.

The secretary of Commerce specifically is tasked with interfacing with the intel community to develop models for information exchange and usage, while the Director of National Intelligence will work with the community to improve the machine readability of their data. The director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy will work with other agencies to sync federally funded research and development with the needs of this new framework. Within 270 days, the attorney general, director of National Intelligence, and secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security are to present the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism with a report on their plans for the new framework and how to implement it.
Who It Will Affect: This is a basic government and security efficiency move. It's also entirely speculative and vague at this point.


October 2
Presidential Proclamation 81: Honoring the Victims of the Tragedy in Las Vegas, Nevada
What It Will Do: This brief text expresses Trump and his administration's mourning for the 59 killed and 520 injured in the mass shooting in Las Vega.
Who It Will Affect: Trump has received praise for his quick and uncharacteristically measured response to this incident (a low bar, to be sure).

September 30
Presidential Memorandum 72: Determination with Respect to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008
What It Will Do: Under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008, the United States does not provide military assistance or funding or weapons and equipment sales to countries that use child soldiers in their militaries or support paramilitary forces that do so. But the act allows the president to waive that block if he deems doing so to be in America's interest. Here, Trump waives these limits on Mali and Nigeria entirely, and on the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan where funding is used for peacekeeping operations, and on Somalia where funding is used for military training assistance and peacekeeping operations.
Who It Will Affect: These waivers are not unusual; in recent years the Obama administration also offered similar partial or full waivers to a similar roster of nations, with slight year-to-year differences. However, they have long come under criticism from human rights groups that see them as fundamentally undermining the spirit of the law.


Presidential Proclamation 78: [Proclaiming] October 2017 as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating to 2004, this proclamation acknowledges that all American citizens, industries, and governmental bodies are vulnerable to cyber attacks. Trump acknowledges that these attacks seem to be on the rise. Trump calls on all Americans to reflect on this threat and educate ourselves on how to address it. He also applauds himself for his May 11 executive order, aimed at strengthening cyberseucrity, and claims his administration is promoting a more free and prosperous internet.
Who It Will Affect: Anyone who wishes to heed Trump's call and learn more about the threats of cyber attacks can do so thanks to numerous governmental resources exploring the topic. However this proclamation too will likely irk quite a few cyber security experts. On the campaign trail, Trump showed a clear lack of understanding about "the cyber." His cyber security executive order was seen as basically fine, but took months longer to roll out than had been expected; it is unclear if the administration is making good progress on the reports that order commissioned, or what policy changes it could ultimately lead to. (This in spite of promises that Trump would deliver a robust new cyber policy within 90 days of his inauguration.) A number of key cyber security advisors also quit a White House council in August, both in reaction to Trump's response to the white supremacist attack in Charlottesville and to the perception that the administration is not taking cyber security seriously enough.


S.1866: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria Education Relief Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This bill allows the Secretary of Education to waive requirements on fund matching for two key grant programs for higher education institutions that were in the path of recent devastating southeastern hurricanes, or that host students from affected regions. This would make it slightly easier to shuffle around about $17.5 million in grant money to respond to higher education facilities, public and private, hit by the disaster.
Who It Will Affect: In the grand scheme of hurricane relief, this is a minor action. But it is relatively uncontroversial and will be appreciated by schools and students in or from affected areas.


H.R.3819: Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2017
What It Will Do: This bill extends funding and authorization for a bevy of Veterans Affairs programs and authorization for several of the agency's funding mechanisms.
Who It Will Affect: This bill maintains existing functions for an agency for which there is widespread, bipartisan support. It is uncontroversial, but appreciated.

Executive Order 47: On the Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees
What It Will Do: Under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, groups formed by executive action, rather than by law, to study and provide policy advice on key issues can only convene for two years at a time. At that point, they have to be revived by a new executive action for another two years, or they lapse.

This is Trump's first continuation of these two-year advisory committees. It maintains 32 bodies already in existence, from the President's Export Council to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science. However it leaves off about a dozen committees that Obama had continued in bi-annual executive order on this subject in late September.

It also ends the Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure that Trump created via executive order on July 19. That council had already fallen apart in August, after business leaders involved quit en masse in response to Trump's handling of the white supremacist domestic terror incident in Charlottesville.
Who It Will Affect: Since this order mostly continues the status quo, its effects will mainly be felt where it allows committee terms to lapse. However even those effects will be hard to gauge, as many committees or councils are mostly symbolic.


Executive Order 46: On the Revocation of [the] Executive Order Creating Labor-Management Forums
What It Will Do: In late 2009, Obama signed an executive orderan executive order creating the forums mentioned in this order's title, reviving a Clinton-era policy nixed under George W. Bush. The idea was to use these forums to improve labor-management cooperation and reduce adversarial negotiations to increase the efficiency and quality of the federal workforce. The forums earned the respect of federal workers' unions and seemed to be improving the quality of labor-management relations. This order claims that those forums were a waste of taxpayer money. As such, it officially revokes Obama's order, killing these forums.
Who It Will Affect: Some agencies will likely choose to retain their forums as a matter of internal policy, and many of the agreements and relationships fostered over the past eight years will endure. However this will overall enable a return to a more adversarial and less productive mode of interacting between federal workers and their managers.

Presidential Memorandum 70: Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2018
What It Will Do: This action caps the number of immigrants who can enter the United States between October 1 and September 30, 2018, at 45,000. It allots 19,000 of those slots to people from Africa, 17,500 from the near East and South Asia, 5,000 from East Asia, 2,000 from Europe and Central Asia, and 1,500 from Latin America and the Caribbean, with the caveat that excess spots allotted to one region can be used to accommodate individuals from another in case of a new crisis. It explicitly does not allocate a reserve quota, independent of region, to respond to unforeseen circumstances or new crises, as past refugee caps have done.
Who It Will Affect: There are an unprecedented 65 million people displaced across the world, and yet this is the lowest refugee cap number since America began setting them. In 1980, the US took in about 231,000 refugees, mainly Russian Jews and Vietnamese "boat people." In the 1990s the US was taking in more than 100,000 people a year in response to the Balkan wars. During the 2000s, before the Syrian refugee crisis broke out, the refugee cap hovered around 70,000 to 80,000.

Obama moved the cap up to 85,000 in 2016 and planned to increase them to 110,000 in 2017, but soon after taking office, Trump used his travel ban orders to chop that number down to 50,000, undercutting a previous record low of 63,000. This latest move is just Trump continuing on his anti-refugee trajectory.

Some of Trump's more anti-immigrant aides reportedly wanted the cap set as low as 15,000, while Homeland Security wanted 40,000 due to their existing backlog in asylum applications. This seems to be a compromise cap between Homeland Security and the State Department, which lobbied for sticking with the 50,000 cap. But the fact that Trump apparently did not talk much to refugee groups, or members of Congress who are usually consulted on these issues, suggests that this anti-refugee push is going to continue.

Presidential Memorandum 69: For the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director of National Intelligence [Regarding the] Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities under the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act of 2017, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, and the Support for Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014
What It Will Do: This action offloads a slew of presidential responsibilities related to assigning or waiving Russian sanctions authorized by law onto the Secretaries of State and the Treasury. To name just a few, Trump outsources his responsibilities for handling sanctions or travel bans on individuals aimed at reducing Russian cyber attacks on the US, reducing Russian intervention in Ukraine, fighting corruption and human rights abuses in Russia, and hindering usually Russian support for the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Who It Will Affect: The same notes from Presidential Memorandum 58, signed on September 8, apply here: For the most part, this is just more disengagement from the nuts-and-bolts of governance by Trump. However given his ongoing Russia investigation woes, deciding to step away from direct involvement with sanctions targeting Russian officials and industries is odd.


Presidential Proclamation 75: [Proclaiming] October 2017 as National Disability Employment Awareness Month
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1945, this proclamation celebrates the contributions of Americans with disabilities to the national workforce. Trump acknowledges that it can be difficult for America's 30 million disabled adults to find employment; in 2016, he notes, their unemployment rate was 27.7 percent, far above the national average. He calls on employers to acknowledge the value of their unique perspectives and individual talents, and claims that his get-people-back-to-work administration will help to find ways to make it easier for this segment of the population to enter the workforce. He says his Department of Labor and Social Security Administration are exploring effective strategies to help people with disabilities stay in or return to work, especially just after an injury or health issue, but gives no details.
Who It Will Affect: For those who wish to explore employment options, or learn more about employing disabled individuals, tools are via the Department of Labor and will be promoted throughout the month by events and other advocacy by that agency and other groups nationwide. However, as we have noted previously, it will be hard to take Trump's words on disabled Americans seriously, given his conduct with respect to them and how his legislation affects them to date.

September 27
H.R.3110: Financial Stability Oversight Council Insurance Member Continuity Act
What It Will Do: The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to watch over the stability of the US economy. It is composed of ten voting members, including an independent insurance expert appointed by the president, and five non-voting members. Due to a glitch in the language of the law, it was unclear if the insurance expert would be able to serve in an acting capacity once his or her term was up, assuming a successor had not been named and confirmed. This bill clarifies that he or she can, for up to 18 months or until a successor is in.
Who It Will Affect: The FSOC and the current insurance expert on it, whose term was set to expire on September 30 and for whom Trump has not named a successor. It's a technical fix that will allow the FSOC to continue chugging along, and as such was an easy, bipartisan bill, despite GOP rage at the original law creating the council.

September 25
Presidential Memorandum 68: Delegation of Authority under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017
What It Will Do: This memorandum foists Trump's responsibility, under a section of the bill that kept the government open between May and the end of this month, for authoring a report on a strategy for US operations in Syria off onto the Secretary of State. It also tasks the Secretary with authoring any substantively similar reports required of him by future laws.
Who It Will Affect: This mostly creates new work for the Secretary of State and removes responsibilities from Trump. It also continues a clear pattern of Trump offloading his war planning responsibilities on others, after a campaign spent insisting that he and only he had all the best ideas for solving America's conflicts abroad.


Presidential Memorandum 67: Increasing Access to High-Quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

What It Will Do: This memorandum starts by laying out the established reality that STEM education is increasingly vital to securing solid jobs in the modern economy, and to the future of US economic viability. However, most primary and secondary schools lack solid STEM courses, especially in computer science (CS); the problem is far more pronounced in majority minority and rural areas, and there is a significant gender gap in engagement with STEM and CS courses where they are offered. So this action makes it policy for the Department of Education (DoE) to prioritize helping school districts to train and recruit teachers who can help them develop STEM programs, with a focus on CS. It instructs the DoE to take these priorities into account with divvying out grant money in 2018 and beyond. And it sets a goal of allocating $200 million from existing funds for the DoE in 2018, within 30 days of the passage of a Congressional budget for the Department, to grant funding furthering these goals. The DoE must issue a plan on how it will make this allocation to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Department is instructed to develop guidelines and identify technical assistance resources for the development of strong CS courses. It is finally tasked with issuing a report within 90 days of every new fiscal year to the OMB on its progress on these priorities and how relevant grants have been spent.
Who It Will Affect: In the short term, this will just create a bit of shuffling and reporting work for the Department of Education. It will also garner some positive press for Ivanka Trump, who reportedly spearheaded this initiative, bolstering the narrative of her beneficent and progressive influence on an otherwise vindictive and regressive White House. Education experts have greeted the move with some cautious optimism. But Trump's 2018 budget proposal included a $9 billion cut to the Department of Education, including the total elimination of a substantial grant program targeted at these same goals. Congress did not match this level of cuts, but their budget looks set to hack away at pro-STEM and –CS grants and initiatives far more than this (by the president's own admission) paltry reallocation of sliced funds can hope to even compensate for.


September 24
Presidential Proclamation 74: Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats
What It Will Do: Writ short, this is Trump's newest travel ban. But unlike the previous ban issued on March 6, this is not another rehash of Trump's poorly planned, disastrously executed, and ultimately axed initial travel ban from January 27. It is a new product, ostensibly the result of a study establishing new baselines for the information the US wants to be provided with to vet foreign travelers and immigrants. Administration officials determined that eight nations either lacked the capacity or the will to comply with new American baselines: Chad, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Venezuela, and Yemen. Officials issued a report to the president and his assistants recommending that seven of these nations should accordingly face travel restrictions. They left Iraq (which was part of Trump's initial January travel ban) out noting that, despite its capacity issues, it is special, thanks to the US presence in the country and its importance to American interests in the Middle East. (This action also drops the first two travel ban's restrictions on Sudan, which was seen as suitably willing to improve its data sharing.) Officials also decided that, while Somalia theoretically meets information-sharing requirements and is willing to improve, it should still face restrictions given the terror threat in the nation and limits on its government's control of the nation.



September 23
Presidential Proclamation 73: [Proclaiming] September 24, 2017, as Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1936, this proclamation expresses national gratitude and support for families with members in the armed services who died serving their nation. It assures those families, in boilerplate language, that their relatives did not die in vain, but did so to protect America and its values, remembers their dead, and commends them for so often stepping up to the challenging of helping new Gold Star families navigate their grief. It also calls on government officials and regular Americans to display the flag.
Who It Will Affect: This is a simple sentiment that would usually garner uncomplicated appreciation from Gold Star families across the nation and coincide with numerous memorial events. However, this year it draws attention back to Trump's long feud with a Gold Star family during his presidential campaign, which other Gold Star families characterized as disrespectful to their loss. Trump's equivocation of his own vague, alleged sacrifices with those of the Khan family, long-term attempt to use them, their son, and the episode to score political points, and failure to ever apologize for his approach led to concerns about the depth of his understanding of the grief felt by and level of his genuine sympathies for these families.

September 21
Executive Order 45: Imposing Additional Sanctions with Respect to North Korea
What It Will Do: This action places some of the most dire and sweeping economic sanctions America has issued in recent years on North Korea. It's the Trump administration's latest response to Pyongyang's recent nuclear weapon and missile tests, as well as to ongoing concerns about the human rights abuses of the regime.

The order specifically freezes assets and confiscates property owned or held by individuals or entities connected to North Korea's major construction, energy, financial, fishing, IT, manufacturing, medical, mining, textile, and transit industries. It also targets merchants determined to own, control, or operate any North Korean land entry points, airports, or seaport, as well as those have engaged in significant imports or exports to or from North Korea. It allows the same sanctions on anyone who assists, supports, or provides goods or services to or in support of the above mentioned sanctionable individuals or entities, or to anyone or any entity owned, controlled by, or purported to act for, or somehow on, their behalf.

The order further bans aircraft and ships tied to foreign interests from landing at US airports or entering American seaports within 180 days of their departure from North Korea. It blocks funds from banks owned or controlled by North Korean people or entities—and from banks used to transfer funds North Korean people or entities have an interest in. It also authorizes sanctions against any individual or entity that knowingly conducted or facilitated major transactions with people or entities blocked by a previous sanctions measure, freezing their assets or confiscating their property, limiting their ability to open new accounts in the US, and imposing strict controls on any such accounts that already exist. Individuals or entities who attempt to help others evade or avoid these sanctions, or who conspire against them, are punishable, as well. And finally, the order bans the entry into the US for immigrant or nonimmigrant purposes of foreigners associated with North Korea's above-mentioned industries and shipping network.


The order notes that it does not necessarily apply to operations of the federal government or United Nations or their employees, grantees, or contractors. It also notes that exceptions can be made in the future (and of course the Treasury Department ultimately decides who to apply these sanctions to). However, the overall provisions of the order went into effect at the start of September 21.
Who It Will Affect: This order is meant to strike a death blow to the North Korean economy by going after its major industries but also by making good, in part, on Trump's promised threat to punish all who do business with the nation. It sends the message that America is willing to force nations and global institutions to make a choice between doing business with the tiny hermit kingdom or the massive US financial apparatus. This, it is hoped, will force North Korea to the negotiating table on its nuclear program, as similar though less intensive sanctions were believed to bring Iran to the table over its own nuclear program during the Obama administration. Coming days after Trump's apocalyptic rhetoric on a potential violent solution to his North Korean problem at the United Nations, it also somewhat reassuringly suggests the US is still willing to negotiate.

However it remains to be seen how these sanctions will be applied and how effective they will be. North Korea is not Iran; it has a long history of enduring sanctions. The US Representative to the United Nations has admitted these sanctions may not be enough to force the regime's hand on its nukes. Meanwhile, the North Korean administration is fuming, promising some form of retaliation, calling Trump "deranged," and threatening to test a massive hydrogen bomb in the Pacific. It is unclear if this is bluster or if these sanctions have exacerbated America's problems.


September 18
Presidential Memorandum 66: Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism
What It Will Do: In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, George W. Bush used an executive order to authorize sanctions against foreign individuals and entities determined to support, attempt, or commit terrorism. However the law under which those sanctions powers were justified requires they be re-upped every year. Every president since has accordingly reaffirmed the need for and thus reauthorized this sanctions power. This is Trump's first such reaffirmation and continuation of this by-now accepted policy.
Who It Will Affect: This just perpetuates a 16-year-old status quo.



Presidential Memorandum 65: A Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate [Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism]
What It Will Do: Law requires that, for Trump to continue the policy he does in the above memorandum, he must notify Congress that he intends to do so. This is that notification.

September 15
Presidential Proclamation 72: [Proclaiming] September 17 through September 23, 2017, as Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation acknowledges this increasingly clear epidemic and reaffirms the government's commitment to tackling it. Trump's text notes that new figures indicate up to 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016, with most of those deaths linked to opioid use, and that the number of opioid-dependent babies born in the US has increased by a factor of four over the past decade. Trump asserts that his administration is doing its best to act on existing laws that can be used to address this phenomenon. He also touts his March formation of a commission to study and recommend responses to the opioid epidemic, which will issue its findings this fall, leading to a government-wide policy.
Who It Will Affect: Anyone concerned with the American opioid epidemic will appreciate this recognition and spotlight. However, as pointed out in this tracker's coverage of Trump's August 31 proclamation that September is National Drug Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, this administration's feints to boost addiction treatment and address the opioid epidemic are easily undercut by his attempts to slash core substance abuse resources and funding throughout the government. He has also seemingly ignored the early recommendations of the commission he references here, notably declining to officially declare the opioid epidemic a national crisis despite referring to it as one in speeches.
For more: Read about Trumps response to the crisis.


Presidential Proclamation 71: [Proclaiming] September 17 through September 23, 2017, as National Farm Safety and Health Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation honors the labors of America's farmers, ranchers, and foresters, acknowledging that they keep the nation running while working in some of the most dangerous conditions possible in the US.
Who It Will Affect: Those in agriculture and forestry, as well as anyone concerned with worker safety, will appreciate this acknowledgment. Anyone concerned with these issues can pursue a number of education opportunities or access tools provided by organizations nationwide this week.

Presidential Proclamation 70: [Proclaiming] September 17 through September 23, 2017, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty, this proclamation recognizes the role historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played in providing education and opportunity to marginalized communities. Trump's text recycles many of the platitudes from his February 28 executive order promising to support HBCUs. It also acknowledges the 150th anniversary of nine HBCUs. Trump reaffirms his stated support for these institutions—namely making sure they are self-sustaining. He notes that the White House will host its annual HBCU Summit this week, exploring the priorities laid out in that February executive order and how to achieve them.
Who It Will Affect: The Trump administration has made little progress on the promises outlined in that February executive order. Trump also signaled in May that he might refuse to maintain a 25-year-old federal program supporting HBCUs with loans for construction, saying it amounted to race-based policy and favoritism, before his administration walked that wildly off-the-mark reading of the program back. Trump also opted to skip this year's HBCU Summit, which was shortened. He has been delayed in naming a director to head the White House's Initiative on HBCUs. All of this has made HBCUs dubious about Trump's commitment to his platitudes and promises.


Presidential Proclamation 69: [Proclaiming] September 17, 2017, as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, and September 17, 2017, through September 23, 2017, as Constitution Week
What It Will Do: Annual presidential duties dating back to 1952 and 1956, respectively, these proclamations celebrate the constitution on the anniversary of its creation, as well as the achievements of the founding fathers and of America's citizens. Trump's text makes boilerplate notes about this being the 230th anniversary of the constitution, and about our constitution being the oldest such document in continuous usage today. His comments then take a distinctly MAGA turn. He tells citizens to beware of would-be ruling classes, which he implies strongly are members of the federal state and executive agencies that he controls, and claims that regulations are the result of opaque and unaccountable actors in the government. He thereby asserts that regulations are apparently unconstitutional. He also insinuates that the system of checks and balances are out of whack and promises to restore the government to its proper constitutional order for US citizens' benefit.
Who It Will Affect: Given how little many Americans seem to understand about the Constitution, anyone concerned with the quality of American democracy and governance should welcome calls for all of us to learn a little more about it. However any proclamations about the meaning of the Constitution coming from Trump will read as dubious to folks who do know the document well. Throughout his campaign, Trump was blasted for advancing a series of proposals that blatantly stood against and demonstrated a clear lack of understanding of the Constitution. He has faced similar criticisms throughout his presidency, especially for his attacks on the press and challenges to judicial independence. His insinuations that the entire modern executive branch and federal state are unconstitutional show a limited understanding of the basis for the current system of government.

Presidential Memorandum 64: For the Secretary of Defense [Regarding the Thirteenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation]
What It Will Do: This is a regular duty of the executive branch. It calls for a review of the systems by which service members are paid in order to make sure that the armed services are getting a fair shake and that service compensation can continue to attract new recruits. This text is all boilerplate, and makes no mention of ideas for reforms to the system, just saying that some may emerge from that review. All it does is name the secretary of defense the president's proxy who will conduct the review.
Who It Will Affect: As this is just a call for a regular survey, this action doesn't affect anyone for now. However Trump's basic language about the importance of giving service members fair compensation may rankle some observers, including some in the service, given his move in August to keep military pay increases below statutorily recommended levels to match private sector growth wage, a blow to compensation.

S.J.Res.49: A Joint Resolution Condemning the Violence and Domestic Terrorist Attack That Took Place during Events between August 11 and August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, Recognizing the First Responders Who Lost Their Lives While Monitoring the Events, Offering Deep Condolences to the Families and Friends of Those Individuals Who Were Killed and Deepest Sympathies and Support to Those Individuals Who Were Injured by the Violence, Expressing Support for the Charlottesville Community, Rejecting White Nationalists, White Supremacists, The Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, and Other Hate Groups, and Urging the President and the President's Cabinet to Use All Available Resources to Address the Threats Posed by Those Groups
What It Will Do: This mouthful of a measure expresses the sentiments outlined in the title.
Who It Will Affect: This measure is a simple and straightforward expression of decency and logic on Congress's part that nearly every American will appreciate. It is also a major rebuke to Trump, who has waffled and floundered in his response to Charlottesville over the past month, equivocating between white supremacists and anti-fascist counter-protesters. This resolution forces Trump to put his signature on a much clearer and stronger statement than any he has made to date. However, it does not directly criticize or punish Trump, nor is it binding on any other aspect of his government. As such its effects are largely rhetorical; the resolution is ultimately a feel-good show of defiance, but toothless.
For More: Read our analysis of the resolution and its impact.

September 13
Presidential Memorandum 63: For the Secretary of State [Regarding a Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2018]
What It Will Do: Since the Reagan era, presidents have regularly labeled various countries as nations of concern for drug manufacturing or trafficking. This is Trump's first such list, although it is little changed from Obama's last list issued in 2016. It identifies 22 nations of concern (Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela), but notes that this designation does not mean a nation is not doing its utmost to reign in drug operations or work with the US.

Like Obama's last memoranda, Trump's text does note that Bolivia and Venezuela area not adhering to their obligations under international agreements or cooperating with the United States. But unlike Obama, Trump explicitly notes that he thought about adding Colombia to this list for the first time since the late 1990s. Trump notes that in recent years Colombia reduced its coca field destruction programs (in favor of working with the FARC group and other left-wing militias towards disarmament and long-term economic solutions in marginalized, coca-growing regions) leading to a massive rise in cocaine production—up about 200 percent since 2013. He claims he only held off on changing the nation's designation because it has shown signs of renewed anti-coca operations and robust US cooperation over the past year.
Who It Will Affect: This action is mostly a continuation of the status quo, save with respect to Colombia. For that nation, this was a serious and shocking rebuke. Colombia has made clear in recent months that it feels put upon by US expectations, given all the work it does to intercept cocaine, work with American forces, and tackle the underlying causes of production. It likely stings that America is ignoring the nation's legitimate need to end a long civil war and telling it to to go back to burning fields. The nation would clearly like to see America back off, as would the rest of the region, and take more responsibility for creating demand and not controlling its own internal drug markets.


Executive Order 44: Regarding the Proposed Acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation by China Venture Capital Fund Corporation Limited
What It Will Do: In November Canyon Bridge, a Chinese investment firm focused on acquiring superconductor companies, mainly in the US, initiated the purchase of Lattice for $1.3 billion. The Oregon company makes a type of chip whose functions can be changed via software and mainly services consumer needs after moving out of defense contracts, where its competitors, Altera and Xilinx, still thrive. However, it quickly emerged that Canyon Bridge was backed and at least partially funded by the Chinese government, raising concerns in the US that the acquisition of Lattice would lead to gains for China's aerospace program, or the erosion of America's intellectual property edge. Members of Congress and others in the government immediately condemned the deal.

This led the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), a panel of officials who review major deals that could have implications for national security, to initiate a review of the case. Earlier in September, the CFIUS decided the deal was not in America's best interests and passed its ruling to Trump, who has ultimate statutory authority to block mergers and acquisitions deemed detrimental to the US. In this action, Trump orders that both Canyon Bridge and Lattice cease actions on the deal, fully breaking it within 30 days (unless the CFIUS grants them an extension of up to 60 more days).
Who It Will Affect: Most immediately this affects Lattice, which had been shopping the deal with Canyon Bridge for a year before it was fully initiated in November. Given that almost three-quarters of the company's revenue is already in Asia, the acquisition made sense for them, and was a very lucrative offer. It claims that they had already spent $2.5 million on preparations for the shift in the first half of 2017. The company has immediately complied with Trump's decision, but lobbied hard to influence the CFIUS or Trump. Canyon Bridge and Lattice both argued this deal would have allowed them to hire more employees in the US and bolster a struggling American company, but to no apparent avail.

This decision has also further soured Sino-American relations. Trump has already issued several orders initiating investigations that could lead to protectionist actions against China under the guise of national security concerns, and tensions have been high as America tries to pressure China with possible economic coercion to help in reining in the rogue nuclear state of North Korea. This is only the fourth time in 27 years that a president has had to issue a ruling on a deal like this.

Presidential Proclamation 68: [Proclaiming] September 15 through October 15, 2017, as National Hispanic Heritage Month
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1988, this proclamation offers recognition and appreciation for the accomplishments of Hispanic individuals in America and the contributions they have made to the nation. In what has become a recurrent theme when he issues such routine proclamations, Trump's text focuses on the economic and military value these individuals bring. He applauds Hispanic-owed businesses for growing at 15 times the national average—perhaps not recognizing how this is in no small part a result of the very sorts of immigration he wishes to stamp out or make harder—and notes that 60 Medals of Honor have been awarded to Hispanic individuals. He also touts his tough stances on the Cuban and Venezuelan regimes as a sign of his administration's continuing dedication to Latin America.
Who It Will Affect: Anyone who wishes to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture in the US can participate in any number of events marking this month nationwide. However this commemoration will also inspire a lot of doubt and ire toward Trump thanks to his notorious inflammatory statements on Mexicans and other Hispanic immigrants.



Presidential Proclamation 67: [Proclaiming] September 15, 2017, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day[Proclaiming] September 15, 2017, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day
What It Will Do: An annual presidential duty dating back to 1998, this proclamation recognizes the sacrifices of returned prisoners of war and offers remembrance for armed forces members who have gone missing in action. It highlights continuing efforts to find remaining POWs or confirm the fate of MIA service members from recent American conflicts and the government's dedication to keep those efforts up until all service people are ideally accounted for. It also mandates that on the day in question the official MIA and POW flag, recognized and only flown on special occasion by law since 1990, be raised over many federal offices and war memorials.
Who It Will Affect: POWs and their families, as well as those connected to MIA individuals will likely appreciate this recognition and affirmation of continuing support and efforts. All individuals will be able to participate inrelated ceremonies nationwide as they please.

H.R.3732: Emergency Aid to American Survivors of Hurricanes Irma and Jose Overseas Act
What It Will Do: This bill amends the Social Security Act to allow a boost in funding this year and next for assistance for repatriating citizens from $1 million to $25 million.
Who It Will Affect: This will help Americans living in nations affected by recent hurricanes who wish to return to the US after these disasters, but who have limited resources.


September 12
S.Con.Res.23: A Concurrent Resolution Authorizing the Use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for a Ceremony to Present the Congressional Gold Medal to the Filipino Veterans of World War II
What It Will Do: During World War II, about 260,000 Filipinos responded to calls to volunteer to fight with America, which controlled the nation at the time. They served admirably and were vital to the American effort against Japan. But in 1946, around the same time the Philippines became independent, America passed a law denying them their promised benefits, and systematically denied them recognition for decades thereafter. Through groups like the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, veterans and their families, both Filipino and Filipino American, have long sought the restoration of those benefits. In 2009, Obama signed a law providing small one-time payouts as a form of minimal benefits. Then last fall, he signed a bill awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the group. In the intervening year, groups involved with the struggle for recognition have been working to identify and verify the service of some 18,000 living veterans from this cohort, and to raise funds so that the National Mint can strike at least 500 bronze replicas of the medal to be awarded, with a framed copy of the law that awarded it, to some them and their next of kin.

This action grants permission for those surviving veterans, their families, and military and state officials from the US and the Philippines to use the Capitol Hill space mentioned in its title for a ceremony awarding those medals and officially recognizing the veterans' service on October 25. It notes that the Architect of the Capitol will specify any limits to what they can do in the space.
Who It Will Affect: This will be appreciated by all those who have worked to rectify a great national wrong as best they can, as well as by the veterans and their families being honored.


September 11
Presidential Memorandum 62: Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks
What It Will Do: Three days after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, President George W. Bush declared a national emergency and by so doing invoked the power to more readily deploy, control, and organize America's armed forces. By law, this declaration has to be extended every year, or else these powers will vanish. It has been extended annually by every president since. This is Trump continuing this policy.

Presidential Memorandum 61: A Message to the Congress of the United States [Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks]
What It Will Do: Under law, Trump has to notify Congress when he is extending an existing declared state of emergency, as he does in the above action. This is him doing so.

September 8
H.R.601: Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018, and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017
What It Will Do: This bill was initially the narrow Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act, which had already been passed through both chambers of Congress. However S.Con.Res.24 transformed it into a vehicle for the enactment of a deal, made earlier in the week, to provide aid for hurricane victims and keep the government running at existing funding levels and raise the debt ceiling through December 8, 2017, all in one fell swoop.