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On TAP 3 April 2017

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What's On TAP for Healthcare? ...... 12

What's On TAP for Education? ...... 13

What's On TAP for Justice? ...... 13

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3 April 2017 ______The Issue in Brief

Banking and Finance

CFPB chief Richard Cordray will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo’s resignation takes effect, though no successor has been named. In other news, Acting FTC Chair Maureen Ohlhausen has announced plans for an Economic Liberty Task Force to work with states to address anti-competitive occupational licenses at the state level.

Foreign Policy

President Trump has a full week of foreign policy meetings, beginning today with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. On Wednesday, he will meet with King Abdullah of Jordan, a meeting that is expected to set the stage for a meeting later this month with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. In addition to the perennial discussion of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Egyptian and Jordanian meetings are expected to focus on defeating ISIS and addressing the Syrian refugee issue. Al-Sisi in particular expects a much warmer reception from Trump than in the prior administration. On Thursday and Friday, the President will host Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago. The meeting will likely focus on North Korea’s nuclear program and disputes over trade and territory in the South China Sea. ’s instrumental work coordinating President Xi’s visit with Chinese Ambassador, Cui Tiankai has shined a light on his emerging role as the go-to back-channel diplomat for foreign nations seeking better communications and understanding with his father-in-law.

Defense

Secretary Mattis visited London and held a joint press conference with his British counterpart, where he affirmed Secretary Tillerson’s statement last month that military force is “on the table” to stop North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Mattis has also asked The to lift Obama Administration restrictions on providing support to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their operations in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Finally, Fiona Hill was named White House National Security Council Senior Director for Europe and Russia.

Economic Growth

President Trump announced the creation of a new of American Innovation (OAI), to be led by Jared Kushner, which will lead efforts on reorganizing the government and streamlining the bureaucracy. The effort is similar to initiatives started by most modern presidents, and OAI’s chances of success will depend largely on being able to get buy-in from career staff at departments and agencies, a difficult task to achieve from The White House. After the failure of GOP efforts to replace Obamacare, the Administration is re-focusing on tax reform and infrastructure, but the fight over how to pay for these initiatives could derail the effort. To understand what tax reform could look like, look at the consolidated tax plan Trump’s Transition team laid out between the election and Inauguration Day and the personnel he’s putting in place to drive the initiative.

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Trade

A draft version of a Trump Administration letter to Congress on how it wants to renegotiate NAFTA has been leaked. The proposal seeks more modest changes than Trump advocated on the campaign and would retain several controversial issues, “including an arbitration panel that lets investors in the three nations circumvent local courts to resolve civil claims.” Separately, President Trump signed two executive orders focused on trade. The first order calls for a report to examine if trade deficits between the U.S. and its major trading partners are caused by “cheating or other inappropriate behavior.” Once this report is complete, any determination that a nation is cheating could lead the Administration to call for protective tariffs or other measures. The second order to strengthen penalties on foreign products traded unfairly. While the Administration claims these orders are not directed at China, they are expected to be a point of discussion during President Xi’s upcoming visit.

Energy and Environment

President Trump signed a long awaited calling for a review of the Clean Power Plan, removing the requirement that federal officials consider the “social cost of carbon”, an Obama era requirement attempting to place a dollar amount on the long-term negative impacts of carbon emissions when making federal policies, and rolling back several other Obama era energy directives. Trump has directed the EPA to replace the Obama Administration’s Waters Of The U.S. Rule by the end of 2017. In response Trump’s executive order, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke formally lifted the moratorium on coal leases on federal land.

Healthcare

New Jersey Governor will serve as the Chairman of a White House Commission to combat opioid addiction. Christie has been highly engaged on the issue of drug addiction and dedicated his final year in office to tackling the issue. FDA Commissioner nominee will testify on Wednesday in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In the past, Gottlieb has opposed efforts to expand clinical trials and argued for simplifying the FDA approval process.

Education

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and toured the National Air and Space Museum to encourage young girls to pursue careers in STEM subjects. At a separate event, DeVos called for expanding school choice programs and increasing educational options for students.

Justice

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote today on advancing the nomination of Neil Gorsuch as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court to the full Senate. While the nomination will clear the committee, the threat of a filibuster is likely to lead the Senate Republican Leadership to invoke the “nuclear option” if they are not able to secure 60 votes to avoid a Democratic filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made clear there will be a floor vote by Friday. Last week, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii extended his ruling blocking President Trump’s travel and refugee executive order from temporary to indefinite, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the federal government may withhold criminal justice grants from jurisdictions that do not fully cooperate with federal immigration laws.

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TAP Page 3 The Administration Project 3 April 2017 ______What's On TAP for Banking and Finance?

Quick Takes:

• CFPB chief Richard Cordray will testify before the House Financial Services Committee during a hearing entitled “The 2016 Semi-Annual Reports of the Bureau of Consumer Protection” on Wednesday.

• Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo’s resignation takes effect Wednesday April 5th, though no successor has been named.

FTC Takes Aim At Occupational Licenses

Acting FTC Chair Maureen Ohlhausen Has Created An Economic Liberty Task Force To Fight Anti-Competitive Occupation Licenses At The State Level. Acting Chair of the FTC, Maureen Ohlhausen is creating an Economic Liberty Task Force to take on state-level occupational licensing, saying the reasoning behind requiring many of the licenses “range from dubious to ridiculous.” Occupational licenses created by the states are a barrier to employment in many fields as approximately one in four jobs requires a license. The time and cost of obtaining a license is burdensome enough that even the Obama White House released a report on the negative consequences of having too many licensing requirements for too many professionals that do not need that level of oversight to ensure public health and safety like florists, landscapers, and hair braiders.

The FTC Can Police Anticompetitive Licenses Through Legal Action Where Anti-Competitive Practices Can Be Shown, But The Task Force Will Focus On Working With State-Level Officials On Broader Licensing Reforms. Though the FTC’s mandate is to police anti-competitive behavior, it is rare for the FTC to find licensing rules constitute anti-competitive behavior. In one notable instance, the FTC won a Supreme Court victory in 2015 when they accused the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners of engaging in anti-competitive behavior for barring non-dentists from providing teeth whitening services. The Court held the board was engaging in “self-dealing” because six of the eight members of the board were dentists, and active market participants “cannot be allowed to regulate their own markets free from antitrust liability.” Ohlhausen acknowledges these licenses are under state control, and unless the FTC can make a case that the licensing is anti-competitive like in the case of the North Carolina dentists, the FTC is left with only an advisory role. Ohlhausen said the task force will seek to partner with governors, state legislators, and other state level officials looking to “open doors to opportunity.” The task force website lists five states – Arizona, Delaware, Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin – where Governors already have taken steps to reform their occupational licensing system.

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TAP Page 4 The Administration Project 3 April 2017 ______What's On TAP for Foreign Policy?

Quick Takes:

• Today, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will visit the White House. The meeting is expected to focus on the fight against ISIS. Al-Sisi will likely have a closer relationship with Trump than he had with Obama, who withheld military aid from in response to the 2013 coup. Trump met with al-Sisi last September and praised him for his “strong support for Egypt’s war on terrorism.”

• On Tuesday, King Abdullah of Jordan will begin a state visit to the . King Abdullah will meet with President on Wednesday and several other Administration officials over the course of the week. His Majesty’s talks with President Trump will focus on cooperation and strategic partnership between Jordan and the United States on issues such as Syrian refugees, ISIS, and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abas is expected to visit the United States and meet with President Trump soon after King Abdullah does, but the Palestine Foreign Ministry has said it would “evaluate the results and outcomes” of the visits of President al-Sisi and King Abdullah before setting an agenda. Trump has already met and spoke several times with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and expressed strong support for Israel while also encouraging moderation in settlement expansions to which the Palestinians object.

• On Thursday and Friday, the President will host Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago. The meeting will likely focus on North Korea’s nuclear program and disputes over trade and in the South China Sea.

• Secretary Tillerson attended a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. Tillerson pledged to preserve U.S. sanctions against Russia unless Putin “reverses” its Ukraine actions. He also stated, “Allies must increase defense spending.” However, this demand received strong pushback from the German Foreign Minister, who called the two percent defense spending target neither “reachable or desirable,” illustrating exactly the attitude among Europeans that has frustrated President Trump and caused him to clash with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European leaders more generally.

• Secretary Tillerson traveled to Turkey, where he met with President Erdogan and held a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavus•oglu. Tillerson also met with wife of a American pastor who is being detained on charges he is part of the Gulen network that Turkish authorities have accused of orchestrating last summer’s attempted coup. The meeting was a nod to Tillerson’s desire to balance human rights concerns with strategic relationships.

• K.T. McFarland, who had been tapped by to serve as Deputy National Security Advisor, has been offered the post of Ambassador to Singapore. McFarland was a former Analyst before joining the Administration.

Kushner Becoming Trump’s Kissinger-In-Law

Jared Kushner’s Most Important Role May Be That Of Emerging Back-Channel Diplomat. Kushner has several major roles in The White House. In addition to directing the new Office of American

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Innovation (see “What’s on TAP for Economic Growth?”), Kushner is also advising Trump on his policy agenda and leading efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. Kushner’s most significant role, however, may be serving as a back-channel diplomat for his father-in-law. Kushner is the “primary point of contact for presidents, ministers, and ambassadors from more than two dozen countries.”

Most Recently, He Was Instrumental In Coordinating Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Visit To Mar-A-Lago This Coming Weekend With Chinese Ambassador, Cui Tiankai. The summit is the culmination of Kushner’s talks with Chinese diplomats, beginning with his role in mending fences with China over President Trump’s questioning of the “One China” policy. This outreach follows on his efforts to smooth out tensions with Mexican diplomat Luis Videgaray, following Trump’s recent dust- up with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and his discussions on NAFTA with Canadian Prime Minister . He is quickly becoming the most reliable channel for foreign governments seeking an understanding of Trump and a willing ear on their policy views and concerns.

Obama Holdovers Running Trump Foreign Policy

The Trump Administration Has Been Forced To Rely On Obama Administration Foreign Policy Holdovers Due To A Lack Of Support Staff. As covered in Delve's The Empty Government report, the Trump Administration has been forced to depend on foreign policy experts who are Obama Administration holdovers. Notable holdovers include Yal Lempert, who served in the Obama Administration focused on the issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank; Thomas A. Shannon Jr., who assisted President Trump before his meetings with the leaders of Japan, Britain, and Canada; and Brett H. McGurk, who assisted the Obama Administration’s efforts to rally support for the military campaign against the Islamic State. The reliance on the experience of these individuals has raised concerns regarding their loyalty to the President and their ability to faithfully execute Trump Administration priorities and policy preferences.

What’s On TAP for Defense?

Quick Takes:

• Secretary Mattis visited London and held a joint press conference with his British counterpart. In the press conference, Mattis affirmed Tillerson’s statement last month that military force is “on the table” to stop North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

• Secretary Mattis asked The White House to lift restrictions put in place by Obama on providing support to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to support operations in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The Administration is currently conducting a broad review of its approach to Yemen.

• On Thursday, Air Force secretary nominee Heather Wilson testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. In the hearing, Wilson offered support for the F-35 Joint Strike fighter plane and refused to commit to delaying the retirement of the F-15C/D Eagle fighter jet. Wilson will likely be easily confirmed.

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Trump Names NSC Senior Director For Europe And Russia

Fiona Hill Has Been Named White House National Security Council Senior Director For Europe And Russia. Hill was previously the Director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. During the George W. Bush Administration, she served as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at The National Intelligence Council. Hill has been skeptical of efforts to normalize relations with Russia. She has also argued for considering the “provision of defensive arms” to Ukraine and against recognizing “Crimea’s illegal annexation by Russia.”

Tillerson Backs The Sale Of F-16 Jets To Bahrain

The State Department Informed Congress It Supports The Sale Of 19 Lockheed Martin F-16 Jets To Bahrain Without Making It Contingent On Improvements In Their Human Rights Practices. The decision is a reversal from the Obama Administration, who demanded greater reforms before authorizing the deal following Bahrain’s crackdown on dissent from its Shia minority. The move demonstrates that the Trump Administration’s goal of restoring relations with the Gulf states, with the hope of countering , is likely to take greater precedence over human-rights concerns.

What's On TAP for Economic Growth?

Quick Takes:

• The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 12-11 to advance the nomination of Alexander Acosta for Secretary of Labor to the full Senate for a vote.

Trump Announced New Office Of American Innovation

President Trump Announced The Creation Of A New White House Office Of American Innovation (OAI), Overseen By Jared Kushner, To Lead Efforts On Reorganizing The Government And Streamlining The Bureaucracy. The structure and formal staffing of the new office is still to be determined, but the White House listed several current Administration officials who will be involved, including National Economic Council (NEC) Director , Senior Counselor to the President for Economic Initiatives and Deputy National Security Advisor , Director of the Domestic Policy Council , Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives , and Assistant to the President for Intragovernmental and Technology Initiatives .

The White House notes that involved staff members have already held listening and working sessions and will create specific task forces to handle specific initiatives including, “modernizing government services, … improving services to veterans, … and addressing the drug and opioid epidemic.” The office will report directly to the President and is designed to fulfill campaign promises, like improving veterans services and addressing the drug and opioid epidemic, by overhauling the federal bureaucracy and streamlining government stagnation. The effort is similar to initiatives started by most modern presidents, such as Obama’s proposition in 2012 to reorganize the government. Most of these efforts tend to fail, however, because Washington outsiders are usually steamrolled by the bureaucracy. The OAI’s chances of success and the significance of its accomplishments may depend largely on being

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able to get buy-in from career staff at departments and agencies who will continue to implement changes even once the Trump Administration has left office.

Tax Reform On The Horizon?

After The Failure Of GOP Efforts To Replace Obamacare, The Administration Is Re-Focusing On Tax Reform And Infrastructure, But The Fight Over How To Pay For These Initiatives Could Derail The Effort. After the House failed to pass a healthcare bill, Congress is poised to take on tax reform next, and Trump has already indicated he wants to pass tax reform and produce an infrastructure bill along the same track. The first issue with tax reform is whether and how the bill will pay for the taxes being cut. While Republicans, like Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY), are backing revenue-neutrality, other Republicans, such as Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), think pay-fors “shouldn’t necessarily be a constraint.” Even if most Republicans agree the bill should be revenue-neutral, the second issue is how to pay for the tax cuts and reforms being proposed. As of now, the only plan being discussed is House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady’s (R-TX) and Ryan’s controversial Border Adjustability Tax (BAT), which is a destination-based consumption tax where imports are taxed at a rate around 20 percent while exports are not. Republicans remain divided on BAT, and Trump and his Administration have sent mixed signals on the issue that would make it difficult to ensure its successful inclusion in a tax package that can pass. While Bannon and others at The White House are warm to the idea, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and his staff have been drafting a plan that does not include BAT. These mixed signals are similar to the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s views on the House GOP’s Obamacare reform package.

Timing Tax Reform And Infrastructure Together Is Trump’s Attempt At Bringing Moderate Republicans And Democrats Into A Coalition That Can Pass His Desired Legislation. After Republicans failed to get members of the House Freedom Caucus to vote for the AHCA, Trump and White House officials started to float the idea of bypassing the Freedom Caucus altogether. Instead, Trump has started to reach out to moderate Democrats in the hopes of building a broad coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats to support future legislative efforts. Trump, for example, suggested working with Democrats for a revised healthcare compromise, but that effort was quickly dismissed by Paul Ryan. Trump is more likely to get bipartisan support for tax reform and infrastructure at the same time.

To Understand What Tax Reform Could Look Like, Look At The Consolidated Tax Plan Trump’s Transition Team Laid Out Between The Election And Inauguration Day. The transition document proposes collapsing the individual tax code from seven brackets to three with the top bracket taxed at 33 percent. It also calls for capping itemized deductions at $200,000 for married couples who file jointly and increases the standard deduction for joint filers to $30,000 and single filers to $15,000. The measures are similar to Trump’s original tax plan, which the Delve team helped to develop back in the fall of 2015, in that both call for reducing the corporate rate from 35 to 15 percent and repatriate corporate profits at a one-time rate of 10 percent. That plan was adjusted during the general election to better align its provisions with the House GOP “Better Way” tax reform proposal, which helped build consensus within the party that was lacking on efforts to replace Obamacare. While we have yet to see a final draft bill for tax reform, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady says he hopes to have his Committee’s bill serve as a basis for the package. Trump’s previous tax plans from the campaign and the transition can serve as an early roadmap on how the Administration can find common ground with the House. The fact that similar provisions keep appearing in each revised tax plan suggests these are issues the Administration will retain in their final tax plan.

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Look To The Personnel Surrounding Trump At The White House And Treasury Department For Hints About Where Tax Reform Is Going. National Economic Council (NEC) Director Gary Cohn and NEC Deputy are two advisors to watch during the tax reform debate within The White House. Cohn has been leading several of the Administration’s economic efforts and met with Trump last Thursday to discuss the Administration’s options on tax reform. Knight is known as “the only White House policy wonk with deep knowledge of the tax code,” and has already begun briefing Trump personally on the tax code. At Treasury, Trump reportedly has chosen former Kogod Tax Center Managing Director Dave Kautter for Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy, a position that historically plays an influential role in crafting an Administration’s goals for tax policy. Kautter is the former Director of National Tax for Ernst and Young, where he was responsible for managing the “firm’s relationships with tax writing committees and staff on Capitol Hill” and other government agencies including the Treasury and the IRS. Kautter’s familiarity with tax policy on could give the Treasury a needed advocate while navigating tax reform.

Trump’s Shifting NAFTA Goals?

A Drafted Outline Proposes Modest Changes To NAFTA Despite Trump Threatening To Make Serious Alterations During The Campaign. A draft version of a Trump Administration letter to Congress on how it wants to renegotiate NAFTA has been leaked, though some speculate it could be weeks before the final version is delivered because Republicans want to focus on first confirming as U.S. Trade Representative. The document, which was obtained by , is addressed to Congress and is signed by Stephen Vaughn, a Lighthizer ally who was appointed Acting United States Trade Representative and General Counsel by President Trump. Overall, the proposal seeks modest changes and would retain several controversial issues, “including an arbitration panel that lets investors in the three nations circumvent local courts to resolve civil claims.” As we wrote in On TAP back in February, Trump had already walked back claims that he would withdraw the U.S. from NAFTA unless Mexico and Canada agreed to new terms, and had suggested that he would only seek modest adjustments to trade policies as they pertain to Canada.

One notable change the proposal seeks is to allow a NAFTA nation to impose tariffs in response to a dramatic increase in imports temporarily. Some have noted the document has similarities with Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement such as “enforceable labor and environmental obligations, data free flow requirements, and disciplines on state-owned enterprises.” At the same time, there are staples of Trump’s economic views like eliminating Chapter 19 of NAFTA, which is in place to allow Mexico or Canada to challenge U.S. trade remedy decisions. As we have also noted in On TAP previously, though, there are several competing power centers on trade policy throughout the Administration, and it is not clear to what extent this draft letter represents the President’s or his team’s consensus thinking.

New Executive Orders Target Trade “Cheating”

President Trump Signed An Executive Order Calling For A Report On “Cheating” By Trade Partners. This order initiates a report to examine if trade deficits between the U.S. and its major trading partners are caused by “cheating or other inappropriate behavior.” The report will also examine whether bilateral deficits “are the result of free trade deals falling short of expectations or policy decisions made by previous administrations.” Commerce Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office have 90 days to complete the report, which will be used as the basis for the Administration’s stance on trade-related issues. The 90 day turn-around for this study could prove difficult, as President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, has yet to be confirmed, and Trump

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has yet to name nominees for any of the three Deputy Trade Representatives. Once this report is complete, any determination that a nation is cheating could lead the Administration to call for protective tariffs or other measures.

President Trump Also Signed A Second Executive Order To Strengthen Penalties On Foreign Products Traded Unfairly. This executive order instructs Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to “strengthen the collection of penalties on unfairly traded foreign products.” This order indicates the Trump Administration wants to take a harder line on collecting penalties. National Trade Council Director recently claimed importers have avoided paying nearly $3 billion in penalties on unfairly traded products since 2001.

While the Administration Claims These Orders Are Not Directed At China, They Are Expected To Be A Point Of Discussion During President Xi’s Upcoming Visit. Even though White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro claimed there was no relation between the orders and the upcoming visit by the President of China, as reports, the orders are about China because “the unfair trade practices” brought up by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, such as the dumping of cheap steel into the American market, are coming from China. The signing of the order just before President Xi’s visit suggests it could likely be a point of discussion when he meets with Trump this week.

Trump Picks New Under Secretary At Commerce

President Trump Announced His Intent To Nominate Mira Radielovic Ricardel As Under Secretary Of Commerce For Export Administration. Ricardel is currently a Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Presidential Personnel. During the George W. Bush Administration, she was appointed Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy in 2003, after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Eurasia. Between 2006 and 2015, she worked for the senior team at Boeing, most recently as Vice President of International Business Development and Network & Space Systems. Ricardel’s experience with international military affairs indicates the Trump Administration is looking to support American defense manufacturers with a strong negotiator amid talks of boosting U.S. based manufacturing.

What’s On TAP for Energy and Environment?

Quick Takes:

• Former Governor Sonny Perdue’s nomination as Secretary of Agriculture has been advanced by the Senate Agriculture Committee and will proceed to the Senate floor for a full vote.

• President Trump signed a resolution revoking the Bureau of Land Management’s Planning 2.0 rule for managing resources on federal lands, which was invoked under the Obama Administration. Planning 2.0 was criticized for centralizing authority on federal resource management in Washington, rather than at the state level where the authority was focused in the original BLM rule.

• Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed an order that formally lifts the moratorium on coal leases on federal land, and signed a charter restarting the Royalty Policy Committee after it was shut down

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under the Obama Administration’s coal moratorium. The committee will advise Zinke on fair revenue levels from leases. Zinke’s order came in response to a directive from President Trump that was included in his executive order rolling back a number of Obama energy policies last week.

Trump Signs Order Rolling Back Obama Energy Rules

President Donald Trump Signed Long Awaited Executive Order Rolling Back Several Obama- Era Energy Policies On Tuesday. As anticipated last week in On TAP, the executive order called for a review of the Clean Power Plan, directed the Department of the Interior to suspend the ban on federal leasing on coal production, and removed the requirement that federal officials consider the “social cost of carbon”, an Obama era requirement attempting to place a dollar amount on the long-term negative impacts of carbon emissions when making federal policies. The order rescinds six Obama-era executive orders, including the November 2013 executive order instructing the federal government to prepare for the impact of and the September 2016 presidential memorandum outlining climate change as a national security threat. The President stated that the order helps fulfill his campaign pledge to support the energy industry, particularly coal miners.

The Executive Order Does Not Mention The Or The EPA Endangerment Finding. The executive order does not include any mention regarding U.S. participation in the Paris climate change deal or any calls for a revaluation of the “endangerment finding,” the ruling by the EPA that identifies greenhouse gases as the cause of climate change. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has come under fire from conservative groups who claim he is responsible for not reopening the EPA’s endangerment finding. As Pruitt questioned the role of greenhouse gases earlier this year, it is more likely Pruitt does not want to open the EPA up to litigation from environmental groups, as the endangerment finding was the result of the Supreme Court’s decision in 2007 that the EPA was obligated to regulate climate gases as pollutants.

This Order Will Allow For Expedited Rollback Of Energy Regulations And Elimination Of Federal Red Tape. The order’s instructions to review regulations that burden the development of domestic energy resources is expected to give individual agencies further authority and direction to roll back regulations that have burdened the private sector. One of the larger impacts comes from the elimination of the Obama-era “social cost of carbon” working group that provided estimates on government policies climate impact. Instead of using the Obama Administration’s general standard for evaluating the environmental impact of all federal policies, the individual agencies will be able to make those evaluations on a case by case basis. This change will eliminate another level of bureaucratic red tape that slowed policy implementation and increased the cost and difficulty of compliance.

WOTUS Rule Timeline Accelerated

President Trump Has Directed The EPA To Replace The Obama Administration’s Waters Of The U.S. Rule By The End Of 2017. The President first directed the EPA to review or replace the Waters of the U.S. rule via executive order in early March. Sources in the EPA have now confirmed the goal for replacing the controversial rule will be by the end of this year. The speed of this review, compared with several years taken to create the rule under the Obama Administration, has raised concerns that the expedited timetable will open any replacements up to legal attack. Additionally, the Trump Administration’s support of Justice Scalia’s opinion of setting a restrictive test for waterways to fall under federal protection in the Rapanos v. United States decision has led the EPA to base future WOTUS regulations on Scalia’s recommended test. As federal courts have not followed Scalia’s opinion on this case in the past, it is unclear if this will provide a strong legal defense.

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TAP Page 11 The Administration Project 3 April 2017 ______What's On TAP for Healthcare?

Quick Takes:

• Secretary of HHS Tom Price testified before the House Appropriations Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee regarding President Trump’s proposed $12.6 billion in cuts to HHS. During the hearing, members of both parties criticized the President’s budget outline’s 16% spending reduction, further demonstrating the proposal is dead on arrival in Congress.

Christie To Chair Opioid Addiction Task Force

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Will Serve As The Chairman Of A White House Commission To Combat Opioid Addiction. Christie has been highly engaged on the issue of drug addiction and dedicated his final year in office to tackling the issue. These efforts have included a proposal to limit the number of pills a physician can prescribe. On Wednesday, the New Jersey Governor joined the President at The White House for a listening session with people who have been impacted by the opioid crisis. The event is the first step in beginning the process of creating the commission. According to a draft executive order, the commission will include Attorney General Jeff Sessions, HHS Secretary David Shulkin, and Defense Secretary James Mattis.

FDA Commissioner Nominee To Testify

Scott Gottlieb Will Testify On Wednesday In Front Of The Senate Health, Education, Labor And Pensions (HELP) Committee. In the past, Gottlieb has opposed efforts to expand clinical trials and argued for simplifying the FDA approval process. This approach would reduce costs and red tape for pharmaceutical companies, but hurt firms that conduct clinical research. He may be pressed on Trump’s call to stop the pharmaceutical companies from “getting away with murder.” The President is reportedly pushing for Medicare to directly negotiate over the price of prescription drugs and to allow the importation of drugs from other countries. However, Gottlieb has previously criticized proposals to reimport prescription drugs in favor of allowing more flexible pricing for branded drugs. In addition, he will likely be confronted about his pledge to recuse himself for one year from decisions regarding companies he has worked with. Although Democrats may attempt to portray Gottlieb as ethically conflicted, past nominees have made similar, and sometimes even broader, commitments.

Trump Names VA Assistant Secretary

John Ullyot Has Been Tapped For Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. Ulyot was previously a Senior Advisor for the transition and the Managing Partner of the PR firm Brighton Strategy Group. During the campaign, he was Deputy National Political Director for Communications for Trump. Ulyot has also served as the Director of Communications for the Senate Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

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TAP Page 12 The Administration Project 3 April 2017 ______What's On TAP for Education?

Quick Takes:

• Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Ivanka Trump toured the National Air and Space Museum and called for young girls to pursue careers in STEM subjects.

DeVos Calls For Expanded School Choice

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Called For Expanding School Choice Programs After The Trump Administration Allocated Spending For Vouchers And Charter Schools In Its Budget. During a discussion at the Brookings Institute, DeVos called for expanding school choice saying the government cannot keep “throwing money” at schools to fix the problem. The Trump Administration budget outline included $250 million to provide vouchers for public schools and $168 million for charter schools, though DeVos gave no details on the size of vouchers or how a school choice program would be structured.

What's On TAP for Justice?

Quick Takes:

• U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson Of Hawaii has extended his ruling blocking President Trump’s travel and refugee executive order from temporary to indefinite. The Justice Department is expected to appeal the decision to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gorsuch Vote Will Come Before The Senate This Week

The Senate Judiciary Committee Is Expected To Vote Today On Advancing The Nomination Of Neil Gorsuch As Associate Justice Of The Supreme Court To The Full Senate. While the nomination will clear the committee, the threat of a filibuster is likely to lead the Senate Republican Leadership to invoke the “nuclear option” if they are not able to secure 60 votes to avoid a Democratic filibuster. This divisive vote is likely to take up a majority of the Senate’s bandwidth in the next week, which could lead to Democrat’s refusing to work with Senate Republicans on passing a spending bill to fund the government before the shutdown on April 29th, as well as numerous other matters in the coming months. Expect the media to be sympathetic to the Democrats’ obstruction even as they raised few objections to Harry Reid’s nuclear move in the last Congress. Senate Republicans intend to have a floor vote on Gorsuch’s nomination before the Passover/Easter recess that begins after this Friday.

Sessions Calls For Sanctuary Cities To Lose Federal Grants

Jeff Sessions Warned Sanctuary Cities Of The Loss Of Federal Grants For Denying Federal Immigration Law. Attorney General Jeff Session announced on Tuesday that the federal government may withhold criminal justice grants from jurisdictions that do not fully cooperate with federal immigration laws. Sessions cited a recently released DHS report that found 200 undocumented

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individuals “whom agents sought to deport were instead released by prisons and jails” in sanctuary cities in just the first week that data was collected, as proof of the dangers sanctuary cities pose. Supporters of sanctuary cities, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, condemned the loss of grants, claiming that their cities would be at higher risks through the loss of federal support for law enforcement efforts. The City of Seattle has filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, charging that the executive order against sanctuary cities violates the 10th Amendment. We expect additional legal challenges to emerge as the Trump Administration begins putting this new policy into action.

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