Trump's First 100 Days and Working America

We take our cue from "President Trump's 100 Days of Historic Accomplishments."1

GETTING GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE WAY: President Donald J. Trump has done more to stop the Government from interfering in the lives of Americans in his first 100 days than any other President in history.

• President Trump has signed 13 Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions in his first 100 days, more than any other President. These resolutions nullified unnecessary regulations and block agencies from reissuing them.
  • Since CRA resolutions were introduced under President Clinton, they’ve been used only once, under President George W. Bush.
• The Wall Street Journal editorial: “So far the Trump Administration is a welcome improvement, rolling back more regulations than any President in history.”

What are the regulations for whose repeal Trump requested and received Congressional confirmation from the Republican majorities? Let's go by Breitbart's descriptive list, which we expect puts them in the most positive light of Steve Bannon's "deconstruction of the administrative state."

1. Overzealous transparency: H.J. Res. 41 reversed a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that was crafted as an anti-corruption measure under the Dodd-Frank regulations but energy companies considered too onerous. Critics complained that the regulation gave foreign energy companies a pass while hurting domestic companies.Oil companies no longer have to report any payments, legitimate or bribes, they pay to foreign governments to drill holes in their land. The U.S. therefore has no idea what foreign government or insurgency could threaten U.S. energy security.
2. Coal mining: H.J. Res. 38 ended the “Stream Protection Rule,” a Department of the Interior rule that hurt coal.Insuring that the surface and ground-water we drink is safe, and that strip-mined land is eventually reclaimed, is not about "hurting coal." It is about keeping us, and future generations, safe.FAILS Working America
3. Gun control: H.J. Res. 40 reversed a rule by the Social Security Administration, which had yet to take effect, restricting gun purchases by the mentally ill through the use of additional firearms background checks.If you're not mentally competent to sign a check, you can once again buy a gun just like anyone else. Mentally incompetent people are just as entitled to shoot someone to protect themselves. We can only hope someone who no longer recognizes their own son or daughter doesn't shoot them as an intruder.FAILS Working America
4. Labor “blacklisting”: H.J. Res 37 ended a “blacklisting” rule, under several agencies, that required federal contractors to disclose any violations of 14 other labor regulations within the previous three years.There is no "blacklisting." Any contractor bidding for a federal contract is required to show that they have been in compliance with existing fair labor laws and indicate if they have been sued for violations. It seems to us that companies that abuse their workers should not be given the same opportunities to receive taxpayer dollars as companies that treat their workers properly.FAILS Working America
5. Land use: H. J. Res 44 ended a Department of the Interior rule, “Bureau of Land Management Planning 2.0,” that gave the federal government more, and state and local government less, authority in land use decisions.This repealed 30 years of land management progress and has nothing to do with states rights.
6. and 7. Federal education standards: H. J. Res 57 and H.J. Res 58 reversed new federal standards for new teachers that the Department of Education had sought to impose under legislation signed by President Obama in 2015.One regulation increased state accountability but also allowed more flexibility in remediating shortcomings in meeting the requirements for No Child Left Behind, which provides federal funds to states and localities for educational improvement.FAILS Working AmericaThe other clarified teacher preparation program effectiveness tracking, reporting, and remediation for states after the GAO found some states were not complying with existing laws.FAILS Working America
8. Drug testing for unemployment: H.J. Res. 42 overturned a Department of Labor regulation that had restricted the use of drug testing to determine workers’ eligibility to receive unemployment compensation.The regulation simply states that "occupations that regularly conduct drug testing for purposes of determining which applicants may be drug tested when applying for state unemployment compensation." States cannot simply start drug testing everyone for no reason when they apply for unemployment compensation. And states can't keep testing you whenever they feel like it while you are already receiving unemployment compensation. That seems perfectly reasonable to prevent unwarranted intrusion into personal life and unnecessary state expenditure. This repeal purports that there is widespread abuse of unemployement benefits by substance abusers.FAILS Working America
9. Hunting predators: H.J. Res. 69 reversed a Department of the Interior rule, pushed by animal rights activists, banning non-subsistence hunting of predator species for population control in wildlife refuges in Alaska.A wilderness area "is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man . . . which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions.” Individual wilderness areas are designated as protecting specific species. Just because a bear or wolf is a predator should not make them a target for trophy hunters. Predators are necessary to keep prey populations in check and to maintain biodiversity.
10. Injury paperwork: H. J. Res. 83 nullified a Department of Labor rule requiring more records of worker injuries.This regulation clarified reporting of work-related injuries nd deaths and did not add any new requirements. This repeal leaves open a possibility based on a court ruling that companies might not insure their records of injuries and deaths on the job are kept properly.FAILS Working America
11. Broadband privacy: S. J. Res 34 repeals an FCC rule requiring Internet Service Providers to ask customers before sharing private information with advertisers — which Google and Facebook could still do under the rule.No one is forced to use Google or Facebook. However, you must contract an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to connect to the web, and are therefore a captive user. This strips us of any right to Internet privacy.FAILS Working America
12. Forced savings: H. J. Res. 67 reverses a Department of Labor rule allowing states to force workers to save.This is a ridiculous characterization of the regulation, which was issued to fill a hole in a prior regulation which had omitted that it also applied to payroll deduction savings programs administered by "state political subdivisions" for non-governmental employees. The original regulation was issued to help "states to establish and operate payroll deduction savings programs in a manner that reduces the risk that ERISA would preempt their laws and programs." Where payroll savings program enrollment is automatic, employees can opt out. This regulation was only to close a gap in the application of a prior regulation seeking to insure states' programs were not pre-empted by federal ERISA requirements.FAILS Working America
13. Planned Parenthood: H. J. Res 43 repeals a mandate that all but required states to fund the abortion provider.No government funding goes to funding abortions. 97% of the affordable women's reproductive and other health care Planned Parenthood centers provide has nothing to do with abortions. This is a political horse flogging which permits states to strip half their population of actual access to actual affordable health care, including reducing teen pregnancies.FAILS Working America

What has the new administration accomplished for the well-being of Working America? Nothing at all.

10 of 13 make things worse,
the rest improve nothing.

TAKING EXECUTIVE ACTION: In office, President Trump has accomplished more in his first 100 days than any other President since Franklin Roosevelt.

• President Trump will have signed 30 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Obama signed 19 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President George W. Bush signed 11 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Clinton signed 13 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President George H.W. Bush signed 11 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Reagan signed 18 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Carter signed 16 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Nixon signed 15 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Johnson signed 26 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Kennedy signed 23 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Eisenhower signed 20 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Truman signed 25 executive orders during his first 100 days.
  • President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed 9 executive orders during his first 100 days.

A SLEW OF LEGISLATION SIGNED: Despite historic Democrat obstructionism, President Trump has worked with Congress to pass more legislation in his first 100 days than any President since Truman.

• President Trump has worked with Congress to enact 28 laws during the first 100 days of his Administration.
  • President Obama enacted 11 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President George W. Bush enacted 7 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President Clinton enacted 24 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President George H.W. Bush enacted 18 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President Reagan enacted 9 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President Carter enacted 22 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President Nixon enacted 9 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President Johnson enacted 10 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President Kennedy enacted 26 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President Eisenhower enacted 22 laws during his first 100 days.
  • President Truman enacted 55 bills laws during his first 100 days.

Trump's accomplishments focus on abolishing regulations. Are we really better off when regulations to keep our water safe are removed?

"Undoing" is not the same as "doing!"