McCollum On Trump's 100 Days: America Has Been Left Weaker

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) previewed President Donald Trump's Address to a Joint Session of Congress in a post on Medium:

This Saturday marks President Donald Trump's 100th day in the White House. Over the last 100 days, Mr. Trump's policy proposals, irresponsible rhetoric, and controversial appointments have made our families and communities less secure, our businesses less confident about the future, and our nation more isolated in the world.

Despite total Republican control of Congress, President Trump has been incapable of governing responsibly. Just this week — because of Republican dithering — Congress was forced to pass another stopgap spending bill to keep the government open for just seven days, denying Americans the certainty they deserve.

The first 100 days have revealed a President who is proposing legislation and taking executive actions that hurt working Americans at every turn.

TrumpCare, the Republicans' disastrous health care bill, leaves 24 million Americans uninsured and causes out-of-pocket costs to skyrocket. It forces older Americans to pay higher premiums, rations health care for vulnerable children, seniors, and people with disabilities, and weakens the solvency of Medicare.

Huge opposition from Democrats and active, engaged citizens has stopped this legislation for now, but Mr. Trump is still working to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. He has even threatened to cause the total collapse of our health care system and undermine the coverage we all depend on for purely political purposes. That is despicable.

If working families were unsettled by Mr. Trump's threat to their health care, his proposed budget shows just how far backwards he wants to take our country. He wants to slash job training programs, hurt American seniors by cutting Meals on Wheels, slow down our communities by gutting infrastructure funding, and eliminate important investments in health research, education, and the arts and humanities. And Mr. Trump's backwards budget strips the Environmental Protection Agency of the resources it needs to protect public health and safety.

As the Ranking Member of the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, I know that the attack on the EPA's budget is just one part of Mr. Trump's all-out war on clean air, clean water, and our public lands. In his first 100 days, Mr. Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt have undone protections for clean water, allowed the continued use of dangerous neurotoxins, and reversed clean air rules that help stem the threat of climate change. In doing so, they have repeated ignored the findings of their own scientists.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Pruitt's denials of climate science and pledges to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement are transforming our nation from the global leader in combating climate change into an environmental rogue state. The only winners? Billionaires, the fossil fuel industry, and polluters that profit at the expense of our families, our communities, and our planet.

Billionaires and big corporations are also the big winners in Mr. Trump's so-called tax reform plan. His proposal amounts to a massive giveaway to the wealthiest Americans adding trillions to the federal debt and leaving working families holding the bag. Since Mr. Trump has broken with precedent and kept his tax returns secret, we can only speculate about how much he and his family businesses will benefit from his tax plan.

In fact, until Mr. Trump releases his tax returns, a cloud of suspicion will hang over his entire White House. Given that Russia interfered in our electoral process to help Mr. Trump win the election and his first National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, left amid a Russia-related scandal, Americans deserve a complete and independent investigation. Yet Congressional Republicans continue to cover up for President Trump and are still blocking accountability and transparency.

Every time President Trump has made alarming decisions, from an unconstitutional ban on immigrants and refugees to attacks on women's health care at home and abroad, millions of engaged Americans have spoken up and spoken out against his dangerous and divisive policies.

In Minnesota, I have seen engaged citizens make their voices heard at my town hall meetings and vibrant demonstrations, like the Women's March, the Tax March, and the March for Science. There is a consensus among the tens of thousands of Minnesotans I have spoken to: We want America to move forward and we will work to resist and stop Trump administration policies and proposals that take our nation backwards.

After President Trump's first 100 days, it is clear that we must join together to hold his White House accountable. In the next 100 days, and all the days that follow, I will keep standing alongside my constituents fighting for the values we believe in.

Congresswoman Betty McCollum represents Minnesota's Fourth District in the United States House of Representatives.