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Deregulation The Trump administration released a new version of the Obama-era Water of the U.S. rule (WOTUS). This new rule helps farmers who were burdened by WOTUS since it expanded federally protected waterways/wetlands and was written broad enough that puddles on farms and runoff from snow-melt could be considered wetlands. This rule being replaced is estimated to save farms $1.3 billion (The Hill). FUTURE Act This law was signed into effect by President Trump. This act permanently funds Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HCBUs) and educational institutions serving minorities. HBCUs are very important in assisting first-generation college students to obtain degrees. This entails $2.5 billion over ten years for institutions serving minorities and $855 million for HBCUs- who’s funding was at risk. This law also simplifies the process for applying for federal student aid/loans (FAFSA), requiring students to answer only up to 22 questions. In like manner, this act creates a five-year STEM education plan. Overall, this bill will positively impact all American students, particularly minorities (Charleston Chronicle). Reducing Robocalls President Trump signed the bipartisan TRACED Act into law to combat robocalls. This law increases penalties for robocallers that violate laws. Additionally, this law requires telecom companies to create a national-authentication system to make it easier for consumers to identify robocalls so they can avoid answering them (Consumer Reports). Protecting Taxpayers In 2019, President Trump signed an important piece of legislation, called the RESPECT Act to protect taxpayers that did not receive any media coverage. This legislation banned the IRS from unfairly seizing assets or seizing cash of individuals who often deposit or withdraw less than $10,000. This now-banned IRS practice particularly harmed small businesses. This abuse routinely occurred before this law was enacted. Another law signed into effect by President Trump was the Taxpayer First Act which includes stronger taxpayer rights to an IRS appeal, modernizes technology at the IRS and requires the IRS to train employees on ways to better serve taxpayers. Additionally, this law permanently authorizes the Volunteer Tax Assistance Program, with more funding, which helps low-income individuals pay to file their taxes, along with codifying exceptions that exempt low-income individuals from fees and lump sum payments on IRS payment plans (Accounting Today). Preventing Welfare Abuse President Trump issued a rule known as the public charge rule which allows the government to deny visas to immigrants that are likely to use welfare and government assistance. Currently, 63% of non-citizens use welfare programs (CIS). This rule is taking effect after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump Administration. Welfare reform signed into law by President Bill Clinton gave the Trump administration authority to issue this rule (Washington Times), Sanctuary City Crackdown The Trump administration has announced a crackdown on sanctuary cities, fulfilling another key campaign promise. This comes on the heels of an Appeals Court ruling that the Trump administration can withhold grants from sanctuary cities to punish them from violating federal immigration laws (NBC News). At least 100 members of the elite Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be sent to major sanctuary cities to work with I.C.E. to carry out immigration arrests Axios). According to a recent audit conducted by the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security, 58,900 illegal immigrants have been released by sanctuary cities since 2014. I.C.E. was able to track down 70% of them to arrest, but this diverted their time and energy from other threats. However, 17,700 of these illegal immigrants are still at large because of sanctuary cities releasing them (Washington Times). Supporting Veterans President Trump signed in February 2020, Supporting Veterans In STEM Careers Act. This law helps veterans pursue careers in STEM. At the end of 2019, President Trump signed the yearly National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which included the highest pay raise for members of the military in 10 years, a 3.1% pay raise. Furthermore, the NDAA eliminated the “widow’s tax” which was a glitch that existed in federal law for about years preventing the spouse of fallen soldiers from receiving full benefits. Veterans organizations have been advocating to eliminate this undue penalty for decades and it finally happened. In July 2019, President Trump signed two laws help veterans. They were the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act and the Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Act. These laws will require the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) to fix incorrect payments to veterans, prevents veterans from being punished by universities/colleges when the V.A. makes a mistake paying colleges, requires the V.A. to provide veterans with a list of organizations and charities that are available for support and allows residential leases to be terminated without penalty for fallen soldiers. Other aspects of this law include the V.A. giving documentation to landlords showing they will cover housing costs for veterans who are college students struggling to find affordable housing and improving access for homeless veterans by reducing barriers (Military Times). Sources: Beitsch, R. (2020, January 23). Trump issues new rule replacing Obama-era waterway protections. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/479553-trump-introduces-new-rule-replacing-obama-era-policy-protecting Gross, N. (2019, January 17). Trump recently signed two veterans bills into law. Here's how they'll affect you. Retrieved from https://
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