1600 Daily: Everything White House 03/19/18
March 19, 2018
What’s troubling New Hampshire
New Hampshire has had the second highest rate of opioid-involved overdose deaths in the Nation since 2014. A poll conducted last year found that drugs were the biggest problem facing the Granite State—the first time in the poll’s history that a majority named any single issue as the most important.
Today, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump travel to Manchester, New Hampshire. The President will address America’s opioid epidemic at Manchester Community College and discuss his Administration’s initiative to stop opioid abuse and reduce drug supply and demand, which has four components:
1. Address the driving forces of the opioid crisis, including over-prescription, illicit drug supplies, and insufficient access to evidence-based treatment.
2. Reduce demand and over-prescription in part by educating Americans about the dangers of opioid and other drug use.
3. Cut off the supply of illicit drugs by cracking down on international and domestic supply chains that devastate American communities.
4. Help those struggling with addiction through evidence-based treatment and recovery support services.
Watch live as the President addresses the opioid crisis at 2:40 p.m. ET today.
Learn more: How America will win the war on opioid addiction
New frontiers
Last week, President Trump took time during a cross-country trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to address military service members at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.
The President touched on many themes, including thanking our hardworking military men and women for their service and dedication to the cause. He also charted a path forward, echoing themes from his National Space Council—a group chaired by Vice President Mike Pence that the President resurrected after a 24-year hiatus.
“From the very beginning, many of our astronauts have been soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen and Marines,” the President said. “We’re going to lead the way in space.”
Infrastructure: The Federal role
The Federal Government provides important infrastructure funding, but it often does so inefficiently and with numerous restrictions. Washington depends on taxpayers at the state and local level, yet Federal funding is too often directed by priorities of those inside the Beltway.
President Trump proposes to fix this problem by maintaining the traditional balance of Federal and non-Federal funding, while investing in a way that stretches every dollar and delivers on local needs. His proposal will keep existing Federal funding in place, including for the Highway Trust Fund.
The President’s plan would improve on existing policy by directing half of Federal funds to an Incentives Program for State and local applicants. This system keeps infrastructure decisions out of the D.C. bureaucracy and in State and local hands.
Learn more: What you need to know about infrastructure funding
Photo of the Day
POTUS Today
This morning, after receiving his daily intelligence briefing, President Trump will travel to Manchester Community College to deliver remarks on combatting the opioid crisis.
