Aug. 27, 2020
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Sec. of State Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem demonstrates the U.S. and President Trump’s unbreakable commitment to Israel
Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem for the Republican National Convention sent
a strong signal to the American people and the world about the U.S. and
President Donald Trump’s strong commitment to U.S. ally, Israel. While the
speech caught the attention of many observers because of its downstream
political implications, including the potential future of Secretary Pompeo,
what is more telling is it served as visual proof, a symbol that President
Trump has done what his predecessors had only promised to. He moved the U.S.
embassy to Israel’s capital in Jerusalem, and declared unequivocally that U.S.
policy is to keep the capital there. In fact, President Trump is the first
president in U.S. history to fully recognize Israel’s right to say where its
capital is. In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act which described
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and said it should not be divided, requiring
the U.S. embassy to be moved to Jerusalem by 1999. President Bill Clinton never
signed the law. Instead, presidents since then all signed waivers to postpone
recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, as U.S. policy was that the status of
Jerusalem would be settled via negotiations. Now, with President Trump’s action
to finally move the embassy, there’s nothing left to negotiate. President Trump
has settled long-held point of confrontation between Israel and her neighbors,
and creates a path forward in the region.
Video: Biden outsourced U.S. jobs to child and slave laborers in China, made deal w/ Xi to capitalize them
Former Vice
President Joe Biden when he was in the Senate voted for permanent normal trade
relations with China, outsourcing Americans’ jobs to Chinese factories that
utilize child and forced slave labor, and then in 2013, brokered a deal with then-Chinese
Vice President Xi Jinping to capitalize the practice, allowing 156 Chinese
companies onto U.S. stock exchanges, with more than $1.2 trillion market
capitalization.
President Trump is right, our seniors pay too much for their meds. Here’s how to make them cheaper.
To address rising
prescription drug prices for millions of seniors, President Trump is
considering an executive order aimed at reducing Medicare prescription drugs
costs by tying them to a socialist pricing model. A more market-oriented
solution involves taking on and reforming two of the main drivers of drug
costs: the non-transparent pharmaceutical drug middlemen known as Pharmacy
Benefit Managers (PBMs), and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) byzantine
approval process. Most Americans are unaware of how these PBMs operate and just
how much money they take from the pockets of American consumers. PBMs have
perfected the art of negotiating drug costs between insurance and pharmacies at
the consumer's expense. The lack of any transparency for the deals PBMs make
and the rebates they receive from drug manufacturers means America's patients
often do not realize that they are getting ripped off at the pharmacy counter.
Meanwhile, in the last few years, the largest PBM companies have generated
higher revenues than even the largest pharmaceutical companies. To his credit, Trump recently
issued an executive order providing the massive PBMs to give the rebates they
extract from their huge clout in the market directly to the consumers they're
supposed to be working for.
Video: Texas farmer applauds USMCA and explains why American beef needs to come first for your family
Mike England is a
renowned cattleman and farmer. He knows the ins and out of trade. He explains
why he supports USMCA over NAFTA and why you need to go American with your beef
purchases. He wants you to remember, American needs to be first on everything!
Sec. of State Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem demonstrates the U.S. and President Trump’s unbreakable commitment to Israel
By Robert Romano
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem for the Republican National Convention sent a strong signal to the American people and the world about the U.S. and President Donald Trump’s strong commitment to U.S. ally, Israel, strengthening diplomatic relations among her neighbors and opposing Iran.
While the speech caught the attention of many observers because of its downstream political implications, including the potential future of Secretary Pompeo, what is more telling is it served as visual proof, a symbol that President Trump has done what his predecessors had only promised to. He moved the U.S. embassy to Israel’s capital in Jerusalem, and declared unequivocally that U.S. policy is to keep the capital there.
In fact, President Trump is the first president in U.S. history to fully recognize Israel’s right to say where its capital is.
Pompeo praised President Trump’s diplomatic efforts he is leading, saying, “The president too moved the U.S. embassy to this very city of God, Jerusalem, the rightful capital of the Jewish homeland, and just two weeks ago, the president brokered a historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This is a deal that our grandchildren will read about in their history books.”
In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act which declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and said it should not be divided, requiring the U.S. embassy to be moved to Jerusalem by 1999. President Bill Clinton never signed the law.
Instead, Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump all signed waivers to postpone recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, as U.S. policy was that the status of Jerusalem would be settled via negotiations. Now, with President Trump’s action to finally move the embassy, there’s nothing left to negotiate.
“Secretary Pompeo’s speech from Jerusalem underscores a critical truth. President Trump has been a tremendous friend of Israel – and has kept his promises, including advancing peace in the Middle East and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem,” said Adam Milstein, co-founder and former chairman of the Israeli-American Council.
This is a turning point for U.S. policy. Jerusalem has always been the capital of Israel. We’re not going to go back in time and turn over territory that has been rightfully held since 1967, and officially established as the unified capital by the Israeli Knesset since 1980. President Trump has settled a long-held point of confrontation between Israel and her neighbors, and creates a path forward in the region.
Milstein added, “Secretary Pompeo made clear to the American people and the international community that the U.S. will not retreat from defending America’s interests around the globe and supporting our allies.”
Pompeo’s speech also put an exclamation point on the historic normalization and peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that President Trump just successfully concluded. It shows Trump’s embrace of Israeli sovereignty was not a barrier to peace but a necessary precondition. They may not immediately agree on the topic of Jerusalem — United Arab Emirates will establish its embassy in Tel Aviv — but at least they’re talking.
As expressed in the historic agreement, “The parties will continue their efforts in this regard to achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem’s other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths.”
Secretary Pompeo and Milstein are right. Presidents for decades have attempted to normalize relations between Israel and her neighbors since Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, but with little success. Now, President Trump is the one making a breakthrough.
The speech also served as a reminder that President Trump kept his promise to tear up the Obama-Biden nuclear deal with Iran that had them on a fast track to obtaining nuclear weapons to threaten regional and national security, with Pompeo noting, “The president exited the U.S. from the disastrous nuclear deal with Iran and squeezed the Ayatollah, Hezbollah, and Hamas.”
Trump’s hard line against Iran made the pivot toward Israel and the Arab states more possible, and could be the key to regional stability at long last.
Milstein praised the Trump foreign policy, noting, “Under the Trump administration, America’s strengthened alliances with Israel and other Arab states is a vital national security asset that has weakened the forces of extremism in the region, particularly the Iranian regime.”
And with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu securing a budget deal for the next four months, proving he still has a functional majority, it gives Israel breathing room to build on the success with the United Arab Emirates.
Secretary Pompeo highlighted President Trump’s success in concluding U.S. military commitments in the region, “Today, because of the president’s determination and leadership, the ISIS caliphate is wiped out, it’s gone. It’s evil leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is dead and our brave soldiers, they’re on their way home.”
While President Trump is reducing the U.S. military footprint throughout the Middle East, he is strengthening diplomatic relations across the region — especially with our closest ally in the region, Israel, after eight years of those relations being undermined by former President Barack Obama. For the first time in decades, peace and stability is being returned to the region, and Israel and her neighbors can thank President Trump.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
Video: Biden outsourced U.S. jobs to child and slave laborers in China, made deal w/ Xi to capitalize them
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUfH2mnYn0A
President Trump is right, our seniors pay too much for their meds. Here’s how to make them cheaper.
By Catherine Mortensen
Earlier this year James Payne, a 73-year-old retired attorney in Utah, was so fed up with the high cost of a blood thinner medication he takes, he researched prices in Canada, where he found it was cheaper.
“Under Medicare, I am now paying $225 for a three-month supply,” Payne explained. “That’s $25 more than I was paying last year. Under my employer’s insurance I was only paying $20.” Payne says he is not sure why the costs are so much higher and continue to climb under Medicare, but he thinks there must be ways to make life-saving medications more affordable.
To address Payne’s concerns, and those of millions of other Americans like him, President Trump is considering an executive order aimed at reducing Medicare prescription drugs costs by tying them to a socialist pricing model.
“While we all want lower drug prices, socialism is not the solution,” said Rick Manning, President of Americans for Limited Government (ALG). His group is urging the president to reject a proposed executive order that would force drug companies to adopt a pricing scheme dictated by foreign socialist governments.
A more market-oriented solution involves taking on and reforming two of the main drivers of drug costs: the non-transparent pharmaceutical drug middlemen known as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) byzantine approval process.
Most Americans are unaware of how these PBMs operate and just how much money they take from the pockets of American consumers. PBMs have perfected the art of negotiating drug costs between insurance and pharmacies at the consumer's expense. The lack of any transparency for the deals PBMs make and the rebates they receive from drug manufacturers means America's patients often do not realize that they are getting ripped off at the pharmacy counter. Meanwhile, in the last few years, the largest PBM companies have generated higher revenues than even the largest pharmaceutical companies.
In 2017, for example "the top PBMs had revenues that exceeded those of the top pharmaceutical manufacturers," with Express Scripts, one of the biggest PBMs, reporting revenue of $100 billion while Pfizer had revenues of $52 billion, a recent white paper found.
To his credit, Trump recently issued an executive order providing the massive PBMs to give the rebates they extract from their huge clout in the market directly to the consumers they're supposed to be working for.
The order "prohibit[s] secret deals between drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit manager middlemen, ensuring patients directly benefit from available discounts at the pharmacy counter," as the White House explained in its announcement.
“That’s a good start,” added Manning. “Next, we’d like to see the president take action to reform the FDA’s approval process to help lower drug prices.”
High drug prices are a symptom of a deeper problem related to the high cost of bringing medicines to market ($2.6 billion according to the latest Tufts University study). President Trump should apply the same streamlined standards that the FDA enacted in 1987 for medicines to treat AIDS to all medicines under FDA review. AIDS has gone from a death sentence to something patients can live with, and the expedited approval standards have encouraged research and development of these life-saving treatments.
In 2017, the FDA gave fast-track approval to treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The FDA approved a record high of 43 drugs through fast-track programs in 2018, representing 73 percent of new drugs approved by the agency last year and establishing a "new normal" that "is transforming medical decision-making for the seriously ill."
According to the Wall Street Journal, FDA in recent years has been approving increasing shares of drugs via fast-tracked programs. FDA granted fast-tracked approval to at least 60 percent of new drugs the agency approved in each of the past five years, the Journal reports. In comparison, FDA 10 years ago approved just 10 drugs through a fast-tracked process, representing 38 percent of new drugs the agency approved that year, according to the Journal.
President Trump is on the right track to lowering the cost of Medicare prescription drugs. But his proposed executive order to socialize them is misguided. Americans for Limited Government has been one of this president’s most stalwart supporters and allies, but we cannot stand idly by and let our friend make a mistake that could lead America on a path toward socialized medicine.
Catherine Mortensen is the Vice President of Communications at Americans for Limited Government.
Video: Texas farmer applauds USMCA and explains why American beef needs to come first for your family
