After a tumultuous first month in office, notably the chaos over his temporary immigration ban of people from seven countries, President Donald Trump will deliver his first address to Congress on Tuesday night and is expected to lay out his broad legislative agenda.
Trump is slated to unveil a big plan for infrastructure, apart from beefing up US military with a major spending hike for the Defence sector in line with his campaign pitch. Indications are that defence spending will be up by $54 billion. Simultaneously, foreign aid and the various non-security categories could see a slash.
“We will increase security and we will decrease lower-priority programs. Most federal agencies will see a reduction as a result,” The Washington Times quoted an administration official as saying.
The big challenge that Trump and Congressional Republicans currently face is on how to deliver in a timely fashion their other campaign pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare – President Obama’s landmark healthcare overhaul – with an improved plan that also lowers the steep premium hikes.
Trump’s address will focus on “the renewal of the American spirit”, says White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, noting it will “an opportunity for him to lay out a very positive vision for the nation and to really let America know where we can go and how we can get there, and the potential that we have as a nation”.
Apart from his Defence push and quest for a viable alternative to Obamacare, the Trump administration is working on a big infrastructure plan, with a possible announcement expected in his address.
Indian IT majors and software professionals will be closely watching Trump’s address to see if he has anything to say about his administration’s plans vis-à-vis legal immigration, against the backdrop of much speculation over possible tightening of the H-1B and l1 work visa regime.
Three different Bills have independently been moved by lawmakers, two of which have proposed a doubling of minimum salary payable under the H-1B scheme in a move clearly aimed at discouraging Indian IT firms walking away with the bulk of this coveted visa. But there is no official word yet on what precisely the Trump administration plans to do.
Democrats are bracing to challenge Trump and the Republican majority in both Houses on the repeal of Obamacare and other plans, including the one to prune allocations for environmental and social safety net programmes.
Soon after Trump’s address, former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear will deliver the Democratic response. Beshear is known to be a strong supporter of Obamacare and expansion of Medicaid.
