Emergency Powers & The Wall

1. What are the two potential outcomes regarding the border wall that Trump implied in his speech?

• The government will shut down again or he implied that he would declare a national emergency. 

2. What would Democrats argue if Trump declared a national emergency to slow illegal immigration?

• They say that Trump can’t declare a national emergency to get the border wall funded.

3. How did Bush and Obama use the emergency powers of the president?

• George W. Bush used the emergency powers after 9/11 and Barack Obama during the swine flu outbreak in 2009.

4. What restrictions does the National Emergencies Act of 1976 put on the president?

• It says that the president can only use specific powers that Congress has codified by law, and the president has to say which powers he’s using.

5. If Trump does declare a national emergency, what obstacles may he face?

• He and his legal team would have to find laws and statutes that he could actually use to get money for border wall funding. He also may face obstacles in Congress.

6. How could the president use the military to accomplish this policy goal?

• He could reallocate military spending on construction projects for the wall through having the defense secretary direct the army’s civil works program to construct a structure needed for defense and use the military budget to do it. He can do this after a national emergency is declared. The secretary can direct other military services for construction projects as well.

7. What did the Supreme Court rule in Youngstown Sheet & Tube V Sawyer?

• The Supreme Court ruled that Truman’s attempt to nationalize US steel mills during a strike in the Korean War was unconstitutional.

8. How can Congress stop the president if he does declare an emergency?

• Congress would have to override him with a two-thirds majority in each chamber because it would be difficult to pass a joint resolution to override it because it needs the president's signature.

The Threat to Medicaid

1. What agency is mentioned as developing a plan for Trump to turn Medicaid into block grants?

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

2. How would Medicaid change if the program was changed to a block grant style implementation?

• With block grants, states would receive a set amount of federal funding instead of the open-ended funding they currently receive from the feds.

3. What was the effect of some states adding work requirements to receiving Medicaid benefits?

• Thousands of people in those states have lost coverage.

4. Which president's administration was responsible for the creation of the Medicaid program?

• Lyndon B. Johnson!!!!!!!!!

5. How many people are insured by the Medicaid program in the United States?

• 75 million

6. What was the effect of the Affordable Care Act on the Medicaid program?

• The ACA expanded the Medicaid program greatly.

7. What types of Medicaid recipients would be exempt from work requirements?

• Children, elderly, disabled, or pregnant.

8. What groups of people were originally entitled to Medicaid benefits?

• Children, the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women (if your income was low enough).

9. What were the requirements to get Medicaid benefits after Obamacare?

• Anybody with an income in/near poverty ($27,000 and below for a family of three) would be eligible for Medicaid.

The Govt is Shut Down

1. When was the second longest government shutdown?

• In December of 1995 (21 days)

2. Which government departments are not affected by this shutdown?

• Departments of Energy, Labor, Defense, Health and Human Services, Veteran Affairs, and Education.

3. What is the difference between essential and nonessential employees?

• Essential employees have to keep going to work even though they won’t receive immediate pay, while nonessential employees are furloughed and have to stay home until the shutdown ends.

4. Which two departments have the highest % of furloughed employees?

• Department of Commerce and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

5. Which two agencies (They aren't called "Dept. of ___" have the highest % of  furloughed employees?

• NSF and NASA/EPA.

6. Which states have the most employees impacted by the shutdown?

• Maryland, Alaska, and Montana. 

7. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE PANDA CAM AT THE NATIONAL ZOO?!

• It was deemed nonessential and it will not stream until the government reopens.

8. How is real GDP impacted by the government shutdown?

• It could have $1.2 billion shaved off it every week the government is closed.

9. How much has the shutdown impacted real GDP as of Jan 11?  How will that change by Jan 25?

• As of January 11, the shutdown has cost the US Economy $3.6 billion. By January 25, it is projected to cost the economy $7.1 billion.