Washington (CNN) – One day before the Senate votes if he will be convicted or acquitted on two charges of dismissal, President Donald Trump delivered his annual address on the state of the Union in the House of Representatives.
While Trump is known for his impromptu comments plagued with false claims, he tends to stick to the script during formal speeches such as that of the state of the Union. However, here are the facts about what the president said in his third speech by the state of the Union.
Energy
Oil and gas production
Trump talked about oil and gas production in U.S during his term in office.
“Thanks to our bold regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world, by far,” Trump said.
The facts: The United States did not become the world’s leading energy producer under Trump: it took first place under the Obama administration in 2012, according to the United States Government Energy Information Administration.
The United States became the leading producer of crude oil in particular during Trump’s term. “The United States has been the world’s leading producer of natural gas since 2009, when US production of natural gas exceeded that of Russia, and has been the world’s leading producer of petroleum hydrocarbons since 2013, when its production exceeded that of Arabia Saudi, ”said the Energy Information Administration.
– Tara Subramaniam
- PHOTOS | The highlights of the Trump Union state speech
Economy
Unemployment for African Americans, Hispanics and Asians
Trump said unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanics and Asians are at the lowest levels in history. “The unemployment rate of African Americans, Hispanics and Americans of Asian origin has reached the lowest levels in history,” Trump said in his speech.
The facts: Trump is right. The unemployment rate for each of these three groups is at a record low, at least since the government has been issuing data on them. (Data for African Americans and Hispanics date back to the early 1970s, while data for Asians date back only to 2000.)
Trump inherited a positive trend that has continued during his tenure. The unemployment rate of the three groups had fallen substantially under President Barack Obama since the levels of the 2009 recession era.
The African-American unemployment rate was 5.9% in December 2019. That is a rebound from the historical low of 5.4% in August 2019, but it is still below the rate at any time under any other president for the We have data.
The Hispanic unemployment rate was 4.2% in December 2019, an increase from the minimum of 3.9% of all times in September 2019, but, again, lower than any other point under any other president for We have data.
The unemployment rate among citizens of Asian origin was 2.4% in December, an increase from the minimum of 2.0% in May 2018, but still a little lower than the record before Trump: 2.6% In December 2016, Obama’s last full month in office.
– Donna Borak
Immigration
Border wall
Trump claimed to have built “more than 100 miles” (160 kilometers) of a “long, tall and very powerful” border wall.
The facts: The US Customs and Border Protection Office said that as of January 31, 115 miles (185 kilometers) of a “new border wall system” had been built. Most of the damaged barriers have been replaced with a new improved wall system. In about a mile (1.6 kilometers) it has been built where there was no previous barrier.
The Trump administration considers all the miles “new”, arguing that this is a significant improvement over what was before. Critics mock the inclusion of replacement and reinforcement barriers in the “new” category, but administration officials have maintained their classification.
“One thing I want to emphasize is that every inch of the 100 miles we have built is a new border wall system,” said DHS interim chief Chad Wolf in January. “It’s not the so-called replacement wall, as some of our critics claimed. It is a new wall. ”
– Daniel Dale and Priscilla Alvarez
Health
Pre-existing conditions
Trump has repeatedly promised to protect those with pre-existing conditions, even when he has tried to kill the Affordable Care Act, which greatly extended those safeguards.
“I also made a strong promise to American families. We will also protect patients with pre-existing conditions, ”he said Tuesday during the State of the Union address.
The facts: Trump’s claim about protecting people with preexisting conditions is false. Although Trump says he would do this, his administration has taken consistent steps to undermine the Affordable Care Act, including incorporating a lawsuit aimed at repealing the law, without presenting alternative plans that offer similar benefits.
The Affordable Health Care Act prohibited insurers in the individual market from denying people coverage or charging them higher premiums due to their health history. In addition, carriers had to provide comprehensive coverage, offering 10 essential health benefits, including maternity, mental health and prescription drugs.
Trump has worked to undermine the Affordable Health Care Act since his first day in office, when he issued a presidential decree ordering agencies to interpret their regulations as freely as possible. He defended the bills of Congress Republicans in 2017 that would have weakened the protections of the law.
And his Department of Justice allied with a coalition of Republican states fighting in federal court to invalidate the law. In December, an appeals panel confirmed a ruling from a lower court that considered Obamacare’s individual mandate unconstitutional, but sent the case back to the lower court to decide whether the entire law should fall.
The president has repeatedly said that he would launch a new health care plan that would protect people with pre-existing conditions, but has not yet done so. Last April, he retracted pressing for a replacement plan until after the 2020 elections.
Meanwhile, at the end of 2017, he issued another presidential decree that would make it easier for Americans to acquire alternatives to the Affordable Care Act that are cheaper, but offer fewer protections, such as short-term health plans. Advocates of the law, however, fear that such plans may divert younger and healthier people, which could cause an increase in premiums for the purchase policies that remain in the Obamacare exchanges.
The Trump administration also allows states to make major changes in their Obamacare markets, which could also leave low-income, elderly or sick residents with fewer options and higher costs. Few states have accepted the federal government in this offer so far.
– Tami Luhby
Commerce
USMCA / T-MEC
Trump said the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, “will create almost 100,000 new American auto jobs with high salaries.”
The facts: Trump is inflating his administration’s own estimate of job creation under the new trade agreement, which is even greater than an independent agency estimate.
It is difficult to predict what will happen in the future. But a report by the US Office of Commercial Representatives of the Trump Administration calculated the number at 76,000 jobs for five years.
The US International Trade Commission UU., An agency that is part of the federal government but does its analysis independently of the administration, estimated an increase of 29,700 jobs in the production of auto parts due to the USMCA / T-MEC, but a decrease of 1,600 jobs in the production of vehicles.
– Katie Lobosco
Democratic response
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in the Democratic response to the Trump Union state speech that “American workers are suffering” and wages have stagnated. “In my own state. Our neighbors in Wisconsin. And Ohio. And Pennsylvania. In all the country. Salaries have stagnated, while executive pay has skyrocketed. ”
The facts: it is unclear what numbers Whitmer cites, but the latest work report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not support his statement.
Average earnings per hour increased 2.9% in 2019, according to the report. Meanwhile, consumer price inflation stood at 2.3% during the 12 months that ended in December, leaving the average hourly earnings slightly higher for the year.
According to the same salary measure, wages also increased in the states Whitmer cited: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
– Anneken Tappe
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