Judge strikes down Trump’s immigration health insurance requirement

Policy Watch

• • Judge blocks Trump rule requiring new immigrants have health insurance. A federal judge on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from implementing a policy that would require immigrants to prove they have U.S. health insurance within 30 days of their arrival or enough money to pay for “reasonably foreseeable medical costs.” The order temporarily bars the administration from applying the new policy for 28 days and another hearing is set for November 22. The judge found the policy unlawful and argued the procedures regarding public comment violated government rules. The State Department gave the public two days to comment after the plan was issued rather than the usual one to three months. [WSJ]

     

  • Specific occupations and industries see wage hikes. Advocates for raising the minimum wage, such as labor unions and community groups, are finding success targeting their efforts toward wage hikes for specific occupations and industries. Fed up with the bipartisan divide at the federal level, organizers seek to build on the momentum from successful efforts for state and local minimum-wage increases in places like Seattle, New York State and California. The common argument that raising the minimum wage would cost jobs has been undercut by the record low unemployment rate and other data. For example, while many thought the $15 minimum wage would hurt New York City restaurants, both revenues and employment are up. Even critics agree that local efforts make more economic sense than increasing the federal minimum wage across the board. [NYT]

     

  • EPA to ease restrictions on how coal plants store toxic waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning Monday to relax rules regulating how power plants store waste from coal power plants and the release of water containing toxic chemicals into nearby waterways. The proposals scale back two Obama administration rules from 2015 that affect the disposal of fine powder and sludge, also known as coal ash. Coal ash can contain mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals that pose risks to human health and the environment. The Obama administration projected its regulations could prevent roughly 1.4 billion pounds of toxic waste from leaking into local waterways. These pollutants affect more than 1 million Americans who live within three miles of a coal plant according to EPA estimates. [WaPo]

  • Trump refuses to rule out possibility of government shutdown. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump could not guarantee the government will not shut down when federal funding runs out on November 21. With only eight legislative days to act, Congress must pass 12 appropriations bills to keep all federal agencies funded or propose another short-term stopgap measure. Democrats are concerned Trump may seek to shut down the government to divert public attention from the impeachment inquiry. [WaPo]

    Economic Indicators & News 

  • U.S. factory orders fall in September. New orders for U.S.-made goods fell 0.6% in September after a 0.1% dip the previous month, the Commerce Department said Monday. Economists polled had predicted the measure would fall 0.5%. U.S. manufacturing slipped into a recession this year as the economic standoff between the Trump administration and China piled onto pressure in the sector, which has also grappled with a global slowdown in factory activity. [Reuters]