White House Lauds Three Big Wins on Capitol Hill

White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short highlighted a long list of legislative accomplishments Friday, including major three bills that were approved in just the past week.

“We want to take a few minutes at the end of a very productive work session here to highlight a couple of bills that passed both chambers this week and were sent to the president’s desk,” Short said during a conference call with reporters.

“I think often with all that’s going on internationally and, I think, some of the coverage of continuing investigations and perhaps palace intrigue, there is a lack of focus on what’s actually getting accomplished legislatively,” he said.

President Donald Trump entered office with an ambitious policy agenda and fierce resistance from  Democrats, the liberal mainstream media, nonprofit advocacy community critics and others who back or benefit from activist government. He has promised to help struggling workers, clamp down on illegal immigration, reduce burdensome regulations, and make trade fairer, among much else.

Short singled out three bills passed this week that were designed to roll back some financial sector regulations, make available access to experimental drugs for terminally ill patients, and provide veterans with more health care options.

“We want to take a few minutes at the end of a very productive work session here to highlight a couple of bills that passed both chambers this week and were sent to the president’s desk,” Short said during the call. “I think often with all that’s going on internationally and, I think, some of the coverage of continuing investigations and perhaps palace intrigue, there is a lack of focus on what’s actually getting accomplished legislatively.”

The Dodd-Frank Act was implemented in response to the Great Recession of 2008 and established the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) to enforce multiple new provisions to prevent dangerous lending practices by major banks.

But critics have contested that the reforms went too far by hindering smaller banks and making it harder for people and businesses to access capital. The CFPB has also been plagued by mismanagement, personnel problems, and excessive intrusions on consumer privacy.

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act was passed to ease up on regulations that impact smaller banks and make the CFPB subject to congressional oversight. Opponents argued the reforms could allow for the same dangerous practices that led to the 2008 crisis. The president signed the measure into law Thursday.

The Veteran’s Choice Accountability Act aims to help veterans to have private sector health care choices rather than just the troubled U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill scraps the current choice program outright while streaming the process and lowering barriers for veterans seeking outside medical help.

“I think these three big bills have given us the chance to reflect, not just on the last week, but what we view as a very productive Congress with historic tax reform …”

The Right to Try Act was passed to help patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The bill allows them to obtain unapproved drugs when they’ve exhausted approved treatment options and are unable to participate in a clinical trial. Critics say it undermines the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ability to protect against bad drugs.

“I think these three big bills have given us the chance to reflect, not just on the last week, but what we view as a very productive Congress with historic tax reform, the repeal of the individual mandate, the largest funding increase for the military since the Reagan years, the first pay raise in 10 years for our troops.”

Short added that lawmakers and the president have also been able to get some funding for the border wall, increase the budget for border patrol agents, roll back regulations from the last administration, and confirm U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Connor D. Wolf covers Congress and national politics and can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.