The White House - 1600 Daily: From the battlefield to the home front

President Donald J. Trump signs an executive order on supporting our veterans during their transition from uniformed service to civilian life | January 9, 2018 (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

From the battlefield to the home front
For veterans, the toughest part of a return to civilian life often comes at the very beginning. Veterans in their first year after service are particularly vulnerable to mental health risks but often do not receive adequate care:

• Only 50 percent of returning service members who need mental health treatment seek it.
• Veterans 3 to 12 months out of service are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than their active duty compatriots.
• About 18.5 percent of veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

President Donald J. Trump believes our veterans deserve the best healthcare in the world. Yesterday, he signed an order to support them during their transition from uniformed service to civilian life.
“We’re taking an unprecedented action today in that we will be covering all separating military members who are transitioning into civilian life — 100 percent of them — with the mental health benefit for 12 months,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin said.

See the message President Trump delivered to veterans yesterday.


‘A very successful’ immigration meeting
President Trump hosted both Democratic and Republican members of Congress in the Cabinet Room of the White House yesterday to talk immigration reform.
“The President just concluded what we felt was a very successful and productive bipartisan and bicameral meeting,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. “During the close-door session, the leadership agreed to negotiate and narrow the focus to four issues.”
Those issues:

• Border security
• Chain migration
• The visa immigration lottery
• DACA

Read what Republicans and Democrats had to say to the President.

Quote of the day: ‘Rural broadband is our duty to farmers’
In an op-ed for CNN, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue explains what the Trump Administration committed to doing for America’s farmers and rural citizens.
Secretary Perdue chaired the President’s task force to revive rural prosperity in America. The task force produced more than 100 recommendations, and organized around five key indicators: connectivity, quality of life, rural workforce, technological innovation, and economic development.
“Each recommendation intersects with and complements the others, but the task force found one overarching need: improved high-speed internet access,” he writes.
Read more: ‘This was an executive order, not an executive suggestion.’

POTUS TODAY

This morning, President Trump will hold a meeting with his Cabinet. The President will then have lunch with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
In the afternoon, the President will welcome Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway to the White House. The two will participate in an expanded bilateral meeting and hold a joint press conference. Watch live at 3:20pm ET.
Later, the President and Vice President will meet with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. The President will then meet with the Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin.