"Obamacare Moment of Truth"

- Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board describes that after months of cross negotiations between conservative and GOP moderates, the Senate will face a “watershed” moment next week, when it votes on Obamacare repeal and replace. The new bill “includes expanding eligibility for insurance subsidies, increasing subsidies for out-of-pocket expenses,” finances high-risk pools, stabilizes the insurance markets, “dispenses $45 billion for heroin and opioid abuse treatment,” and maintains Medicaid reform. The vote next week will “force Republicans to honor their avowed principles – or betray them,” it pens.
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President Trump’s visit to France was a glowing success. The AP’s Vivian Salama reports via The Washington Post on Presidents Trump and Macron "set aside lingering differences on climate change," noting that both leaders committed to working together on resolving the Syrian conflict and to enhance overall Middle Eastern Security.

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Noting the “Trump Effect,” former U.S. officials praise the Israeli-Palestinian Water deal, Haaretz's Amir Tibon writes, with “experts who worked for both Republican and Democratic administration on the issue in the past” saying the agreement shows “both sides are willing to demonstrate their good intentions to Trump.”

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In improving the quality and care for our veterans, National Review’s Jim Geraghty has written a synopsis of VA Secretary David Shulkin’s “quick start” at the VA, with Geraghty noting that “a wide range of reforms at the VA may turn out to be the most significant accomplishment of the Trump administration’s first year.”

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Regionally, the Tennessean’s Dave Boucher reports via USA Today on the lack of interest towards Russia displayed by “Trump country,” with multiple interviewees stating their support for the President on economic issues. While National Review’sMichael Barone writes on how, by levying “impeachment, charges of racism, [and] open-borders advocacy” against President Trump, his opponents may be overstretching their boundaries and hurting their own cause.