President Orders Agencies to Review Programs to Promote ‘Economic Mobility’

President Trump yesterday issued an executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies to review their public assistance programs to determine whether enforcement of a work requirement would be consistent with federal law and certain “principles of economic mobility.” The order directs the agencies to submit within 90 days a list of recommended regulatory and other changes to accomplish the principles, which generally call for promoting work, state and local flexibility, and reduced reliance on government resources. “The federal government should do everything within its authority to empower individuals by providing opportunities to work, including by investing in federal programs that are effective at moving people into the workforce and out of poverty,” the order states. The order includes, but is not limited to, the Medicaid program.