Trump could use a national emergency - Vox.com

1. What are the two potential outcomes regarding the border wall that Trump implied in his speech?
"the government will either shut down again or “I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency.”"
2. What would Democrats argue if Trump declared a national emergency to slow illegal immigration?
Many Democrats and some legal scholars have said that Trump can’t declare a national emergency to get the border wall funded. 
3. How did Bush and Obama use the emergency powers of the president? Many presidents have declared national emergencies, including George W. Bush after 9/11 and Barack Obama during the swine flu outbreak in 2009.
4. What restrictions does the National Emergencies Act of 1976 put on the president?  the National Emergencies Act of 1976, which lets presidents issue an emergency declaration but under certain constraints — namely, Trump can only use specific powers Congress has already codified by law, and he has to say which powers he’s using. The 1976 law was actually passed to rein in presidential power and codify how presidents were going about declaring emergencies
5. If Trump does declare a national emergency, what obstacles may he face? identifying the laws and statutes he could actually use
6. How could the president use the military to accomplish this policy goal? reallocate military spending on construction projects for the wall. One law allows the defense secretary, after a national emergency declaration, to direct the army’s civil works program to construct a structure needed for national defense and use the military budget to do it.
7. What did the Supreme Court rule in Youngstown Sheet & Tube V Sawyer?  the Supreme Court ruled that President Harry Truman’s attempt to nationalize US steel mills during a strike in the Korean War was unconstitutional. 
8. How can Congress stop the president if he does declare an emergency? the National Emergencies Act was amended to require the joint resolution to override the president’s declaration — like a typical law, it requires a simple majority in the House and Senate and the president’s signature.

The Threat to Medicaid - Vox.com

1. What agency is mentioned as developing a plan for Trump to turn Medicaid into block grants?

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is mentioned as developing a plan for Trump to turn Medicaid into block grants

2. How would Medicaid change if the program was changed to a block grant-style implementation?

If the program was changed to a block grant-style implementation "states would receive a set amount of federal funding, instead of the open-ended funding commitment they currently receive from the feds."

3. What was the effect of some states adding work requirements to receiving Medicaid benefits ?Thousands of people in the states implementing them have lost coverage.

4. Which president's administration was responsible for the creation of the Medicaid program? Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration was responsible for the creation of the Medicaid program.

5. How many people are insured by the Medicaid program in the United States? 75 million Americans get coverage under the program.

6. What was the effect of the Affordable Care Act on the Medicaid program? The ACA caused a historical expansion on the Medicaid program.

7. What types of Medicaid recipients would be exempt from work requirements? About 50 million of the program’s 75 million enrollees are children, elderly, disabled, or pregnant, and those populations are usually exempt from work requirements.

8. What groups of people were originally entitled to Medicaid benefits? "Medicaid has been a program that millions of vulnerable Americans — children, the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women — were entitled to. If you fell into one of those categories, and your income was low enough, you qualified for benefits."

9. What were the requirements to get Medicaid benefits after Obamacare? "Anybody with an income in or near poverty ($27,000 and below for a family of three) would be eligible for Medicaid."

Effects of the shut down - Vox.com
 
1. When was the second longest government shutdown? December 1995 with Clinton as President we had the second longest shutdown.
2. Which government departments are not affected by this shutdown? Energy, health and human services, defense, veteran affairs, education, and labor are not affected.
3. What is the difference between essential and nonessential employees? " “essential” employees must keep reporting to work even though they won’t receive immediate pay, while “nonessential” employees are furloughed and told to stay home until the shutdown ends."
4. Which two departments have the highest % of furloughed employees? Treasury and Commerce have the highest percentages.
5. Which two agencies (They aren't called "Dept. of ___" have the highest % of furloughed employees? NSF, EPA, NASA, and Housing and Urban development have the highest percentages.
6. Which states have the most employees impacted by the shutdown? D.C., Maryland, Alaska, and Montana have the most employees impacted by the shutdown
7. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE PANDA CAM AT THE NATIONAL ZOO?! It is deemed nonessential so it is shut down while the government is too.
8. How is real GDP impacted by the government shutdown? 'The shutdown could shave approximately $1.2 billion off real GDP for each week that the government is partially closed."
9. How much has the shutdown impacted real GDP as of Jan 11?  How will that change by Jan 25? It has cost $3.6 billion and will rise to $7.1 billion by January 25th.