The Trump Administration will lift the federal hiring freeze today that has been in place for the past three months but will continue its push to restructure and downsize the federal government. It’s a a central piece of President Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp.” Agencies will be able to hire, but they will be required to submit plans for making themselves leaner.
The Department of Labor reports the import price index dropped 0.2% in March, for the first decline since November. The cost of fuel fell 3.8%, the biggest drop in more than a year. Over the past year, import prices have risen 4.2%. but they were falling at a 6.1% annual rate a year ago. The price of goods exported by the U.S. to other nations, rose 0.2% in March and have increased 3.6% over the past year.
President Trump said today that he has to pass a health-care law before moving on to overhaul the tax code. On Fox Business Network, the president said that repealing and replacing Obamacare will result in savings of $900 billion.
Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for 1360 KUIK.