Wonkbook: Trump blasts foreign worker program at company that pays below-average wages to foreign workers

By Tracy Jan Standing before an American flag made out of w... | Sponsored by FedEx   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   President Donald Trump speaks at Snap-On Tools Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in Kenosha, Wis. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) By Tracy Jan Standing before an American flag made out of wrenches at a Wisconsin tools company, President Trump on Tuesday promised "bold, new steps" to protect American workers and their wages and vowed to overhaul a decades-old guest worker visa program created to import "high-skilled" foreign labor. But it turns out that Snap-on Tools, where Trump signed his "Buy American, Hire American" executive order to much fanfare, pays below-average wages to the handful of foreign workers for whom the company has sought H-1B visas. The practice, critics say, has the effect of driving down wages for American workers. And Trump choosing to host an event criticizing H1-B practices at a company — far from Silicon Valley — that uses the visa program underscores how ubiquitous it has become, with over 460,000 positions across the country. Read the rest on Wonkblog. Chart of the day Prescriptions for Medicaid patients declined in states that instituted medical marijuana, suggesting substantial savings for the federal government. Christopher Ingraham has more. ADVERTISEMENT   Top policy tweets A summary of proposed new AHCA tweaks. State waivers for essential health benefits and (limited) community rating. https://t.co/WaUAo4uzUw — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 20, 2017 Context for possible new "waiver" deal on health care. New changes would be layered on existing AHCA architecture: https://t.co/W46yIN2jY6 — Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) April 20, 2017 Fairly critical review of Warren's new book by @emmaogreen Tho hard to admit as an econ, economics isn't everythinghttps://t.co/NnAjbKgkXw pic.twitter.com/oMkzXvUg2O — Hal Singer (@HalSinger) April 20, 2017 Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog One Democratic attempt to block Trump that’s actually working Democratic Senators have found a way to slow down one of Trump's key campaign pledges. By Ana Swanson  •  Read more »   What happens if the president doesn’t matter? Donald Trump's 100-day slide into irrelevance By Steven Pearlstein  •  Read more »   Wall Street is giving up on Trump And yet that may help the president achieve one key goal. By Matt O'Brien  •  Read more »   Trump to sign actions on taxes, Wall Street regulation By Damian Paletta  •  Read more »   Trump’s treasury secretary: The tax cut ‘will pay for itself’ Trump's treasury secretary is promising his tax cuts will pay for themselves. By Damian Paletta and Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   The average millennial worker makes less than the average baby boomer did in 1975 There is, however, some good news for young women. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   Trump administration launches national security investigation into steel imports By Ana Swanson  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Federal Insider Federal news and policy update, in your inbox daily. Sign Up »         Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071