Trump launches veteran homelessness initiative with new national center

President Trump made moves to establish the National Center for Warrior Independence to aid veterans facing homelessness, among other orders.

The center will be housed on the Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Campus and open to veterans across the country.

The funds for the center will come from funds previously used for illegal immigrants, a fact sheet of the order says.

“The Center will promote self-sufficiency through housing, substance abuse treatment, and support for productive work for the veterans housed there,” the fact sheet says.

The goal is for up to 6,000 homeless to be housed at the center by 2028.

In another executive order signed Friday, Mr. Trump directed federal agencies to reduce the number of regulations Americans could be prosecuted for unintentionally saying only those who “willfully” run afoul of the regulations should face consequences. 

In the order’s fact sheet, Mr. Trump said everyday Americans are transformed into criminals for violating “a regulation they have no reason to know exists.” He ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to come up with a list of regulations that Americans could unwittingly violate and wind up in hot water.

Despite the arcane nature of the laws, violations can bring down the full weight of the Justice Department or other agencies to enforce and prosecute.

“The situation is absurd, unjust and ripe for abuse, enabling government officials to target unwitting individuals and weaponize regulations against them,” the fact sheet says.

The order directs agencies to explore a “guilty-intent” standard for criminal regulatory offenses, meaning that an individual cannot be convicted unless they knowingly violated a rule. 

Over the past decade, lawmakers have attempted to move forward bills that would establish that only “willful” violation of the offenses would be required to prosecute, unless otherwise specified. 

However, none of the bills ever advanced. 

In a memorandum signed Friday, the Trump administration is focusing on water pressure and efficiency rules once again, and expanding on an executive order last month that aimed to “make America’s showers great again.”

This action expands on the previous executive order and calls for Energy Secretary Chris Wright to review and rescind any rules that limit how much water can be used in showerheads, faucets, dishwashers, toilets, urinals and washing machines.

“Water conservation requirements for faucets, showers, bathtubs, and toilets make bathroom appliances more expensive and less functional,” the memorandum fact sheet says. “Efficiency standards render other American appliances, like clothes washers and dishwashers, less useful, more breakable, and more expensive to repair.”

It also calls for the office of Legislative Affairs to recommend repealing the Energy Policy Act of 1992, signed by former President George H.W. Bush, to Congress. The law aimed to reduce dependence on energy imports, boost renewable energy production and improve energy efficient buildings.

In another memorandum, the president is protecting the Great Lakes from invasive carp by calling for his administration to “expeditiously implement the most effective mechanisms, barriers, and other measures to prevent the migration and expansion of invasive carp in the Great Lakes Basin and the surrounding region.”

It calls for the construction of the Brandon Road Interbasin Project in Illinois, which a fact sheet of the order says will provide “multiple layers of innovative technological deterrents designed to prevent invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes.”

The administration says the project was delayed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat.

It gives the state a July 1 deadline to “acquire necessary land to begin construction.”

The president also signed a proclamation establishing Project Homecoming, a program that encourages illegal immigrants to self-deport.

“It creates a streamlined process for departure using the CBP Home app, provides government-funded flights at no cost to illegal aliens, facilitates travel for those lacking valid travel documents, and offers a concierge service at airports to assist with booking travel and claiming an exit bonus,” the order fact sheet says.

Those who choose to self-deport will also receive an “exit bonus” of $1,000, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the press briefing Friday.

“Their plane tickets home may be paid for, and they will receive a $1,000 stipend once we have confirmation that they have left our country,” Ms. Leavitt said. “This new feature will allow illegal aliens to have a planned departure out of the country and to leave as soon as possible in a dignified way.”

She said if they “make the right decision here and submit their intent to depart through the CBP Home app and pass extensive vetting, they will be temporarily deprioritized for ICE detention and enforcement action before their scheduled departure.”

She also said if these steps are followed, it may improve their options to come to the country legally in the future.