President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on February 28, 2017, and said his economic team is "developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone" and that will provide "massive tax relief for the middle class." He also called on Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with "reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and at the same time, provide better healthcare."

The President said "we've spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled," promised that it would be rebuilt, and referred to some of his foreign policy proposals. "But to accomplish our goals at home and abroad, we must restart the engine of the American economy — making it easier for companies to do business in the United States, and much, much harder for companies to leave our country," he said.

The President called for a level playing field for American companies and workers, saying, "Currently, when we ship products out of America, many other countries make us pay very high tariffs and taxes — but when foreign companies ship their products into America, we charge them nothing or almost nothing." The President said he "believes strongly in free trade but it also has to be fair trade."

On infrastructure, President Trump said "the time has come for a new program of national rebuilding," and that he would ask Congress to approve legislation that "produces a $1 trillion investment in the infrastructure of the United States — financed through both public and private capital — creating millions of new jobs."

With regard to the ACA, President Trump said, "Mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for America. The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health insurance, and that is what we are going to do."

The President set out principles to guide Congress in creating a better healthcare system:

1) Ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, and that there is a stable transition for Americans currently enrolled in the healthcare exchanges

2) Help Americans purchase their own coverage, through the use of tax credits and expanded Health Savings Accounts — "but it must be the plan they want, not the plan forced on them by the Government"

3) Give state governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out

4) Implement legal reforms that protect patients and doctors from unnecessary costs that drive up the price of insurance "and work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs and bring them down immediately"

5) Give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines

President Trump also said the Administration "wants to work with members of both parties to make childcare accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents have paid family leave, to invest in women's health, and to promote clean air and clear water, and to rebuild our military and our infrastructure."