Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Sep 11: US President Donald Trump has unveiled a sweeping Republican agenda for the November midterm elections, promising changes to healthcare payments, permanent tax cuts, tougher border laws and stricter voting requirements if his party retains control of Congress.

Addressing a Republican convention in Dallas, Trump urged supporters to treat the congressional election as though his own name were on the ballot.

“You've got to pretend I'm on the ticket,” Trump said. “Because this is going to turn out to be one of the most important elections.”

Trump said a Republican victory would enable his administration to end federal payments to major health insurance companies and instead provide the money directly to individuals.

“We will end all payments to big health insurance companies and give you the money directly so that you can buy your own health care and have money left over for yourself,” he said.

The President also pledged to make his tax cuts permanent, accusing Democrats of seeking to raise taxes and reverse his administration's economic policies.

“We're going to take those beautiful tax cuts. We're going to make them permanent because the Democrats want to end all those tax cuts,” Trump said.

Trump again promoted what he described as “most favored nation prescription drug discounts” and said Republicans would seek to make the policy permanent by incorporating it into US law.

He claimed his administration had achieved the largest recorded decline in prescription drug prices, with some reductions reaching between 50 per cent and 90 per cent. However, the address did not provide supporting figures for the claims.

Trump also called for passage of the “No Invasion of Our Country Act” but provided few details about its proposed provisions.

“We don't want any more invasions of our country,” he said.

He further demanded passage of the “Save America Act”, which he said would require voter identification and proof of citizenship.

Promising to end no-cash-bail policies and intensify efforts against fraud, Trump claimed his administration had already identified billions of dollars linked to fraudulent activities and said the final amount could exceed $1 trillion.

Trump repeatedly urged supporters to vote on or before Nov 3 and warned that Democrats would reverse his policies if they regained control of Congress.

The midterm elections will determine control of the US House of Representatives and Senate for the remaining two years of Trump's term.