Trump To Propose Slashing Entitlements, Boosting Defense in $4.4 Trillion Budget Reduction
President Donald Trump is proposing a $4.8 trillion federal budget that makes drastic cuts in foreign aid while increasing funding for homeland security.
The budget, which is being formally released on Monday, also proposes cutting $4.4 trillion in federal spending over the next 10 years, largely through cuts to the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps) and other welfare programs that would see more stringent work and eligibility requirements put in place, according to Fox News.
Trump’s budget also calls for trimming Medicare by lowering drug prices.
“Working together, the Congress can reduce drug prices substantially from current levels,” the president said in his State of the Union speech last week. “I have been speaking to Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and others in the Congress in order to get something on drug pricing done, and done properly.
“I am calling for bipartisan legislation that achieves the goal of dramatically lowering prescription drug prices. Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law without delay.”
Trump’s budget would reduce foreign aid by 21 percent, according to NBC News.
It would also wipe out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AmeriCorps volunteer program is also on the chopping block, according to CNBC
The Environmental Protection Agency would receive a 26 percent cut in Trump’s budget, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development would take a 15 percent hit.
Not everything was cut. The Department of Veterans Affairs would get a 13 percent spending hike, while the Department of Homeland Security would see a 3 percent increase.
In addition to the border wall funding, within DHS, Trump is seeking a 7 percent increase for the Customs and Border Protection agency and a 23 percent boost for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
NASA would get a 12 percent increase.
The budget would allocate $28.9 billion to the Pentagon to modernize nuclear delivery systems and $19.8 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration for “modernizing the nuclear weapons stockpile,” according to Axios.
The White House estimates that the federal deficit will be eliminated in 15 years, largely through economic growth.
“First and foremost, we have to restore growth,” Vice President Mike Pence said Friday on CNBC. “That’s how we will deal with the long-term fiscal challenges facing our country.”
The budget faces strong opposition in the Democrat-controlled House.
The budget is a statement of values. Once again, the #TrumpBudget makes it painfully clear how little the President values the good health, financial security and well-being of America’s hard-working families. https://t.co/ohbibWuyY1
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) February 10, 2020
In a briefing before the budget’s release, a senior administration official outlined Trump’s goals, according to The Washington Times.
“The president is proposing more mandatory savings and reforms than any other president in history. He does protect Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries in those programs; he totally meets that commitment,” the official said.
The official said Trump wants long-term reductions in spending.
“We’re trying to make the case that the president cares about spending, and has cared about spending,” the official said. “He’s been doing this since his very first budget. This is now the fourth budget. Many of these reforms have been in each and every one of them. We do need Congress. Congress has not been there.”
The official said: “We’re going to have a national election that will hopefully decide that Congress is going to be on the side of the American people along with other taxpayers who balance their family budgets. We’re making the argument that deficit reduction is really important.”
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