President Trump’s 2020 Budget Calls for Major Cuts to Public Services

By MUUSJN on Tuesday, March 26th, 2019

Pres. Trump’s FY 2020 Federal Budget Hurts Retirees,  Persons with Disabilities, the Sick, Low & Middle Income Families and Students

Transfers income to wealthy, corporations & pentagon

On March 11th, President Trump released his FY 2020 budget proposal. It slashes funding for health services and human needs, cuts funding for mandatory programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, expands pentagon spending and makes permanent $1.1 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy approved in November 2017.  Congress, not President Trump, ultimately decides federal spending priorities.  However, reviewing the Trump budget proposals gives us an important glimpse at his budget priorities. 

Background

On a regular basis, we need to let our members of Congress know how we think about our country’s spending priorities.   Remember to speak with your members of Congress this week and during the April 15 – 26th recess.
Decisions will be made first through Congress’ appropriations committees. Michigan does not have representation on the Senate Appropriations Committee, however, it has two members on the House Appropriations Committee. Review this action alert and express your views to these two key members of Congress:

Rep. Brenda Lawrence:  (D-Southfield) 1-202-225-5802 & Rep. John Moolenar (R-Midland): 1-202-225-3561

Also Call Senator  Debbie Stabenow: 1-202-224-4822 and Senator Gary Peters: 1-202-224-6221 & Your  U.S. Representative: 1- 202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)

TELL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS: Oppose These Cuts:
MANDATORY PROGRAM CUTS (over 10 years): Medicaid: $ 1.4 trillion; (health care for low income persons)Medicare: $845 billion; (health care for elderly & persons with disabilities)Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): $220 billion; (food for poor)Supplemental  Security Income (SSI): $70 billion; (for low income persons)Social Security: $25 billion; Temporary Assistance to Needy Families – $21 billion. (for low income families)

(Sources: Congressional Budget Office, Coalition on Human Needs,  Vox, 3/12/19)

DOMESTIC PROGRAM CUTS (over 10 years):Environmental Protection Agency: 31%;Department of Transportation: 19%;Department of Housing & Urban Development: 18%;Department of Agriculture: 13%;Department of Health & Human Services: 12%;Department of Education: 12%.Department of Labor: 10%.Department of Homeland Security – a 15% INCREASE. (This includes an additional $8.6 billion for building a border wall and $2.7 billion to continue jailing immigrant families and children.)
(Source: Congressional Budget Office, Office of Management and Budget 2020 Request)

These cuts include: elimination of loan forgiveness programs and subsidized loans for low-income students; elimination of home heating and cooling programs for low income families; and food packages for low income senior citizens.

Trump’s 2020 Pentagon Budget:The Trump Administration proposed $750 billion for its FY 2020 “Defense” budget. This budget is $20 billion more than defense officials requested and was above the $746 billion figure that Trump himself called “crazy” as recently as of last December. Most disturbing is the proposed $170 billion “Overseas Contingency Operations” fund that, according to former OMB Director, Mick Mulvaney, has been used as “slush fund” used to avoid budget caps. This fund was  dramatically increased more than 150% from last year’s appropriation of $67.9 billion!
A coalition of 17 organizations, from across the idealogical spectrum, this month sent a letter to Congress (click HERE for a copy) urging our elected officials to set defense spending at or below $576 billion, the amount Congress agreed in the Bi-partisan Budget Act of 2018 should be the cap for pentagon spending for FY 2020.  This coalition further agreed that Congress should put  an end to OCO slush fund. 

Tell Your Members of Congress: Keep the 2020 pentagon budget at or below   $576 billion agreed by Congress; ELIMINATE the Overseas Contingency Operations slush fund. It will just lead to more waste, fraud and wars!

TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY AND CORPORATIONS MUUSJN strongly opposed the Trump administration $2 trillion tax giveaway over 10 years that was adopted on a partisan basis in December 2017. These tax cuts mostly went to the wealthy and corporations. Trump claimed that these tax cuts would result in mind-blowing economic growth. Tragically, the most mind blowing results of these tax cuts has been President Trump’s proposed  massive cuts in mandatory programs like Social Security, Medicare and  Medicaid. These proposals all violate his campaign promises to the American people. Some say that the Trump budget is dead on arrival. However, it is important that our members of Congress hear how we think our tax dollars should be spent. 

For more background on the proposed Trump 2020 budget, click HERE.  

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