A draft of President Trump’s budget is expected to be unveiled on Tuesday and the details are starting to surface. A source from the White House told Axios, “Conservatives will love it; moderates will probably hate it.” Left-wing sites like Slate are already hyperventilating about Trump’s evil, poor-hating, military-loving budget.
Here are seven things you need to know about Trump’s budget.
1. Medicare and Social Security would be untouched. These are two of the key drivers in ramping up America’s debt; however, the budget does make significant cuts elsewhere.
2. Medicaid would be reformed. According to a fact sheet from the White House that was obtained by The Daily Wire, Trump’s budget would reform Medicaid by giving states “the choice between a per capita cap and a block grant.” It’s being reported that in total Medicaid will face $610 billion in cuts under the budget proposal.
3. The student loan program would also be reformed: Per the fact sheet:
The Budget streamlines student loan repayment by consolidating multiple Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans into a single plan that caps monthly payments at 12.5 percent of discretionary income and forgives any balance for undergraduate borrowers after 15 years. The Budget also supports Year-Round Pell to incentivize students to complete their degrees faster, helping them reduce their loan debt and enter the workforce sooner.
4. Overall, the budget makes $3.6 trillion in cuts over 10 years. The cuts include: (H/T: Zero Hedge and Washington Post)
- $1.7 trillion from entitlements.
- Nearly $200 billion from the food stamp program.
- $54 billion in domestic spending.
- 20 percent reduction in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
- $5.8 billion from the National Institutes of Health.
5. The budget will increase spending for defense, border security and law enforcement. Defense spending would be increased by $54 billion and there will be an additional $44.1 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, $2.6 billion for border enforcement technology and the wall and $27.7 billion for the Department of Justice, respectively.
6. The proposals works under the assumption that Obamacare has been repealed. That, of course, is still up in the air as the Senate is in the midst of drafting its own replacement bill.
7. A paid family leave program is included in the budget. The proposal would provide paid leave for new parents for up to six weeks. The fact sheet states that the proposal would use “the Unemployment Insurance System as a base” and would “allow States to establish paid parental leave programs that are most appropriate for their workforce and economy.” CNN points out that Republicans rebuffed Barack Obama’s family leave proposal in 2015, so it will be interesting to see if Republicans remain consistent on that issue.
It remains to be seen how much of Trump’s proposed budget will make it through Congress, but it does at least provide a starting point. It will be up to the president to use his negotiating skills to keep as much of it intact as possible.