Trump's First Budget Beefs Up Defense, Slashes Most Domestic Programs

President Trump released his first budget proposal today, and it's big on defense spending while sharply cutting just about every other government agency.

Here's my long and short of it -

Winners:

• Defense Department - hefty 10% increase (additional $52 billion for warships and fighter jets)

• Homeland Security - 7% increase (additional $2.8 billion for 500 Border Patrol agents and 1,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel)

• Veterans Affairs - 6% increase (additional $4.4 billion primarily for veterans' health care)


Losers:

• Environmental Protection Agency - cut 31% (cutting ALL climate change research)

• State Department - cut 29% (big cuts at United Nations)

• Agriculture Department - cut 21% (broad cuts to the National Forest System; eliminates loan and grant programs for water and sewage systems)

• Labor Department - cut 21% (scales back job training programs aimed at helping seniors and unemployed)

• Education Department - cut 14% (eliminates before- and after-school and summer programs; Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, which helps college students with the greatest need for financial aid, would also be eliminated)

• Cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services would target the National Institutes of Health, the U.S's major medical research facility


Would eliminate entirely:

• the National Endowment for the Arts

• the National Endowment for the Humanities

• the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

• the Institute of Museum and Library Services

• the Community Development Block Grant program which funds Meals on Wheels

More info at the New York Times.