Poor and disabled big losers in Trump budget; military wins

"It's a short-sighted and cruel that perfectly reflects what Republicans in Congress have been trying to inflict on America for years".

The Trump administration on Tuesday will ask Republicans who control the U.S. Congress - and the federal purse strings - for the politically sensitive cuts.

Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs, an advocacy group representing more than 100 anti-poverty organizations, called on lawmakers to "reject the bleak and risky vision in President Trump's budget". This tax-cuts-pay-for-themselves idea is anathema to many economists. It pays for the Trump cuts, and then it pays again for balancing the budget.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says the budget cuts Social Security Disability Insurance and would trim the National Institutes of Health budget by almost 20 percent.

Todd Harrison, a defence budget analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said the switch from grants to loans for military aid may mean that countries will not be able to afford United States military equipment, forcing them to go elsewhere for supplies.

Trump said his budget reprioritises federal spending so that it advances the safety and security of Americans. Ryan says "we can finally turn the page on the Obama era of bloated budgets that never balance".

President Donald Trump's proposals to slash federal aid to the poor, the sick and people living in rural areas reflect conservatives' demands for a smaller federal government but target numerous very people who voted for him last November. Members of the House Freedom Caucus said earlier this year that Trump would have to show how he would offset the cost of a wall, which Democrats flatly oppose.

The budget also appears to rely on some dubious accounting related to the proposed tax cuts. He says he looks forward to working with Budget Committee leaders to "pass a balanced budget".

There's little sign they will have a change of heart now, especially with Trump's administration in turmoil and his poll ratings at historic lows. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican, said lawmakers would have to reform both programs to save them.

But the biggest changes in the proposed budget come in changes to the social safety net.

GOP Rep. Fred Upton of MI, a senior lawmaker, said border security is important, but questioned the need for $1.6 billion to be spent on Trump's border wall.

Trump greeted with selfies, abrupt politics on arrival in Tel Aviv
That refrain echoed the Saudi King Salman's description of the Iranian government as "the tip of the spear of global terrorism". We had an wonderful two days and their feeling towards Israel is really very positive.

Mulvaney pitched the $4.1 trillion budget proposal as reflecting the interests of taxpayers who want their money properly spent.

Democrats in Congress quickly upbraided the Trump administration over the proposed budget.

Thus, of all the groups that would bear the burden of Trump's proposed budget, it seems children from low-income families will carry the greatest weight of all.

Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president the National Education Association, describes the "a wrecking ball of a budget" and that they would work to defeat it.

Maya MacGuineas, the President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), credits the administration for setting an ambitious fiscal goal but believes the "reverse Robin-Hood budget that the administration has put forth skirts deeper issues stemming from Social Security and Medicare", she told CBS News. "It seeks crippling cuts to federal programs that transform waste into wealth and help support 2.2 million energy efficiency jobs".

Trump also slashes Social Security Disability Insurance, a core program to help people who are physically unable to work, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, a key welfare program.

The submission will set off months of debate in Congress. Democrats have already voiced strong opposition to the plan, and even Republicans are wary of the political dangers in Trump's draconian cuts.

Though the President has asked for 10,000 new immigration officers and 5,000 new Border Patrol agents, the 2018 budget would only support bringing on 500 new Border Patrol agents and 1,000 new ICE officers. The current USDA budget includes $1.7 billion for that program.

During the campaign, Trump attacked the weak economic growth of the Barack Obama years, and pledged that his economic program would boost growth from the lacklustre 2 per cent rates seen since the recovery began in mid-2009.

The border security initiative is part of Trump's proposed $44.1 billion DHS budget, a 6.7 percent increase over 2017 funding, according to the release. The Trump administration estimated that cutting the reserve in half would save an estimated $4.4 billion over the next five fiscal years, and $16.6 billion over the next 10 years.