It's that time of the year again! No, not time to elect a new president. It's time for the president to present his yearly budget proposal—and not that many of us were looking forward to it. POTUS has no Constitutional power to actually pass a budget, but he explains his desires to Congress in a proposal and then hopes that they follow along.
While USA Today says we shouldn't expect Congress to do anything with it, this proposal helps the president broadcast his vision to the American people, and is a bit of a glimpse into how he thinks the country should be run.
The reality is that the budget that Trump has proposed would break virtually every promise he made to the working people of this country.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 23, 2017
So, what exactly is in this proposal? Here are some of the highlights:
Strengthening The Border
According to The New York Times, the budget proposal calls for a 10 percent increase in military spending, and requests $1.6 billion just to "build the wall" at the Mexican border—so at the moment, there are no plans for Mexico to pay for it. Other expenses, including the wall, add up to $2.6 billion just for border security.
Paid Leave for New Parents
President Trump's daughter Ivanka is requesting $19 billion over 10 years for her program—providing six weeks of paid leave for new parents, including adoptive parents.
Cuts for Medicaid, Welfare and Disability
The most controversial part of this bill is the distribution of money away from the poor and the elderly. Trump wants to cut $800 billion from Medicaid (state health insurance programs for the poor), and $272 billion from welfare benefits. Pretty much any domestic program other than military and homeland security is to be cut, by about 11 percent.
The proposal also calls for $192 billion cut from nutritional assistance for the elderly, which lawmakers from both sides of the aisle aren't too happy about. Republican Mark Meadows, who represents North Carolina, told the Times he "couldn't stomach the idea" of getting rid of food assistance. "Meals on Wheels," he said, "may be a bridge too far."
President Trump is currently overseas, so he hasn't had much to say about this proposal. However, budget experts and lawmakers have had a lot to say. Minority leader Chuck Schumer says "the good news is that it was likely to be roundly rejected by members of both parties here in the Senate, just as the last budget was.”
