President Donald Trump on Thursday will unveil a budget proposal that boosts United States military spending at the expense of the environment, the arts, and low-income Americans.
The Trump administration’s 2018 budget proposal, dubbed the “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” increases spending for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs while slashing spending for 15 other agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department, and the Department of Education.
Federal support for the arts would take a particularly heavy blow, the Washington Post reports. As a result of the proposed budget cuts, 19 agencies would be entirely eliminated, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting is out with a response to Trump’s proposal to sever federal $$ for public media pic.twitter.com/76QyJmcB4z
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 16, 2017
The Department of Defense would receive the greatest boost in spending under Trump’s plan, jumping 9 percent from $587 billion to $639 billion. The Department of Homeland Security’s budget would rise 7 percent, from $41.3 billion to $44.1 billion, while Veterans Affairs would see its budget increase 6 percent, from $74.5 billion to $78.9 billion.
On the other end of the spectrum, the EPA would see its budget drop 31 percent from $8.2 billion to $5.7 billion, resulting in the elimination of some 3,200 federal jobs—20 percent of its total workforce. Of the 50 environmental programs cut under Trump’s budget, those focused on climate change would suffer the greatest losses.
The State Department would see the second largest reduction to its budget, 29 percent, falling from $38 billion to $27.1 billion. The department’s programs aimed at curtailing climate change would be eliminated, as would contributions to United Nations’ climate change programs.
Other cuts include a 14 percent reduction for the Education Department, with $3.7 billion cut from teacher training and after-school programs; an 18 percent cut to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a $6.2 billion reduction that affects urban renewal programs and affordable housing.
Trump’s budget will next be presented to Congress, which must approve it before it goes into effect—an outcome that remains far from guaranteed.
See a full, detailed breakdown of Trump’s 2018 budget proposal at the Washington Post.
