Mulvaney Must Defend Trump’s Disastrous Budget Cuts
February 13, 2018
Trump’s budget is a complete disaster. With so many cuts that would hurt Americans across the country, here’s just a few of the many things that Mick Mulvaney will have to try and defend as he testifies before Congress.
Trump’s budget hits harms lower-income Americans the most.
Washington Post: “Trump’s budget hits poor Americans the hardest”
Trump’s budget breaks his promises to not cut Medicaid or Medicare.
Washington Post: “As a candidate, Trump repeatedly said he would never cut Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. Now he proposes cutting Medicare by $554 billion and Medicaid by around $250 billion over the next decade.”
Trump’s budget doubles down on Trump’s goal to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Los Angeles Times: “Even as prospects for a new Republican push to roll back the Affordable Care Act remain dim, the White House is doubling down on the repeal effort, calling for massive cuts to healthcare assistance in its 2019 budget.”
Trump’s budget breaks his promise to help manufacturing workers.
Washington Post: “Many displaced blue-collar workers in the Rust Belt took the president at his word when he promised to bring back their manufacturing jobs. But Trump’s budget calls for cutting funding for National Dislocated Worker Grants — which provides support to those who lose their jobs because of factory closures or natural disasters — from $219.5 million in 2017 to $51 million in 2019.”
Trump’s budget could raise prescription drug costs for over 4 million seniors.
Associated Press: “But about 4.5 million seniors in the group just behind them could end up spending more of their own money. That’s because the budget proposes a change in how Medicare accounts for manufacturer discounts received by patients whose total bills range between $3,750 and $8,418. They could wind up paying about $1,000 more.”
Trump’s budget would end student loan forgiveness.
CNBC: “The proposal unveiled Monday would sharply curtail income-based loan repayment plans, scratch the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, embolden the government to go after students who don't pay their loans and cut funding for federal work study in half.”
Trump’s budget would slash funding for food stamps and replace it with a less substantial box of canned goods.
Washington Post: “The Trump administration wants to slash food aid to low-income families and make up the difference with a box of canned goods”
Food Research and Action Center’s Jim Weill: “[It] will be administratively costly, inefficient, stigmatizing, and prone to failure. [And it] will return the country to Depression-era anti-hunger approaches.”