Refashioned with broad strokes

Trump plan boosts the military, slashes domestic programs, riles Dems and GOP

washington» President Donald Trump’s new $1.15 trillion budget would reshape America’s government with the conservative promises he made as a candidate, ordering generous increases for the military, slashing domestic programs and riling Republicans and Democrats by going after favored programs.

The president’s initial budget proposal, submitted to Congress on Thursday, would boost defense spending by $52 billion, the largest increase since Ronald Reagan’s military buildup of the 1980s. That means deep cuts elsewhere — the environment, agriculture, the arts — but Trump said that’s imperative to take on the Islamic State group and others in a dangerous world.

“To keep Americans safe, we have made the tough choices that have been put off for too long,” he declared in a statement titled “America First” that accompanied the budget.

Or, as Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said, “This is a hard power budget, not a soft power budget.”

It’s not entirely in line with Trump’s campaign pledges.

It would make a big down payment on the U.S.-Mexico border wall, which Trump repeatedly promised that Mexico would pay for. American taxpayers will, at least for now. Thursday’s proposal calls for an immediate $1.4 billion infusion with an additional $2.6 billion planned for the 2018 budget year starting Oct. 1.

Parts of Trump’s spending plan for the next fiscal year angered congressional Democrats and Republicans who will have the final say on it.

While it targets Democratic priorities such as housing, community development and the environment, it also would slash GOP sacred cows like aid to rural schools and subsidized airline service to Trump strongholds, and it would raise fees on participants in the federal flood insurance program.

The budget pursues frequent targets of the GOP’s staunchest conservatives, eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts, legal aid for the poor, low-income heating assistance and the AmeriCorps national service program established by President Bill Clinton.

But Midwestern Republicans including Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio were upset by cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Southern Republicans like Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky lashed out at cuts he called “draconian, careless and counterproductive.”

Agriculture Department

Down 20.7 percent The budget would reduce spending on National Forest land acquisition, rural water infrastructure and statistical capabilities at the department. It also proposes reduced staff in county USDA offices, an idea that fell flat in Congress when Barack Obama proposed a similar reduction.

The budget would eliminate the International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which uses U.S. agricultural commodities and other financial assistance to support school feeding and child nutrition projects around the world, particularly for girls.

Department of Commerce

Down 15.7 percent Eliminates more than $250 million in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grants, including the National Sea Grant College Program that helps coastal communities adapt to climate change, maintain healthy water and fisheries and curb invasive species.

Defense Department

Up about 10 percent Defense spending rises by $52 billion, with extra money going to accelerate the war against the Islamic State and address insufficient weapons stocks, personnel gaps, deferred maintenance and cyber vulnerabilities. An additional $2 billion would be used for nuclear weapons.

Department of Education

Down 13.5 percent The proposed budget would slash department funding by $9.2 billion from this year’s $68.2 billion, a major cut unseen in recent years. The administration is proposing to allocate an additional $1.4 billion for school choice programs.

Department of Energy

Down 5.6 percent Trump’s budget would hike spending for the National Nuclear Security Administration, which is responsible for maintaining the nuclear stockpile, by 11 percent, while cutting other energy spending by nearly 18 percent. The budget seeks $120 million to revive the mothballed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, which is hugely unpopular in Nevada and was largely stopped by the efforts of former Democratic Sen. Harry Reid.

EPA

Down 31.4 percent Trump’s proposal would slash spending for environmental protection by nearly $2.6 billion, or 31 percent, one of the biggest cuts in the president’s budget. More than 3,000 EPA workers would lose their jobs, and programs such as Obama’s Clean Power Plan — which would tighten regulations on emissions from coal-fired power plants that contribute to global warming — would be eliminated.

Health and Human Services

Down 18 percent The budget plan would cut $5.8 billion from the nearly $32 billion National Institutes of Health, the nation’s premier medical research agency, or roughly 18 percent. NIH’s budget hasn’t kept pace with inflation over the past decade, making it much harder for scientists around the country to win funding for research projects into potential new treatments or better understanding of disease.

Homeland Security

Up 6.8 percent President Trump’s budget asks for a total increase of about $2.8 billion. That includes a request for $2.6 billion to start Trump’s border wall.

The president also wants Congress to approve an extra $1.5 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to spend on finding, jailing and deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally.

Housing and Urban Development

Down 13.2 percent The budget would eliminate the Community Development Block Grant program, a $3 billion effort that funds local improvement efforts.

Interior Department

Down 11.7 percent The budget calls for cutting $120 million in spending on land purchases with a focus on using available funds to maintain existing parks and wildlife refuges.

NASA

Down 0.8 percent Eliminates Obama’s asteroid redirect mission that would have used a robotic probe to grab a chunk of an asteroid, bring it close to the moon and send astronauts to explore it.

Labor

Down 20.7 percent Although Trump has said he’d advocate for U.S. workers, his budget would eliminate the $434 million Senior Community Service Employment Program, which, according to the Labor Department website, has helped more than 1 million Americans over age 55 find work.

State Department

Down 28.7 percent Reduces funding to the United Nations and its affiliated agencies, and caps American contributions to U.N. peacekeeping missions at 25 percent of the total costs, cuts funding to the World Bank and multilateral development banks, includes $2.2 billion for new embassy construction and maintenance, retains $3.1 billion in Israel aid, shifts some foreign military assistance from grants to loans.

Transportation

Down 12.7 percent Calls for taking responsibility for air traffic control operations away from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Treasury

Down 4.4 percent After years of budget cuts, the IRS budget would be reduced again, by $239 million from this year. The IRS budget is down about $1 billion from its height in 2010.

Veterans Affairs

Up 5.9 percent The budget proposes an increase of more than $4 billion to strengthen medical care at more than 1,200 VA facilities serving more than 9 million enrolled veterans as the Department of Veterans Affairs broadens its health network to include outside community providers.