The US agencies facing proposed funding cuts, include the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Department, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Health and Human Services
US President Donald Trump has proposed a $163 billion funding cut to federal spending across education, health, housing and labour from next fiscal year. While Trump’s first budget since the White House return would increase defense spending by 13% to $1.01 trillion and internal security spending by nearly 65%, it would reduce more than a fifth of the non-military spending, barring mandatory benefit programs.
“At this critical moment, we need a historic budget—one that ends the funding of our decline, puts Americans first, and delivers unprecedented support to our military and homeland security,” said the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director, Russ Vought, in a statement, Reuters reported.
The budget presented is for the fiscal year that will start on October 1.
The non-defense discretionary spending would be cut by 23%, the lowest since 2017.
Donald Trump’s budget proposed cuts at the National Institutes of Health and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. To Make America Healthy Again initiative, the government has announced an investment worth $500 million. Spending on education would be cut by $12 billion, the New York Times reported. The budget proposal is part of Trump’s promise to reduce the US Department of Education, while securing funding for children from low-income families, the OBM said in the statement.
The agencies facing proposed funding cuts, include the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Department, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The USA’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), would witness a fund cut by more than $500 million, highlighting that the measure will “undo the weaponisation” of the agency.
Trump’s budget has met with severe criticism from US Senator Chuck Schumer and called it an attack on hardworking Americans.
“His policies are nothing short of an all-out assault on hardworking Americans. As he guts healthcare, slashes education, and hollows out programs families rely on—he's bankrolling tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations,” said Schumer in a statement, Reuters reported.