Last week was one of big reveals for the Donald Trump administration — with the proposal of his new tax plan, the leak of two pages of Trump’s tax returns and a roundtable meeting including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ivanka Trump.
‘America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again’
Trump’s budget proposal is not a full federal budget, said Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget.
“(But) it does provide lawmakers and the public with a view of the priorities of the President and his Administration.”
The more than 40-page proposal details suggested budget items for various federal departments, and Mulvaney said it will not add to the federal deficit.
“The core of my first Budget Blueprint is the rebuilding of our Nation’s military without adding to our Federal deficit. There is a $54 billion increase in defense spending in 2018 that is offset by targeted reductions elsewhere,” Trump said in a letter attached to the proposal. “This defense funding is vital to rebuilding and preparing our Armed Forces for the future.”
Trump said military depletion under President Barack Obama was problematic, reaffirming his commitment to increasing funding to the U.S. Armed Forces. The proposal recommends an increase of $52 billion in DOD budget authority, which it said is one of the largest one-year increases in American history.
The proposal also earmarked $2.6 billion for infrastructure and border security technology in order to construct a physical wall along the southern border.
To balance this funding increase, the Trump proposal eliminates funding for a number of independent agencies that include the National Endowment for the Arts, the Chemical Safety Board, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
