From the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania (http://www.thecaap.org):
At the beginning of the week, we wrote about the affects the Trump Administration’s budget proposal would have on Community Action’s core funding, the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). To read our reaction to President Trump’s proposal to eliminate CSBG, click here. This article focuses on the impact President Trump’s proposed budget would have on other safety net programs.
The proposal, titled “Efficient, Effective, Accountable: An American Budget,” sets forth President Trump’s priorities as Congress prepares to consider spending bills for the next fiscal year.
President Trump’s budget proposal would cut $554 billion from Medicare spending by 2028. Medicare is the federal program that provides health benefits to older Americans – more than 55 million people used the program last year.
The proposal would lower Medicaid spending by about $250 billion over 10 years. Medicaid is the healthcare program for lower-income Americans that is funded by the federal government and states and pays for over 40% of all births in the U.S.
One program that would face the biggest reduction is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. The White House proposes cutting $214 billion from the program by 2028.
Under the proposal, most SNAP recipients would lose much of their ability to choose the food they buy with their SNAP benefits. Working families, who receive at least $90 a month — just over 80 percent of all SNAP recipients — would get about half of their benefits in the form of a “USDA Foods package.” The package was described in the budget as consisting of “shelf-stable milk, ready to eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans and canned fruit and vegetables.” The boxes would not include fresh fruits or vegetables.
Economists are concerned that the White House’s tax and spending plan would add to the federal budget deficit in the next 10 years. Large spending increases and the $1.5 trillion tax cut are putting severe pressure on the government’s debt. The plan seeks to authorize $4.4 trillion in spending for 2019, up 10 percent from the amount of money the government spent in 2017. A contributing factor in the White House’s deficit problems appears to be issues caused by the new tax law.
The Trump Administration has ushered in a new economic strategy, jettisoning deficit fears in favor of a low-tax, high-spending model that they believe will boost the economy. Such an approach has risks, particularly as government debt levels are projected to grow at least $7 trillion over the next decade.
Here’s a summary of the largest proposed spending cuts for safety net programs:
- A 42.3 percent cut to all “non-defense discretionary” spending (includes safety net programs like CSBG, Head Start, LIHEAP, Weatherization). These are the biggest proposed cuts, totaling nearly $2 trillion over 10 years
- A 7.1 percent cut to Medicare by 2028
- A 22.5 percent cut to Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies by 2028, through repealing and replacing Obamacare
- A 27.4 percent cut to SNAP and a 20.1 percent cut to Section 8 housing assistance by 2028
To pass, President Trump’s budget needs to receive at least 60 votes in the Senate, meaning at least nine Democrats would have to vote for the budget cuts or at least refuse to filibuster. The goal of the budget request is to formally lay out the administration’s stance on fiscal policy. It details specific policy changes the administration wants, how much those changes will affect spending and tax revenue over the next 10 years, and how individual agencies will be affected along the way.
So now we know where this administration stands for FY 2018-19. It’s time to get to work.
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