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A2 UP FRONT
Monday 13 March 2017
In 1st budget, Trump to push conservative view of government
ANDREW TAYLOR tough decisions, but the
Associated Press president has shown he is
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- ready, willing and able to
dent Donald Trump sends make these tough deci-
Congress a proposed sions,” he said Sunday.
budget this week that will Democrats are unlikely to
sharply test Republicans’ support the cuts, and Re-
ability to keep long-stand- publican defections raise
ing promises to bolster the the possibility of a con-
military, making politically gressional train wreck and
painful cuts to a lengthy list a potential government
of popular domestic pro- shutdown when the 2018
grams. budget year begins Oct. 1.
The Republican president Preliminary reports on the
will ask his adopted po- budget show some do-
litical party, which runs mestic Cabinet agencies,
Capitol Hill, to cut domes- such as the departments
tic agencies such as the of Homeland Security and
Environmental Protection Veterans Affairs, would see
Agency and the depart- increases, including $3 bil-
ments of Education and lion for Trump’s promised
Housing and Urban De- Budget Director Mick Mulvaney speaks to reporters during a daily press briefing at the White wall on the U.S.-Mexico
velopment, along with House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. border.
grants to state and local Associated Press Those intended spending
governments and commu- release Thursday, would boost to defense spending. his blueprint faces a real- increases, however, would
nity development projects. make the Pentagon the Trump has promised to “do ity test with Republicans, mean deeper cuts else-
The spending plan, set for big winner with a $54 billion a lot more with less,” but many of whom are already where.
protesting. People familiar with the
Republicans have groused budget who spoke on
about some of the pre- condition of anonymity in
liminary plans, including advance of the public re-
elimination of the $3 billion lease say the White House
community development is seeking a 30 percent cut
block grant program that’s from an Energy Depart-
popular among local GOP ment office that promotes
officials, a 25 percent cut energy efficiency and re-
to the EPA and elimination newable energy. The of-
of 3,000 jobs, and essen- fice has funded research
tially scuttling a $300 million on projects such as LED
per-year program to clean light bulbs, electric trucks,
up the Great Lakes. advanced batteries and
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, biofuels.
is joining with Democrats The Office of Energy Effi-
to push back on that last ciency and Renewable En-
proposed reduction. Cuts ergy is targeted for at least
to the Coast Guard are $700 million in cuts from its
meeting Republican re- current $2.1 billion budget,
sistance. Trump’s plan to said Scott Sklar, chairman
eliminate community de- of the steering committee
velopment block grants of the Sustainable Energy
was dismissed on Capitol Coalition.
Hill by those who remem- The Energy Department
ber how a modest cut to could see steep cuts for its
the program sank a spend- 17 national laboratories,
ing bill not long ago. which conduct cutting-
“Unfortunately, we have edge research on topics
no alternative but to re- from nuclear power to ad-
invest in our military and vanced materials for en-
make ourselves a military ergy generation, storage
power once again,” White and use.
House economic adviser Trump’s preliminary bud-
Gary Cohn said on “Fox get, delivered in secret to
News Sunday.” agencies last month, pro-
The United States, how- poses a 37 percent cut to
ever, already spends more
than half trillion dollars on the State Department and
defense, more than the foreign aid budgets. Those
next seven countries com- cuts and others were sub-
bined. ject to revision in the back
Cohn defended the and forth that the White
spending cuts elsewhere House had with agencies
as necessary to balance leading up to the coming
the budget. “These are release this week.q
