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A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 3 april 2019

Democrats reject Trump’s domestic spending cuts

By ANDREW TAYLOR and even the stripped- to set more realistic caps.
Associated Press down plan released Tues- The most recent catch-
WASHINGTON (AP) — day exposed rifts between all spending bill, passed in
Democrats controlling the party liberals and more February to end a 35-day
House are proposing to pragmatic lawmakers. partial government shut-
cut back President Donald At issue is the roughly one- down, marked the end of
Trump’s budget hikes for third of the federal budget the most recent agree-
the Pentagon while signifi- called discretionary spend- ment.
cantly increasing spending ing that Congress passes Republicans immediately
on the domestic programs each year, which is com- blasted Tuesday’s mea-
they favor. prised of Cabinet agency sure, which, unlike prior
Tuesday’s move ramps up budgets. Larger “manda- spending agreements,
a battle with Trump and tory” programs like Medi- doesn’t included offsetting
puts the Democratic House care and Social Security spending cuts elsewhere
on a collision course with mostly run on autopilot. in the budget to limit its im-
the GOP-held Senate as In this Feb. 11, 2019, file photo House Appropriations Committee Without a deal signed into pact on the deficit.
Chair Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in
the two chambers consider Washington. In this Feb. 11, 2019, file photo House Appropriations law by Trump, crunch- “House Democrats are not
separate paths forward on Committee Chair Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters on ing budget limits — called focused on doing a bud-
the 12 annual spending Capitol Hill in Washington. spending “caps” in Wash- get, nor are they focused
bills. Work on the legislation Associated Press ington-speak — would kick on addressing our nation’s
is sure to consume lawmak- turn of automatic budget from $716 billion now to in, whacking the defense mountainous debt,” said
ers for months. cuts known as sequestra- $733 billion under the budget down to $576 bil- Rep. Steve Womack of Ar-
Trump’s budget promised tion. Democratic plan, cutting lion and nondefense agen- kansas, the top Republican
a 5% defense budget in- The Democratic proposal Trump’s planned Penta- cies down to $543 billion. on the Budget Committee.
crease to $750 billion next is by Budget Committee gon increase of $34 billion Lawmakers set the pain- “This bill doesn’t include
year, while cutting day-to- Chairman John Yarmuth of in half. ful limits back in 2011 as a offsets or bipartisan input
day operating budgets for Kentucky and powerful Ap- Yarmuth failed in his efforts deficit-cutting backstop in — key components of past
domestic agencies by $62 propriations Chairwoman to develop a more tradi- case a budget “supercom- caps deals.”
billion, or 10%. Nita Lowey of New York. tional — but nonbinding — mittee” failed to come up Both House Speaker Nancy
Trump’s proposal is a non- The plan would boost fund- congressional budget plan with an alternative. Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate
starter with Democrats ing for nondefense agen- that would put lawmak- The supercommittee col- Majority Leader Mitch Mc-
and Republicans alike, but cies to $639 billion, up from ers on the record on tax lapsed in failure and law- Connell, R-Ky., would like
there’s been no progress $605 billion now, with $7.5 increases, Medicare and makers have been deal- to forge another biparti-
on forging a bipartisan billion on top of that to cov- agency spending. Divisions ing with the hangover san agreement to estab-
agreement that would be er costs for the U.S. Census. among Democrats proved ever since, passing three lish higher, more realistic
required to stave off the re- Defense would get a boost too difficult to overcome, different two-year deals spending levels.q

Panel approves subpoenas on census citizenship question

By KEVIN FREKING question. They say the but cooperative with the Democratic chairman. sus investigation is an ex-
Associated Press Trump administration has committee’s expansive Democratic lawmakers ample of “partisan over-
WASHINGTON (AP) — A declined to provide those and detailed requests for said Ross considered add- sight of the Trump adminis-
Democratic-controlled documents despite repeat- records.” ing the citizenship ques- tration.”
House panel voted Tues- ed requests. The vote is the Ross said the department tion from his first days in the “Why don’t Democrats
day to subpoena docu- latest example of the ways has turned over 11,500 administration. They fear it want to know whether you
ments and a witness relat- Democratic lawmakers are pages of documents and will reduce census partici- are a citizen or not?” asked
ed to the Trump adminis- using their majority to ag- noted that he testified at a pation in immigrant-heavy Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the
tration’s decision to add a gressively investigate the recent hearing. But Demo- communities, harming rep- top Republican on the
citizenship question to the inner workings of President crats countered that many resentation and access to panel.
2020 census. Donald Trump’s administra- of the pages were so heav- federal dollars. They want Two federal judges have
The vote was 23-14, with tion. ily redacted that they pro- more information about already ruled against the
Rep. Justin Amash of Michi- Ross said the decision in vided little or no useful in- the back-and-forth be- question and the Supreme
gan being the only Repub- March 2018 to add the formation. tween administration of- Court is expected to rule
lican to join with Democrat- question was based on “We don’t want thousands ficials before the decision on the issue before survey
ic lawmakers in the vote. a Justice Department re- of pieces of paper. We was made. forms are printed.
Democrats say they want quest to help it enforce the want the specific priority Trump recently tweeted It would be the first time
specific documents that Voting Rights Act. documents we asked for the census will “be mean- since 1950 that the full,
will determine why Com- In response to Tuesday’s — unredacted and in full,” ingless” without the citizen- once-a-decade census
merce Secretary Wilbur vote, he said his depart- said Rep. Elijah Cummings ship question. asked people about their
Ross decided to add the ment “has been nothing of Maryland, the panel’s Republicans said the cen- citizenship.q