The Trump administration’s so-called “skinny budget” debuted on March 16, laying out plans to cleave a lot of weight from the federal government.
First off the chopping block are 19 agencies that the White House plans to eliminate funding from completely, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the African Development Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Other agencies are facing double-digit budget cuts, the largest among them the Environmental Protection Agency at 31 percent, followed by the State Department’s 29 percent reduction and the Labor and Agriculture departments 21 percent slices.
Offsetting those cuts is a $52 billion-bump to the Department of Defense — a 10 percent increase — in addition to $65 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will also see a 6 percent increase, including $3.5 billion for its Veterans Choice Program in 2018.
As expected, the Department of Homeland Security will see a 6.8 percent increase, mostly for immigration and border enforcement while other component agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration and the National Flood Insurance Program will see cuts.
“These cuts are sensible and rational,” said President Donald Trump in a statement accompanying the budget. “Every agency and department will be driven to achieve greater efficiency and to eliminate wasteful spending in carrying out their honorable service to the American people.”
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said in a statement that the budget blueprint provides an overview of the administration’s priorities, including a dramatic scaleback of federal spending.
“This 2018 Budget Blueprint will not add to the deficit. It has been crafted much the same way any American family creates its own budget while paying bills around their kitchen table; it makes hard choices,” he said.
“The president’s commitment to fiscal responsibility is historic. Not since early in President Reagan’s first term have more tax dollars been saved and more government inefficiency and waste been targeted. Every corner of the federal budget is scrutinized, every program tested, every penny of taxpayer money watched over.”
The administration also signaled its wish to lean on data and metrics to target “poorly performing organizations and programs.”
The budget outlined how the White House plans to place more responsibility on federal managers by requiring the use of performance metrics.
That includes eliminating compliance and guidance in areas like information technology, human capital, acquisition and financial management.
“The administration will roll back low-value activities and let managers manage, while holding them accountable for finding ways to reduce the cost of agency operations,” officials said. “As part of this effort, OMB will review requirements placed on agencies and identify areas to reduce obsolete, low-value requirements.”
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the full America First Budget.
