Washington, D.C. — Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, released the following statement today after President Donald Trump released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2019:
The arrival of the Trump presidency has allowed so-called conservatives to have their cake and eat it too. Not so long ago, self-styled deficit hawks decried the size of the federal deficit–and were never louder than when a Democratic president sat in the Oval Office. Now, on the heels of a tax giveaway to the wealthy that will explode the deficit by $1.5 trillion, President Trump has proposed–seemingly with a straight face–a budget that makes cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, nutrition assistance, and other key programs that working families turn to. It repeals the Affordable Care Act; slashes funding for K-12 education and workforce training; eviscerates resources to keep our air and water clean and our communities livable; and reduces resources for diplomacy and foreign assistance critical to keeping America safe. Today, the President also rolled out his so-called infrastructure plan– which amounts to little more than yet another scheme to enrich wealthy developers and investors while decimating our bedrock environmental laws.
The president’s budget is a reflection of fiscal priorities, and Trump’s budget is certainly a reflection of his: It favors the richest Americans and wealthy corporations and is happy to take an ax to programs that actually help the middle class and those trying to get into it. This Robin Hood-in-reverse budget should be rejected immediately.
CAP experts are available for comment on the federal budget. For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.