Trump’s proposed budget cuts hit supporters hard

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's first full budget would dramatically reduce the government's role in society, hitting hard many of the rural, working-poor supporters who propelled him into office as he cuts the safety net for the poor and disabled, hitting farming communities and inner cities alike.

In all, the spending plan released Tuesday by the Trump administration requests $3.6 trillion in spending reductions that would affect rural areas, food assistance, Medicaid health insurance payments, low-income housing assistance and grants that fund meals-on-wheels for the elderly.

For those reasons and others, Trump's fiscal 2018 budget already is finding little support in Congress, even among Republican lawmakers from districts and states that gave Trump wide election margins.

The administration is undeterred, though, calling for a rethinking of government to place greater weight on the interests of those who pay taxes to it than those who turn to it for help.

'It's a taxpayer-first budget,” said Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director.

'We are no longer going to measure compassion by the number of programs and the amount spent on those programs,” Mulvaney said, arguing that the policies will help aid recipients rejoin the workforce. 'We need everybody to pull in the same direction.”

Food stamps would be cut by $193 billion. And the budget would save $72 billion through cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance.

Congress has its own plans though. As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a recent interview, Trump's priorities 'aren't necessarily ours.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, credited the scrutiny on spending, which Republicans had criticized under President Barack Obama.

But he cautioned that rarely do presidential budgets pass as proposed and that it is Congress that holds the 'power of the purse strings.”

Even so, Senate Republicans are working to implement some of Trump's proposed Medicaid cuts as part of a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and plans to take up his proposed tax rate cuts later this year.

House Speaker Paul Ryan R-Wisconsin, said Trump's budget, like those of his predecessors, will get a heavy reworking in Congress. But he sought to highlight areas where the White House and congressional Republicans share goals.

'Here's what I'm happy about: We finally have a president who's willing to actually even balance the budget,” Ryan said.

Democrats, outnumbered on Capitol Hill, assailed the plan.

'This budget is a direct attack on Iowa's hardworking families, rural communities and small businesses, all while giving more and more to those who are wealthy and well,” said Rep. Dave Loebsack, an Iowa City Democrat.

Trump's proposal claims to balance the budget in a decade. But it relies on a tax plan for which the administration has provided few details and makes heavy use of accounting gimmicks.

The president's proposal would fulfill his campaign promise of leaving Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare untouched while increasing national security spending. He's proposing deep cuts to foreign aid and tighter eligibility for tax credits that help working poor.

Cuts to agricultural programs would be felt in Trump country. Eight of the 10 states that received the most federal money in farm subsides voted for Trump, according to a state ranking compiled by the Environmental Working Group.

The plan calls for some new domestic spending, including $25 billion over 10 years for nationwide paid parental leave - a cause championed by first daughter Ivanka Trump - and an expansion of the Pell Grant program for low-income students.

The Department of Homeland Security's budget would increase $3 billion, while the Pentagon's budget would see a $6 billion increase.

The sheer ambition of the president's plan, which would cut domestic agencies by 10 percent in 2018 and by 40 percent in 2027, make it even less likely to gain traction.

The budget predicts a sweeping tax overhaul package to strengthen economic growth while providing few details of how the tax code would change. The one thing the administration has said is people and businesses would pay less; but the budget asserts the amount of revenue collected won't drop.

The independent Tax Policy Center estimated that Trump's campaign tax plan would add $7.2 trillion to the deficit. But economic growth spurred by Trump's tax and regulation policy would add more than $2 trillion in tax revenue, according to the administration's documents.

Trump has promised a wall on the southern border that Mexico would eventually pay for, and the budget includes $2.6 billion in 2018 - $1.6 billion for 'new and replacement border wall'' in certain locations and about $1 billion for other items including aircraft, equipment and surveillance technology.

Trump estimates the wall would cost $8 to $12 billion, but most experts say it would cost more.

Ed Tibbetts of the Quad City Times contributed to this report.