Trump’s new budget would gut the EPA and the arts but set aside billions for his wall
- Trump will release his new budget on Thursday and, according to a report from the AP, Trump’s plan would get rid of a dozen departments and sets aside more than $1 billion in immediate funding for his border wall.
- The $1.15 trillion budget, titled “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” would eliminate, among other programs, the National Endowment for the Arts, a program providing legal aid for people who cannot afford it, a program to clean and protect the Great Lakes and AmeriCorps.
- Trump’s proposal also cuts funding for programs that the AP reports are “congressional favorites,” like a program providing assistance to homeless military veterans.
- According to the New York Times, the Environmental Protection Agency is “among the hardest-hit agencies” in Trump’s proposed budget. Read more (3/16/17 6:43 AM)
Update: Trump’s budget would “significantly” cut financial aid to low-income college students
- Trump’s budget proposal would cut $9 billion from the Department of Education — amounting to a 13% reduction in the department’s funding.
- Included in the proposed $9 billion reduction are cuts to financial aid to low-income Americans seeking to earn a college degree.
- That means the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program — which gives grants up to $4,000 to “financially needy undergraduate students, who have not earned a bachelor’s or professional degree,” according to the Department of Education — would be completely eliminated.
- Trump’s budget blueprint would also “significantly” reduce funding to the Federal Work-Study program — which gives colleges and universities across the country funding to employ needy undergraduate and graduate students in on-campus jobs, according to the Department of Education.
- And the Pell Grant program — which awards needy undergraduate students up to $5,920 — would also see a $3.9 billion cut if Congress adopted Trump’s budget proposal. Read more (3/16/17 10:41 AM)
