Trump Has a Really Big Budget Proposal

The White House’s 2019 budget proposal was released yesterday, with the bold headline being that the administration wants $4.4 trillion for the year. The proposal bears President Trump’s vision of an America armed for war, paid for in part by an America that doesn’t prioritize education.

The $4.4 trillion is a dramatic increase from the amount of money the Trump administration spent during 2017. Much of the added funds would go toward military spending and toward funding a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico.

“We’re going to have the strongest military we’ve ever had, by far,” the president said. To “balance” the federal budget see-saw, Trump removes weight through cuts, scientific research, public broadcasting, and domestic programs benefitting the poor and middle class, such as student loans.

The proposal would also reduce funding for social programs like Medicaid and Medicare. Even with these cuts, government spending is projected to increase the federal debt by at least $7 trillion by 2027.

According to CNBC, “The proposal would sharply curtail income-based repayment plans, scratch the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and embolden the government to go after students who don’t pay their loans and cut funding for federal work study in half.”

Implementation of such changes to loans would be seen by borrowers only after July 1, 2019. 

As lawmakers from both parties digest the details, they will be arming for a potentially long struggle toward approval in the weeks ahead.