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Trump’s $4.4T Budget Plan Would Gut Social Programs, Expand Pentagon

HeadlineFeb 13, 2018

President Trump unveiled his $4.4 trillion budget plan Monday, proposing deep cuts to education, healthcare and social safety net programs—while massively increasing the Pentagon’s budget.

Trump’s plan would slash the Department of Education’s budget by more than 10 percent. It would sharply reduce income-based student loan repayment plans, while ending the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Trump’s budget would cut more than $17 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—or SNAP—barring food stamp recipients from buying fresh fruit and vegetables, and instead providing only a boxed food delivery program. The budget would also phase out federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public and community radio and TV stations.

This comes as McClatchy reports the Trump administration is considering a plan that would not only impose work requirements for Medicaid enrollees, but which would also put a lifetime limit on adults’ access to Medicaid.

Meanwhile, Trump’s budget would see a 13 percent rise in spending on weapons and war, bringing the Pentagon’s budget to $686 billion. The administration says its plan would add $7.1 trillion to U.S. budget deficits over the next decade, though many economists say that number relies on rosy projections. The budget comes less than two months after Trump signed into law one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history—one that overwhelmingly favors the wealthiest Americans.

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