The White House Office of Management and Budget has begun work to lay the foundation for the Trump Administration’s first budget proposal, which is expected to be submitted to Congress within the next 45 days.
In a search for savings, OMB is reportedly relying on proposals outlined last year by the Heritage Foundation in its released budget blueprint for 2017. The Heritage blueprint includes very deep cuts to non-defense discretionary programs, including the elimination of the Legal Services Corporation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and tracks closely with proposals put forward by the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC).
A majority of House Republicans in Congress are RSC members, but a number of the programs and services that could be affected enjoy bipartisan support. Advancing a budget containing many of the cuts would be especially problematic in the Senate, where a slim Republican majority would be unlikely to prevent defectors who support particular programs and agencies to join Democrats in likely opposition.
While the Trump Administration’s budget priorities may find support among many conservatives, some Republican leaders are warning that efforts to address the nation’s fiscal challenges through discretionary spending are short-sighted, setting the stage for complicated budget negotiations this spring.
Source: The Hill
Jamie Tucker is the director, public policy strategy and operations at Independent Sector.
