Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s budget proposal released today, which would slash programs Rhode Islanders rely on for health care, education, infrastructure improvements, environmental protection and other priorities – all to help pay for a wall along the southern border:
“Despite an impulsive White House, in Congress we’ve had a good record of passing bipartisan budgets in recent years. President Trump’s extreme and unrealistic budget request contributes nothing to our bipartisan, bicameral process.
“President Trump has given massive tax breaks to billionaires and corporations that ship jobs and profits overseas. Now he’s contemplating cuts to health care, education, protection for our air and water, renewable energy programs, and critical infrastructure funding – all to fund his Big Dumb Wall.”
Cuts to vital programs for Rhode Island include:
- $1.5 trillion to Medicaid and $845 billion to Medicare over 10 years;
- $8.5 billion in education funding from 2019—a 12 percent decrease—including eliminating funding for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that Whitehouse succeeded in temporarily expanding in previous funding measures;
- $5.9 billion in transportation funding—a 22 percent decrease from 2019;
- $2.8 billion in Environmental Protection Agency funding—a 31 percent decrease from 2019; and
- $2.2 billion in Army Corps of Engineers funding—a 31 percent decrease from 2019.
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