Washington, DC – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued the following statement today in response to the release of President Trump’s budget blueprint for Fiscal Year 2018:
“Looking at these pages makes me wonder what ‘America First’ means to President Trump. This proposal would gut programs that support jobs, education, and public health for all Americans, while handing out favors to the wealthy and big corporations. And it would abdicate American leadership in the world. It’s light on details, but it’s chock full of terrible ideas.
“Taking billions of dollars away from NIH will only make it harder to find life-saving cures. Slashing the NOAA budget will take away resources from our coastal economy in Rhode Island. Cutting the IRS budget will limit our ability to crack down on tax dodgers and actually cost the federal government money. Eliminating funding for our arts and humanities agencies will hurt our cities and towns and stifle our cultural institutions. Hollowing out the EPA will leave communities at the mercy of big polluters and signal surrender in the fight against catastrophic climate change.
“How exactly does allowing industrial plants to pollute our air and drinking water put America first? How does hamstringing our diplomatic corps put America first? How does pulling the rug out from scientific research and technological innovation put America first? How does kicking children out of early education or making the elderly and working families go without heat in the winter put America first?
“I will oppose this senseless and irresponsible plan. I urge Republicans in Congress to work with Democrats to pass a budget that actually addresses the needs of American families and the American economy.”
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