By Susan Jones, Cnsnews,
President Trump is expected to send his Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal to Congress on this Monday, and it’s generating controversy even before it arrives.
“It will be a tough budget,” with proposed cuts in domestic discretionary spending, Larry Kudlow, the White House chief economic adviser, told “Fox News Sunday.” And it requests billions of dollars more for President Trump’s promised border wall, which sets up another fight with Congress.
Host Chris Wallace pointed to reports saying the budget will call for cuts in environmental programs, transportation, and anti-poverty programs; a “big increase” in defense spending; and a continuation of the Republican tax cuts.
“Why do that on the domestic side?” Wallace asked Kudlow.
“Why not?” Kudlow asked. “I mean, if you want to deal with budget deficits, you’ve got rapid growth, which means keep the tax cuts in place. We believe the 3 percent growth rate of 2018 will continue in 2019, and beyond 2020 and so forth.
“I think the other element is always to limit spending, and the president is proposing roughly a 5 percent across-the-board reduction in domestic spending accounts. It will be a tough budget.
“We’re going to do our own caps this year, and I think it’s long overdue. Some of these recent budgets have not been favorable toward spending. So, I think it’s exactly the right prescription,” Kudlow said.
Kudlow did not dispute Wallace’s statement that President Trump will request another $8.6 billion for his border wall. “So there’s going to be another budget fight over the wall?” Wallace asked Kudlow.
“Well, I suppose there will be,” Kudlow said. “I would just say that the whole issue of the wall and border security is of paramount importance. We have a crisis down there. I think the president has made that case very effectively.
“It’s a crisis of economics. It’s a crisis of crime and drugs. It’s a crisis of humanity. We have to be much tougher and have more constructive immigration policy, which we will be developing over a period of time.”
“So, yes, he’s going to stay with his wall, and he’s going to stay with his border security, and I think it’s essential.”
Reacting to Trump’s request for more wall money, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued the following statement:
President Trump hurt millions of Americans and caused widespread chaos when he recklessly shut down the government to try to get his expensive and ineffective wall, which he promised would be paid for by Mexico. Congress refused to fund his wall and he was forced to admit defeat and reopen the government. The same thing will repeat itself if he tries this again. We hope he learned his lesson.
At a time when our country faces challenges about jobs for the future, this money would better be spent on rebuilding America, and on education and workforce development for jobs for the 21st Century.
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