Trump's budget focuses on defense, cuts funding for domestic programs

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The White House on Monday submitted to Congress its budget plan for the 2019 fiscal year, shifting resources from domestic programs to national defense and adding to a mushrooming deficit.

Titled "Efficient, Effective and Accountable," the budget plan amounts to 4.4 trillion US dollars, a 10 percent increase compared to US government spending in 2017.

The plan aims to cut investments in welfare programs like Medicare and food stamps, as well as expenses for certain federal agencies, but proposes to increase the spending on defense, a top priority for Trump.

"The budget reflects our commitment to the safety, prosperity, and security of the American people. The more room our economy has to grow, and the more American companies are freed from constricting over-regulation, the stronger and safer we become as a nation," Trump said in a message released by the White House.

US Government Publishing Office employees BethAnn Telford, left, and Bernie Morrison unpack new copies of President Donald Trump's Budget for the US Government for the ‍Fiscal Year 2019‍ at the US Government Office in Washington, February 12, 2018. /Reuters Photo

However, according to US media, the plan would add 984 billion dollars to the federal deficit next year, contrary to Trump's promise of a balanced fiscal budget.

The White House has said the lost revenue due to tax cuts would be made up for by the booming economy, an assumption that is falling short of expectation.

Lawmakers across the aisle expressed their dismay at the ballooning debt and steep cuts in welfare programs.

"The Trump budget proposal makes clear his desire to enact massive cuts to health care, anti-poverty programs, and investments in economic growth to blunt the deficit-exploding impact of his tax cuts for millionaires and corporations," said Democratic representative John Yarmuth.

US President Donald Trump holds a meeting on his infrastructure initiative at the White House in Washington, US, February 12, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The top Democrat on the House Budget Committee also said the cuts to critical federal investments are so extreme that they can only reflect a disdain for working families and a total lack of vision for a stronger society.

The US federal budget is proposed by the executive branch and approved by Congress, but a split Congress has resulted in an inability to pass annual budgets on time, causing repeated government shutdowns in past weeks.

Adding to US financial woes, increasing expenditure together with stagnant revenue has created hundreds of billions of dollars in deficit each year, burdening the US economy with heavy debt.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency