Sunday, March 19, 2017

Trump Budget Slams Science and Rips the Safety Net

Trump’s proposed budget is out. Here are some of the worst cuts for our state that he's proposing.
1.   Transportation - Trump’s budget would cut important local infrastructure projects including funding to help build Link light rail in Lynnwood, Federal Way, & Tacoma and expand Bus Rapid Transit in Spokane, Everett, & Seattle. This despite his pledge to make massive infrastructure investments.
2.   Environmental - The budget makes massive cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency – cutting the budget by 31% and laying off a fifth of the employees. It would end funding for climate change research, cut funding for clean up of SuperFund toxic waste sites, and reduce grants to help cities and states fight air pollution. Trump believes climate change is a hoax, so he's following through on his beliefs, no matter how absurd they are.
3.   Agriculture and Farming - Trump proposes to cut billions from the Agriculture Department, hurting farmers and needy families. He’d cut hundreds of millions from Women/Infant/Children Nutrition Assistance, and rural development and research grants would be on the chopping block as well. Even the Meals On Wheels program and after-school lunches for poor children would be cut!
4.   College Access and Affordability - The budget would cut $3.9 billion from Pell Grants, financial aid that’s critical to helping students and families afford college. This budget would close the door of opportunity to millions and prevent students from getting the skills, experience, and training they need to succeed. But remember, Trump "loves the uneducated," so this makes sense to him.
5.   Jobs - The 21 percent proposed cut in the Labor Department reduces funding for job training programs that benefit seniors and disadvantaged youth. The budget eliminates the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which helps low-income seniors find work and closes poor-performing centers for Job Corps, a job-training program for disadvantaged youth. This doesn't track with Trump's pledge to concentrate on "jobs, jobs, jobs."
6.   Health and Scientific Research - Health and Human Services would face devastating cuts, and more than a third of the $15.1 billion in cuts would affect the National Institutes of Health, the government’s main engine of biomedical research. Make America Sick Again! Get the tee shirt.
7.   Children - The Education Department faces a $9 billion cut under the Trump administration budget, which would downsize or eliminate a raft of grants, including for teacher training, afterschool programs, and aid to low-income and minority college students. These colossal cuts to our schools are a betrayal of our commitment to students. While the budget doesn’t detail effects on the Head Start preschool program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, these important supports for vulnerable children could be slashed as well. I can't think of anything funny about this, can you?
8.   Housing and FEMA - The Trump budget would cut $6 billion from affordable housing and community development grants – grants that have funded important projects like recovery from natural disasters and improvements in low-income neighborhoods. Add the GOP American Health Care Act, and you have a prescription for genocide of the poor in America.
9.   Weather and Hurricane, Tornado and Tsunami preparedness - We didn’t think that NOAA and the National Weather Service would be partisan targets – shouldn’t everyone want decent weather forecasting? But Trump’s budget would cut funding from all sorts of weather and coastal programs at the Department of Commerce, including helping coastal communities prepare for storms, satellites for tracking weather and supporting forecasting, and climate change research efforts. Meanwhile, Trump's family is safe in Trump Tower.
10.        The Arts and Public Broadcasting - We spend hardly any public money on the arts, especially when compared to military spending. But Trump’s budget would still eliminate the $445 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting - aka PBS and NPR – as well as the National Endowment for the Arts and funding for libraries and museums across the country. Trump has his own ideas about art.

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