Trump to seek $54B hike for DOD; deep cuts for EPA and foreign aid

President Trump is expected to seek a $54 billion increase in the Defense Dept.’s budget for fiscal 2018 while decreasing non-defense funding by the same amount.

Trump reportedly is proposing close to a 10% funding hike for the military, local law enforcement and the border patrol.

The increase would be paid for with a corresponding cut in non-defense discretionary spending, White House officials have told major news outlets. But they did not provide many details, except to say that entitlements including Medicare and Social Security would be unchanged, and that the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department’s foreign aid programs would be targets for substantial cuts.

With defense spending at $598 billion and non-defense discretionary spending at $585 billion in fiscal 2015, the nearly 10% increase in defense presumably would result in cuts of a little more than 10% in the non-defense arenas.

However, it is not clear against what baseline the president is measuring the $54 billion increase, according to Politico. The baselines for the 10% changes also are unclear. The baseline questions are causing some confusion about whether, or by how much, the $54 billion exceeds the current budget caps, Politico said.

Details were not available about how deeply the administration proposes to reduce the EPA’s $8 billion budget or the $26 billion in non-military foreign aid.

The president expects to submit a fuller budget outline on March 13. Congress may or may not support Trump’s priorities.

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