Trump slashes foreign aid
President Donald Trump proposed drastic cuts in spending on the arts, science, foreign aid and environmental protection yesterday, in a security-focused budget blueprint that could struggle to pass Congress.
Translating hardline campaign promises into dollar-and-cent commitments, the Republican leader proposed scrapping dozens of programs like public broadcasting and climate funding, while boosting Pentagon spending by $52 billion.
Trump, in the preface to the spending proposal, described it as "a budget that puts America first," and that makes safety and security the "number one priority -- because without safety, there can be no prosperity."
The State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency would be the biggest losers, seeing their funding reduced by around a third.
That could be a harbinger of steep reductions in foreign aid and funding to UN agencies, with knock-on effects around the world.
The national endowments for the arts and humanities would be scrapped and funding for the National Institutes of Health -- a biomedical research facility -- would be cut by almost $6 billion.
The Pentagon would be the major winner if Trump's proposed spending priorities go through, with a nearly 10 percent boost -- which would create a defense budget already bigger than that of the next seven nations combined.
Separately, around $4 billion will be earmarked this year and next to start building a wall along America's border with Mexico.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Mexico will pay for the wall -- which will cost at least $15 billion, according to estimates by Bernstein Research, a consulting firm.
The text will be heavily revised and fleshed out by Congress, before a full budget is released around May.
The budget may also be seen as a signal to the world that Trump's United States will be less engaged internationally and will put "America first."
Diplomats and some former defense officials have already warned that less spending on areas like democracy promotion and humanitarian aid will spell more trouble, and military spending, down the road.
More than 120 retired generals and admirals recently signed a letter warning "that many of the crises our nation faces do not have military solutions alone."
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