Trump Budget Would Cut Entitlement Spending by $1.7 Trillion

Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 11, 2011, to discuss the budget. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

President Donald J. Trump’s fiscal year 2019 budget proposal calls for $1.7 trillion in cuts over a decade to entitlement programs, including Medicare, and a two percent yearly reduction in non-defense discretionary budget after 2019, according to a White House summary obtained by Bloomberg News.

According to Bloomberg, the summary states the budget will propose cutting spending on Medicare by $237 billion but doesn’t specify other mandatory programs that would face reductions. It also states the plan would cut the federal deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years and reduce debt as a percentage of gross domestic product.

According to the summary, Trump will urge an increase in defense spending to $716 billion and a 2.6 percent pay raise for troops. He will request $18 billion to build a wall on the Mexican border, the summary indicates.

The proposed budget also seeks $200 billion for Preident Trump’s infrastructure proposal as well as new regulatory cuts.

The proposal includes increased immigration enforcement:

Trump is requesting $782 million to hire 2,750 new border and immigration officers, and $2.7 billion to detain people in the country illegally. Trump is also asking for $18 billion over the next two fiscal years toward the goal of constructing a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.

The plan  also includes $13 billion in new funding to combat the opioid epidemic, and provide a $3 billion boost to the Department of Health and Human Services in the next fiscal year, and $10 billion in 2019.

Also included is $85.5 billion in discretionary funding for veterans health services, education, and vocational rehabilitation.

The budget was sent to Congress Monday.