Van Hollen Statement on Trump Budget

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees, released the following statement on President Trump's FY 2018 budget:

"The President's budget is great if you're a person like Donald Trump who flies to Mar-a-Lago every weekend at taxpayer expense - but it betrays the Americans who feel left behind and forgotten. And for the people who supported him, especially in rural areas of our country, they are hit particularly hard.

"This plan denies millions of Americans the opportunity to get ahead by slashing funding for education and jobs programs. It abandons his pledge to invest in job-creating infrastructure projects. It leaves vulnerable Americans out in the cold - literally - by eliminating heating assistance for those who need it the most. And it devastates efforts to keep our air and water clean, inviting big polluters to once again destroy our natural resources like the Chesapeake Bay and all of the jobs that depend on it.

"The budget arrives on the heels of Trumpcare, which would take healthcare away from 24 million Americans while cutting taxes by almost $600 billion and giving the ultra-wealthy and special interests a windfall. America is not the dark, failing place that Donald Trump often portrays it to be. But taken together, Trumpcare and his budget would cause immense pain for hardworking Americans while Donald Trump's wealthy friends rig the rules in their favor, which is a dark vision indeed."