Van Hollen Statement on Trump Budget Proposal

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement on President Trump's Fiscal Year 2018 budget request:

"This budget represents a total betrayal of President Trump's campaign promises. It afflicts the vulnerable and comforts the powerful. In short, it screams 'Millionaires First, Working People Last.'

"As we learn more details about the Trump Budget, things get worse for working Americans but better for the super wealthy. The Trump budget represents an all-out assault on our health care system, from staggering cuts to Medicaid to attacks on the bipartisan Children's Health Insurance Program - leaving kids, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and seniors out in the cold. It also reneges on the pledge not to cut Social Security by cutting Social Security Disability Insurance.

"President Trump claimed he wanted to rebuild our infrastructure, but his budget takes a wrecking ball to vital transportation projects like the Purple Line. While he has voiced appreciation for our veterans, his budget eliminates programs to help them find a home. The deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will result in fewer treatments and cures to diseases that impact virtually every American family. And he chops rungs off the ladder of opportunity by hacking away at every level of education, from student financial aid, to career and technical education, to after school programs. The budget threatens to reverse the steady progress we have made toward cleaner air, water, and the protection of vital resources like the Chesapeake Bay.

"While the Trump budget will harm jobs and reduce economic opportunity, it provides windfall tax breaks for the very wealthy and powerful special interests. Instead of fighting for the forgotten Americans, the President's budget caters to people who can fly private jets to places like Mar-a-Lago for the weekend. And his claim that it will balance in ten years is delusional - it's based on Enron accounting, not reality."