Trump budget proposal would hit Virginians hard, Kaine says

Gabe Cavallaro
Staunton News Leader
Donald Trump and Tim Kaine.

STAUNTON - President Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposal spells trouble for many "critical programs" vital to Virginia's families, children, seniors and businesses, according to U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

The budget document, released Tuesday, proposes increases in funding for national defense, veterans programs and homeland security, including $2.6 billion for border security measures, like the construction of a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

The president promises a balanced budget in 10 years while also cutting taxes, and so getting there means cuts to many other programs under his proposal (embedded in full below). Slashing the budgets of those "critical programs" would take a toll on the Valley, Kaine said, highlighting the suite of cuts he projects would hurt Virginians most.

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In the fight against opioid addiction, community mental health services would lose $116 million in block grant funding and other state mental health grants would be reduced by $136 million, Kaine notes. The budget would also cut substance abuse treatment grants for states by $73 million and public awareness programs by $74 million, he said.

Kaine also pinpointed the cuts to Medicaid, student loan programs, the Social Security Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helped feed 826,000 Virginia residents in 2016, as areas where Virginians could be hurt.

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Virginia environmental program funding would also take a nosedive under Trump's plan, which proposes eliminating the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural water and wastewater loan and grant program, which helps finance water infrastructure in small rural Virginia communities, and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

"Trump’s budget would cause disproportionate pain in the rural communities he promised to help — including those in southern and southwest Virginia and the Valley," Kaine said.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also voiced strong opposition to the proposal, calling it "fantasy" that's "based on unrealistic growth estimates that have already been rejected by leading economists" in a Tuesday tweet.

Warner said he'll push for "a comprehensive, long-range plan that takes a more responsible approach to fixing our nation’s balance sheet" in his role as a member of the Senate Budget and Finance committees.

U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th, noted Trump's budget proposal "is just that — a proposal" and that Congress ultimately has the responsibility to set the nation's final budget and appropriate funds. 

Goodlatte said he "appreciates" the "steps" Trump is taking "to address the out of control spending that has plagued Washington for far too long," but did not directly answer a question over whether he supports the proposed budget.

"With nearly a $20 trillion national debt, the fact of the matter is that the United States must tighten its belt," Goodlatte said. "Not all spending cuts will be popular, but we must make a commitment now to achieving a balanced budget and restoring fiscal responsibility."

Goodlatte praised the president's initial budget released in March, while saying then that he was still "reviewing" the proposal's "impacts on the Sixth District specifically." He did not answer a question Wednesday over how he sees the latest Trump budget proposal potentially impacting the Valley.

More:Goodlatte praises Trump budget, unsure of Valley effect

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