March 12, 2019 - On Monday, March 11, White House Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russ Vought will release the President’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget of the United States Government. “A Budget for a Better America: Promises Kept. Taxpayers First.” outlines this Administration’s key funding priorities, which include addressing wasteful Washington spending, strengthening our southern border, promoting a healthy American economy, and maintaining a strong national defense.

“In the last two years, President Trump and this Administration have prioritized reining in reckless Washington spending. The Budget that we have presented to Congress and the American people, “A Budget for a Better America,” embodies fiscal responsibility, and takes aim at Washington’s waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Acting Director Vought. “Our national debt nearly doubled under the previous Administration and now stands at more than $22 trillion. This Budget shows that we can return to fiscal sanity without halting our economic resurgence while continuing to invest in critical priorities. President Trump’s Budget for 2020 will balance in 15 years, end runaway spending, and secure prosperity for future generations.”

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A Budget for a Better America: Promises Kept. Taxpayers First.

Curbs Wasteful Washington Spending. Overall, this Budget includes $2.7 trillion in spending cuts—higher than any other administration in history.  As part of these cuts, the Budget meets the President’s directive to reduce nondefense programmatic spending by 5 percent below the higher 2019 cap level. Long term policy projections indicate that the proposals in this Budget would put us on track to reach balance by 2034.  This is a clear roadmap for a more fiscally responsible future if Congress chooses to follow it.

Strengthening Border Security and Immigration Enforcement. The crisis at our southern border has strained Federal resources and overwhelmed agencies charged with border security and immigration enforcement. The Federal Government must employ all lawful means to enforce the immigration laws of the United States and reduce the flow of illegal aliens and illegal drugs into the country. The Budget requests the resources necessary to continue constructing physical barriers on the border, increases the manpower of ICE and CBP, and proposes policy changes to end sanctuary cities.

Provides for a Robust and Rebuilt National Defense. The Government’s fundamental responsibility is to protect the American people, the homeland, and the American way of life. While America possesses enduring national strengths, we face an era of increased strategic competition, global challenges, and erosion of the U.S. comparative military advantage.  In order to preserve peace through strength, the Budget provides for increased end strength, bolsters our global force posture, and invests in the capabilities and domains critical to future conflicts, like space, artificial intelligence, and hypersonics.

Combatting the Opioid Epidemic. The Nation is starting to see progress in its efforts to address the drug abuse and opioid crisis. The number of opioid prescriptions dispensed monthly has fallen by more than 20 percent since the beginning of 2017 and preliminary data from CDC suggests that the number of drug overdose deaths are finally starting to level off or even decline. But the fight to end this devastating epidemic is not over. This Budget continues to invest in prevention, treatment, research, and recovery.

Investing in America’s Students.  The Budget takes steps to ensure that Americans can receive the high-quality education and training they need to obtain a job and advance in their careers.  The Budget proposes to hold institutions of higher education accountable for results by requiring colleges and universities to share a portion of the financial responsibility associated with Federal student loans to encourage them to improve performance.

Reorganization to Modernize Government for the 21st Century. In today’s digital age, the Federal Government continues to operate under outdated technology and antiquated processes, which frustrates the American people and the Federal workforce. Last year, the Administration issued a bipartisan strategy on how the Executive Branch can function more efficiently and effectively in the 21st Century. Through IT modernization initiatives as well as efforts to build a modern workforce, the Budget will create new platforms for delivering services to the American people.

Care for our Veterans. Few deserve our Nation’s care and resources more than the veterans who have sacrificed their lives to keep our country safe. The President’s Budget invests over $80 billion to ensure our veterans receive world class healthcare; a nearly a 10 percent increase from FY 2019 levels. In addition, the President’s FY2020 Budget makes significant investments in veteran rehabilitation services, education and employment assistance, and suicide prevention. All of these resources are necessary for our Nation’s heroes to be repaid for their sacrifices.

The President’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget will be available on OMB.gov/Budget.
Source: Office of the White House

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White House Fact Sheet

FURTHERING OUR ECONOMIC PROSPERITY: President Donald J. Trump’s budget request will continue our economic resurgence while furthering his vision to reduce spending and invest in America.

• The Trump Administration’s pro-growth policies have unleashed the American economy, creating millions of jobs and resulting in historically low unemployment.
• However, the national debt – currently more than $22 trillion – remains a grave threat to our economic and societal prosperity.
• This budget will address the national debt crisis while still investing in critical American priorities that will allow America to further excel in the future.

RESPONSIBLE BUDGETING: President Trump’s budget request promotes responsible Government spending by prioritizing effective programs and cutting waste.

• The budget reduces nondefense programmatic spending by 5 percent below the 2019 cap level.
• Proposes policies to shrink or eliminate Federal programs that fail to deliver desired outcomes for the American people.
• Reduces spending by $2.7 trillion over 10 years, shrinking the deficit from nearly 5 percent of GDP in 2020 to under 1 percent of GDP in 2029.
  • Puts the Federal budget on a path to balance within 15 years.
• Sticks to the current discretionary spending caps while also providing additional defense resources through investments in Overseas Contingency Operations and emergency funding.
  • Allows us to fund our national security needs while avoiding a costly “cap deal,” which would increase defense and nondefense spending.

INVESTMENT IN AMERICA: President Trump’s budget request reflects his commitment to defending our Nation, ending the opioid epidemic, and building a strong American workforce.

• $32.5 billion for border security and immigration enforcement activities to help manage the immigration crisis on the United States southern border, including:
  • $8.6 billion for the border wall, funded by Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
  • $478 million to hire 1,750 additional Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcement officers.
  • $2.7 billion in funding for 54,000 ICE immigration detention beds.
• $750 billion for national defense – including $718 billion for DOD to pursue the National Defense Strategy.
  • Priorities include: strategic competition with Russia and China, countering rogue regimes such as North Korea and Iran, defeating terrorist threats, and consolidating gains in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• $80.2 billion to fund Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care requirements in 2020.
  • Fully supports implementation of the historic VA MISSION Act to provide veterans greater choice on where they receive their healthcare, including at a private provider.
• $330 million for the Department of Justice to aid State and local efforts to fight the opioid crisis.
• The budget promotes quality education and job training, holds higher education institutions more accountable, and expands Pell Grants to high-quality short-term training programs.

Source: Office of the White House