By Rob Thompson 
The state budget is not the only budget that we’re watching. President Trump released his proposal for the federal budget last week and it’s bad news for children. The Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides over 100,000 NC kids with coverage, would be cut by 20 percent; SNAP food benefits would be cut by $193 billion (!) over the next ten years; and benefits for children with disabilities like down syndrome would be slashed.
Here are some links to resources from our allies at CBPP on the impact of Trump’s budget on children, families, and states.
- A blog on the SNAP cuts: click here
- A blog on cuts to children’s health: click here
- A blog on the disability cuts: click here
- A blog on the Medicaid cuts: click here
- Comparison of health care cuts to the cost of a key tax cut for the wealthy: click here
- A blog on the housing cuts: click here
- A blog on the TANF cuts: click here
- A blog on the huge cost shifts to states: click here
Despite the conventional wisdom that the President’s budget is “dead on arrival” – meaning that Congress will do what it wants in crafting its own budget – the reality is that the impact of the President’s budget is not so cut and dry. Why?
Although Congressional leadership has balked at the extent of the cuts, the fact of the matter is that there are philosophical alignments between the President’s budget and Congressional proposals to significantly cut federal spending. While the President’s budget may seem catastrophic to many child advocates, we should be worried that a more “reasonable” budget emerging from Congress will also contain extremely damaging cuts.
The President’s budget asserts that you can slash investments in the health and security of children and families and still maintain a path toward prosperity as a country.
At the end of the day, the opposite is true. A prosperous nation is committed to its greatest resources, its children and their families, because they form the foundation of our country’s future success. The President’s budget takes us in the opposite direction.