National Urban League Statement on Trump Administration’s FY 2018 Budget Proposal

National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement calling on Congress to reject the Trump Administration’s FY 2018 federal budget and draft a common-sense fiscal plan:”By any standard, President Trump’s FY 2018 budget proposal falls severely short of his promise to ‘Make America Great Again.’  The federal budget is a reflection of a president’s priorities.  Based on this proposal, millions of Americans still struggling to recover from the last economic recession will continue to be left behind.

“The administration’s recommendation to slash more than $1.85 trillion from Medicaid, $192 billion from nutritional assistance, $72 billion in disability benefits, and $272 billion from welfare programs directly undermines working class and economically-strained Americans that struggle daily to make ends meet.

“Siphoning money from entitlement programs in order to grow defense and increase tax cuts for the wealthy would hit rural, urban and low-income Americans the hardest and likely throw the U.S. economy back into another recession.

“The National Urban League cannot support any federal budget proposal that seeks to cripple the sick, starve the hungry and impede the upward mobility of our most vulnerable citizens.
“We call on congressional leaders to reject this administration’s wish list and develop a common-sense FY 2018 budget that is targeted and reflective of the needs of all Americans through unbridled investments in education, job training, infrastructure, affordable housing, and healthcare.

“Congress must act now.  Instead of drafting a ‘Big-On-Cuts-Short-On-Investments Budget’ that eliminates or reduces funding to dozens of historically successful programs, lawmakers must seek ways to meaningfully invest in people and towns across the Main Streets of rural and urban America.

“It is time to put people before party.