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Epoch Times
05-05-2025
- Health
- Epoch Times
Trump's Budget Seeks to Eliminate Some CDC, NIH Programs
President Donald Trump is asking Congress to approve a budget that would eliminate or make cuts to some health programs. Trump's The president wants to eliminate more than a dozen programs, including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Preschool Development Grants, the Preventive Health and Human Services Block Grant, and the Sexual Risk Avoidance Program. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is designed to help poor people afford utilities, 'is unnecessary because States have policies preventing utility disconnection for low-income households,' the White House Preschool Development Grants, which provide funds to preschool administrators and are partially administered by HHS, were weaponized by the previous administration to 'extend the Federal reach and push DEI policies on to toddlers,' the White House said, referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Preventive Health and Human Services Block Grant, which provides funding to states for public health, is better funded by states themselves, the White House said. Related Stories 5/2/2025 5/2/2025 It also said that the Sexual Risk Avoidance Program is duplicative of another program administered by HHS. In addition to the program cuts, Trump is seeking to eliminate some CDC and National Institutes of Health (NIH) offices. The budget asks for no funding for the National Institute on Minority and Health Disparities, the Fogarty International Center, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, and the National Institute of Nursing Research, in part because of expenditures for DEI initiatives, according to the White House. Officials said that the NIH 'has broken the trust of the American people with wasteful spending, misleading information, risky research, and the promotion of dangerous ideologies that undermine public health,' including research in China that multiple intelligence agencies have assessed as resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget calls for $27 billion for NIH research. At the CDC, the budget would eliminate four centers, among them the National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion. The offices are 'duplicative, DEI, or simply unnecessary,' the White House said. The budget maintains more than $4 billion for the CDC. The NIH and CDC did not respond to requests for comment. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the social media platform X Kennedy previously Some lawmakers criticized Trump's proposed cuts to health programs. 'He is eviscerating funding for school districts that serve low-income students, rental and utility bill assistance, and child care programs, while decimating medical research that cancer and Alzheimer's patients rely on,' Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) The Heritage Action for America political group was among those offering support for the budget,
The Hill
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
What Trump wants to cut
The Trump administration cited multiple reasons the programs made the chopping block, arguing some were duplicative, underperforming or are out of line with the administration's priorities. Among those named included the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the Sexual Risk Avoidance Program, Job Corps, the Community Development Block Grant program, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the 400 Years of African American History Commission, and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, which the administration said 'is similar to the mandatory Personal Responsibility Education program.' The U.S. Agency for Global Media, the U.S. Institute for Peace and the National Endowment for Democracy were also on the list, as development agencies find themselves in the administration's crosshairs. A breakdown in the Friday request outlines the proposed cuts by agency, with the administration calling for cuts of about 44 percent for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 31 percent for the Interior Department, 8 percent for the Justice Department, 35 percent for the Department of Labor, 84 percent for the Department of State and international programs and 19 percent for the Treasury Department. At the same time, increases are proposed for several agencies, including a roughly 13 percent boost for the Department of Defense, a nearly 65 percent boost for the Homeland Security Department, a roughly 6 percent jump for the Transportation Department and an increase of about 4 percent for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Hill's Aris Folley has more here.
The Hill
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
White House unveils budget request with deep cuts: 5 things to know
The White House on Friday called for significant cuts to non-defense programs as part of President Trump's fiscal year 2026 budget request, while proposing beefing up funding for defense and the president's border priorities. The so-called 'skinny budget' is not as detailed as usual presidential budget requests, which is not uncommon for a president's first-year proposal. However, some budget hawks are already grumbling about what they say are key missing details. Republicans have said they expect more information about the president's preferred spending direction in the coming weeks. The request is a wish list from the president, rather than a bill that would be enacted. But the latest request from the White House provides a critical look into the president's funding priorities for the coming fiscal year as Republicans look to significantly reduce federal spending. Here's five things to know about the budget request. Dozens of programs on the chopping block Trump proposed eliminating or zeroing out funding for dozens of federal programs the administration says are either duplicative, underperforming or are out of line with the administration's priorities. The wide-ranging list of programs includes the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Sexual Risk Avoidance Program, Job Corps, the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the 400 Years of African American History Commission, and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, which the administration said 'is similar to the mandatory Personal Responsibility Education program.' The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the U.S. Institute for Peace and the National Endowment for Democracy would also see the chopping block, as development agencies find themselves in the administration's cross hairs. The budget proposes a nearly $27 billion reduction for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with State Rental Assistance Block Grants on the chopping block. It instead calls for the transformation of the rental assistance programs into a 'state-based formula grant which would allow states to design their own rental assistance programs based on their unique needs and preferences.' 'The Budget would also newly institute a two-year cap on rental assistance for able bodied adults, and would ensure a majority of rental assistance funding through States would go to the elderly and disabled,' the request said. 'A State-based formula program would also lead to significant terminations of Federal regulations.' A widening gap between defense and non-defense The budget request unveiled Friday included a cut to non-defense discretionary spending amounting to $163 billion, or about 23 percent. Defense funding, meanwhile, would rise by about 13 percent, the White House said. That builds on the funding bill the government is currently operating under, which kept funding for 2025 roughly level with 2024, while increasing defense spending by $6 billion and cutting non-defense spending by $13 billion. A breakdown in the Friday request outlines the proposed cuts by agency, with the administration calling for cuts of about 18 percent for the Department of Agriculture, 17 percent for the Commerce Department, 15 percent for the Education Department, 9 percent for the Energy Department, 44 percent for HUD, 31 percent for the Interior Department, 8 percent for the Justice Department, 35 percent for the Department of Labor, 84 percent for the Department of State and international programs and 19 percent for the Treasury Department. At the same time, increases are proposed for several agencies, including a roughly 13 percent boost for the Department of Defense, a nearly 65 percent boost for the Homeland Security Department, a roughly 6 percent jump for the Transportation Department, and an increase of about 4 percent for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Defense hawks are still unhappy Administration officials touted the request at putting defense spending over $1 trillion, but the budget assumes some of the increases for defense and the administration's border plans would be provided through Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill that Republicans are working to assemble in Congress and that is crafted separately from the appropriations process. Republicans are using a process known as budget reconciliation to advance the president's tax agenda, while also making further cuts to spending and boosting funding for defense and the president's deportation plans. While the process can be time-consuming and restrictive, it would ultimately allow Republicans to jam through such a package without having to worry about likely Democratic opposition in the Senate. But some Republicans have come out against the gambit of counting funds from the reconciliation bill toward fiscal year 2026 defense spending. 'President Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength agenda, but his advisers at the Office of Management and Budget were apparently not listening,' Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said in a statement Friday. 'For the defense budget, OMB has requested a fifth year straight of Biden administration funding, leaving military spending flat, which is a cut in real terms.' Wicker added that he has said 'for months that reconciliation defense spending does not replace the need for real growth in the military's base budget.' Head Start is safe amid education cuts While the proposed budget does call for cuts to HHS, Vought said Friday that the reductions do not include changes to Head Start programs, which provides early childhood education to low-income families. His comments come as the Trump administration is already facing legal challenges after previous reports that Head Start funding was set to be cut in HHS's budget amid office closures. However, the request does also outline notable reductions on the education side, including proposals to eliminate Preschool Development Grants (PDG) and cuts funding for the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights. More than $1.5 billion in spending reductions under a line item for TRIO programs and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) are also proposed for the Education Department. 'TRIO and GEAR UP are a relic of the past when financial incentives were needed to motivate Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) to engage with low-income students and increase access,' the request stated. 'The lack of action by IHEs also meant that States and local school districts needed additional support to prepare low-income students for college.' Tax cuts TBD While proposing a cut of more than $2.4 billion to the Internal Revenue Service in a move it said would end 'weaponization of IRS enforcement,' the budget request also states that the 'elimination of certain complex tax credits and technology improvements would increase IRS efficiency.' Pressed about the proposal on Friday, White House officials said all of the administration's proposals would be included in the more detailed budget plan expected later in the year. Congressional Republicans are currently negotiating trillions of dollars in tax cuts as part of their reconciliation plan, which seeks to permanently lock in expiring provisions enacted as part of Trump's signature 2017 tax law, and could include further tax cuts the president has proposed in recent months. While Maya MacGuineas, head of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), said the group was encouraged to see the administration put forward a plan that reduces spending, she added in a statement that the request 'focuses on only a quarter of the budget over a single year.' 'It remains to be seen what the rest of the President's proposals will hold, and there is still the multi-trillion-dollar question of whether the reconciliation bill will blow up the debt,' she said, while calling on the president to quickly release a 'full budget.'
