Statement from DFL Chairman Ken Martin on Trump’s First Budget Blueprint

March 16, 2017

“Last Night, Donald Trump made his first budget blueprint public and it’s a disaster.

“Republicans have always said that they want to see our country run like a business but our government is set up to help people, not turn a profit. To meet their bottom line, Trump’s Administration proposes deep cuts to programs that provide help that no state alone can. Programs like medical research, environmental protections, WIC grants, and money for state water projects.

“Trump’s budget pulls money from international and cultural programs, before and after-school programs, rural water infrastructure, federal subsidies for rural airports, and dumps it into a $54 billion dollar increase of defense spending. Cutting these vital programs that so many vulnerable Americans rely upon does not and will not make America great. Trump’s inexperience in government and blindness toward the benefits of governmental programs have combined into one of the most dangerous federal budget blueprints of our lifetime.

“This Trump budget has failed that moral test of government in more ways than I can begin to count. Budgets are a reflection of priorities and clearly Trump and the Republicans could care less about the prosperity of families, comfort for our seniors, progress for the working class, protection of our environment, or the future of our country.”