Advocates for the poor, environmental groups and members of Congress were quick to attack President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, which was released in more detail on Tuesday.
Democrats and Republicans say the budget, which calls for deep cuts to Medicaid and food and housing programs, is dead on arrival.
Chris Hastedt, the public policy director for Maine Equal Justice Partners, says the cuts to social welfare programs are unprecedented and cruel.
“I mean I think this budget proposal as it’s come forward would make every economic and social problem in Maine and America gravely worse,” she says.
Over the next decade, funding for Medicaid would be slashed by $800 billion and funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, would be cut by $192 billion.
Hastedt points out that Maine already has the third worst rate of hunger in the nation, and she says that would become worse under this budget. So would the ability to get health insurance coverage. And heating assistance, through the program known as LIHEAP? That would be eliminated.
“People throughout this state, right now, are scared to death and this budget makes them fear they’re going to lose the services that are just enabling them to hang on,” she says.
Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine released a statement saying the budget proposal “will hammer thousands of people across Maine, including older, disabled and lower-income people. Hardworking Maine people who pay taxes expect a government that works for them, but they are the ones who will suffer when the tax cuts proposed in this budget directly benefit those who need it least.”
“This is the worst budget I’ve ever seen for Maine, for working families, for rural communities or senior citizens,” says Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District.
Pingree says the depth of cuts to a wide range of important programs to Maine and the rest of the country means there will be a serious fight, particularly because Trump wants to use the money to provide tax cuts and build a border wall.
“He’s going to keep going at this to get the money for the programs that he needs and it’s going to take money away from programs that benefit people in Maine,” she says.
Included in the proposal: a 30 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, which Pingree says would result in the loss of $4 million in Maine. Programs that deal with radon, lead and beach protection and estuaries would be eliminated. Funding for the National Estuary Program and Coastal Waterways would be cut, which means fewer protections for Casco Bay.
Big cuts are also slated for the Department of the Interior. Tom Abello of the Nature Conservancy in Maine is worried about cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
“What makes LWCF so special is that it helps towns and communities invest in things like ballfields and playgrounds but it also helps communities invest in things like working forests and other big conservation landscape areas, and so it’s a really important program not only for Maine but across the nation,” he says.
Abello says Maine is fortunate to have a congressional delegation that understands and appreciates LWCF. He says he’s hopeful that there will be serious resistance to some of the proposed cuts.
Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin of Maine’s 2nd District released a statement saying he’s evaluating how the budget affects families, veterans and communities, but he raised a red flag about any drastic reductions to LWCF, Acadia National Park, the Healthy Beaches Program and LIHEAP. And in a written statement, Republican Sen. Susan Collins said “the president’s budget request is always subject to significant revision by Congress, and this budget will be no exception.”
