Statement Of Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) On President Trump’s Budget Proposal And Infrastructure Plan
A budget is where we lay out our priorities as a nation. The priorities identified in this budget are not the priorities of the American people. By making drastic cuts to our domestic priorities, President Trump is abandoning the bipartisan budget deal reached by Congress and signed -- by the President -- last week. This is not a serious proposal; it is divorced from reality. And it would continue the Trump administration’s full-on retreat from American global influence and leadership.
Further, the Trump infrastructure proposal falls far short of what is needed to address our nation’s crumbling bridges and outdated railroads and highways. It seeks to fund its proposal on the backs of working Americans by raising new tolls. Toll roads would not work in Newport, Vermont, or in rural areas across the country that are seeking desperately needed repairs. While claiming to address our nation’s infrastructure, Trump’s budget actually cuts transportation, housing, and urban development programs by 29 percent. His untenable infrastructure proposal will bankrupt states, in favor of lining the pockets of wealthy developers.
I will work with Chairman Cochran to craft responsible appropriations bills in the coming months that meet the new budget caps set in the bipartisan budget deal, and that truly move our country forward.
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