Scott Powers
Florida’s Democratic congressional caucus reacted Tuesday to President Donald Trump‘s proposed 2018 budget with a shower of outrage over cuts to Amtrak, environmental programs, food stamps, student loans, disability funding, infrastructure grants, food stamps, and Medicare, while one Republican responded: “Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”
“The president’s cruel and inhumane budget should be dead on arrival,” demanded Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings of Orlando.
If Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Kendall has anything to do with it – and he’ll have more say than Demings or any of the other Democrats, it mostly could be.
“As the House looks to begin its own budget and appropriations process, my colleagues and I will work to ensure many of these programs remain adequately funded,” Curbelo stated in a news release that issued almost as many objections to cuts as many of the Democrats raised.
“Today’s budget proposed by the Administration does not reflect the appropriate allocation of funds to get our country back on sound fiscal footing,” Curbelo stated. “From cuts to agencies needed to protect our environment and combat the threats of climate change, to cuts to our safety nets for the most-needy Americans, to complete slashing of public broadcasting funds, this budget abandons progress already made on programs that enjoy bipartisan support.
And as he and many of Florida’s other members of Congress – Republicans and Democrats – Curbelo pledged to look out for key environmental protections.
“I’m committed to standing together to advocate for the many bipartisan priorities of our Florida delegation such as funding for transportation projects, the Florida Keys Water Quality Improvement Program, and Everglades Restoration,” he stated in a news release.
By early Tuesday evening, no other Florida Republicans had publicly weighed in on Trump’s budget proposal.
Democrats lined up to express outrage not just over proposed cuts, but over tax cuts and incentives offered elsewhere, to the rich, they said.
Demings pointed out numerous proposed cuts she said “would will have devastating effects on working families, women and children, and those with disabilities.”
Among items she decried: additional Medicaid cuts, together with those in the American Health Care Act, would total $1.4 billion over ten years. The Home Investment Partnership Program, which fuels efforts like Habitat For Humanity, would be eliminated. After school early learning center grants would be cut. Funding for community-based drug abuse centers would be slashed. Homeland Security grants to cities would be cut 25 percent. The Social Security Administration’s administrative funding would be reduced. Prices would be raised on student loans.
“While a balanced budget is a top priority in this country, leaving working families, seniors and children without services they need, and veterans without coverage they deserve, is not a practical solution to going about it,” she wrote.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa also found a long list of objections, calling the proposed budget, “an immediate threat to my neighbors, families and small business owners. If we were discussing the budget around the kitchen table, you would be aghast at its fundamental policy choices,” she stated in a release.
Among the items she denounced: elimination of Meals on Wheels, reduced help for Alzheimer patients in nursing homes, reduced basic living allowances for disabled people relying on Social Security SSI assistance; reductions in assistance for victims of sexual or domestic abuse and basic access to reproductive health care; a $7 billion cut to the National Institutes of Health, which she said will impact cancer treatment centers like Moffitt in Tampa; and elimination of TIGER grants to help communities with local infrastructure improvements.
“If Trump really wanted to help working families he would reject policies and budgets like this one that put his millionaire and billionaire family and friends first,” Castor added. “Instead he would invest in research, education and our crumbling roads and bridges and create jobs for families struggling to achieve the American Dream.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson of Tallahassee also had plenty of specific beefs, adding cuts in food stamps to many of those cited by Demings and Castor.
“President Trump’s budget calls for extreme cuts to vital funding for programs that help our nation’s poor, from health care and food stamps to student loans and disability payments,” Lawson said in a news release. “It is a short-sighted plan that seeks to give tax breaks to the wealthiest while taking away lifelines for those who need it most.”
Among other reactions:
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson expressed alarm over elimination of Amtrak’s long-distance routes, which include all three routes in Florida, the Auto Train running from Sanford to Virginia, and the Silver Meteor, which connect numerous Florida cities from Miami through Orlando to Jacksonville, before going on to New York.
“Eliminating Amtrak service in Florida not only affects the nearly one million Floridians who ride the train each year, it would have a real impact on our tourism-driven economy,” Nelson stated.
Nelson also sent a separate release declaring, “This plan cuts some of our most critical programs including Medicaid and food stamps. It also cuts funding to agencies such as NIH, which is working to find cures for cancer and Alzheimer’s, and the EPA, which protects our environment. Slashing these vital programs will hurt millions of hardworking families. We should be focused on helping people, not hurting those who need our help the most.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist of St. Petersburg called the proposed budget “fiscally irresponsible and morally repugnant.”
“A budget is a reflection of our principles and this proposal illustrates a complete lack of values. It decimates vital programs – from environmental protections to public education to medical research. It cuts taxes for the very wealthy while leaving the poor, sick, and disabled out in the cold. It doubles down on cruel cuts to Medicaid – despite promising not to touch it. In Pinellas County where 40 percent of our children depend on Medicaid and CHIP for their care, what could be more heartless?”
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Winter Park offered a similar observation, calling the budget proposal “both morally and fiscally irresponsible.
She accused it of “using smoke and mirrors to make false claims about its real fiscal impact. It also makes us less safe, cutting critical anti-terrorism programs—which hurts cities like Orlando—and slashing State Department funding during a perilous time in the world. This budget especially punishes children and families, seniors in nursing homes, college students with debt, families that rely on Planned Parenthood for life-saving health care, communities that need better roads and bridges, and all of us who depend on clean air and water.”
“Congress has the final authority over our nation’s budget, and I plan to work with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to pass a bipartisan budget that keeps us safe, upholds our values, and puts us on a fiscally responsible path to prosperity for all,” she added.
Democrat U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach called the budget “a broken promise to hard-working families.”
“I call on Congress to reject this and instead focus on protecting Social Security and Medicare, fixing crumbling roads and bridges, and preparing students and workers for jobs in an ever-changing economy,” she said in a statement.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Darren Soto of Orlando took to the floor of the House of Representatives to denounce the budget as “more broken promises.” He read some of Trump’s past statements promising to keep Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid whole; offer insurance for everybody; and a strong safety net for the nation’s farmers.
“Yet he cuts $50 billion in over ten years from farm subsidies, including critical citrus greening research dollars for Central Florida,” Soto said on the floor. “He says, I quote, ‘I’ll be the greatest president for jobs that God’s ever created.’ He’s cutting the National Institute for Health, crucial research dollars does by $5.8 million, cuts NASA by $200 million, cuts the National Science Foundation, by $776 million.”
Soto also took to Facebook, and posted: “Pres Trump unveils his heartless 2018 budget that hurts seniors, children, families and students in order to pay for tax cuts for millionaires,” Soto posted. “He cuts Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, School Lunch, Kidcare, Meals on Wheels, Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness and so many other programs critical to America’s working families. Another promise broken!”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston said the budget should be “cast aside.”
“The Trump budget ignores the needs of America’s hard-working families and brutally assaults our health care and public education system, while all but abandoning those struggling to make ends meet. It hollows out crucial commitments to housing, nutrition assistance, and the environment, along with job training and medical research investments. Yet it delivers obscene tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, and relies on unrealistic revenue projections that no respected economist would embrace.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings of Miami wanted to know: “who is the President fighting for?”
“President Trump’s budget envisions an America that has abdicated its responsibilities to its citizens; an America that takes a back-seat in innovation, education, research, and economic progress in order to funnel millions in taxpayer funding to corporate executives and special interests. His proposal continues the cruel Republican trend of targeting poor people, eviscerating nutrition assistance programs and cutting $1.4 trillion from Medicaid. All the while, the proposal relies on pipe-dream mathematics in a poor attempt to mimic sound economic policy,” he said in a written statement. “This entire proposal should immediately be rejected out of hand.”
