Washington, D.C. – Bread for the World today slammed President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget as unconscionable and shortsighted. It noted that more than half of the spending cuts would be taken from programs focused on ending hunger and poverty.
“President Trump’s budget robs the poor to pay the rich,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “More than half of the spending cuts come from programs focused on ending hunger and poverty in the U.S. and around the world.”
The budget proposes drastic cuts to programs that are critical to helping people living in hunger and poverty in the U.S. It cuts SNAP (food stamps) by $193 billion, refundable tax credits for low-income working families by more than $40 billion, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) by more than $21 billion. Medicaid would receive an additional $610 billion cut above the $880 billion already taken from the program in the American Health Care Act, which passed the House earlier this month.
“The proposed cuts are a double whammy for the 1 in 8 families in the United States who are at risk of hunger,” Beckmann said. “Millions of working families struggling to make ends meet would be pushed into hunger and poverty by this budget. Millions more who are already living in hunger and poverty would find themselves with nowhere to turn.”
The budget also makes severe cuts to international programs during a time of unprecedented need. It eliminates funding for International Food Aid, the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, and Development Assistance. Global nutrition programs are cut by almost half. Currently, 20 million people are at risk of starvation in famine or near-famine conditions in Africa and the Middle East.
“The U.S. must continue its leadership during times of global crisis,” Beckmann said. “I urge people of conscience to contact their members of Congress and tell them to vigorously resist these budget cuts.”
In response to Trump’s budget, Bread and its faith partners have launched a nationwide, monthly fast to ask God’s help with their advocacy for hungry and poor people.
