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Highlights of Trump’s 2021 budget proposal

By Associated Press
Published: February 10, 2020, 8:45pm

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2021 budget plan doesn’t have many fans — among either his GOP allies or opposition Democrats — but it’s a measure of the president’s priorities as he seeks a second term.

A look at what’s noteworthy in the president’s budget:

RECYCLED CUTS

Trump is again taking aim at the $1.4 trillion “discretionary” portion of the $4.8 trillion federal budget, proposing $2.1 trillion in cuts over 10 years from domestic agencies, foreign aid, and overseas military operations.

But such cuts run entirely counter to Trump’s actual performance as president, in which he’s signed two budget and debt deals that reversed prior cuts to both defense and domestic programs, along with three rounds of appropriations bills.

PENTAGON GAINS

Trump’s budget preserves big gains in the Pentagon budget over the past few years, essentially freezing next year’s defense budget at current levels and allowing 2 percent growth each year through 2025 and freezing it after that. The $741 billion defense budget includes a 3 percent military pay raise, funds Trump’s space force initiative, and maintains readiness accounts.

MEDICARE CUTS

Yes, there are cuts to Medicare. And no, they wouldn’t throw Grandma off the program or raise her premiums, despite what Democrats say.

And yes, there are cuts to Medicaid. And yes, they will affect beneficiaries.

First, on Medicare, which serves seniors, Trump’s budget cuts are aimed chiefly at health care providers like hospitals. They are howling at long-standing proposals to deny hospitals higher reimbursement rates for outpatient services than other medical facilities. The budget would also cut payments for “post-acute” care provided for people discharged from hospitals.

Critics say the cuts — $465 billion over the coming decade — are so large that health care providers will be hurt and care will suffer, but the core Medicare program would remain intact.

Trump’s latest Medicaid proposal would allow states that want more flexibility in Medicaid to accept their federal share as a lump sum; for states staying in traditional Medicaid, a 3 percent cap on cost growth would apply.

SECRET SERVICE

The budget would transfer the Secret Service back to Treasury from the Department of Homeland Security, a bureaucratic victory for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The proposal is aimed at improving the government’s response to high-tech financial crimes and terror financing. The Secret Service was transferred to Homeland Security after the 9/11 attacks.

TOBACCO

The budget proposes spinning off the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco center into a separate agency. The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products regulates traditional tobacco products and newer nicotine-based devices like electronic cigarettes.

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