White House Budget Proposal |
The White House released its proposed fiscal year 2021 budget today, mirroring the administration's past proposals in making steep cuts to nondefense spending while boosting military funding. The total cost comes in at $4.8T with a projected deficit of $966B that shrinks to $261B by 2030 - though analysts say those numbers are based on an overly optimistic 3% annual growth and rely on cuts to food assistance and Medicaid. Federal agencies taking cuts include the Commerce Department (-37% compared to current funding), the EPA (-27%), and the State Department (-21%). The Pentagon will see a slight increase (+0.3%), while NASA (+12%) and Veterans Affairs (+13%) both receive a significant boost (see full budget). Like all presidential budgets, the proposal also serves as a value statement and is submitted to Congress for lawmakers to borrow from or discard as they develop a detailed budget over the summer. The federal budget process is complicated, but here is a great primer to get started. |