Members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation slammed President Donald Trump’s proposed budget Tuesday, saying it cuts critical programs for the poor and working class, such as Medicaid and food subsidies, to fund tax breaks for the rich, echoing a chorus of criticism from Democratic colleagues in Washington.
The proposed 2018 fiscal year budget would also eliminate federal funding for Hawaii’s East-West Center, the University of Hawaii’s Sea Grant program and Native Hawaiian education and housing programs.
Overall, Hawaii could lose tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for a wide range of programs, though Congress is expected to heavily amend the budget and even some Republicans have indicated skittishness when it comes to some of the deep cuts to social programs.
Trump’s budget, unveiled Tuesday and titled “A New Foundation for American Greatness,” emphasizes national security and increased controls on illegal immigration, while calling on the need to rein in federal spending on safety-net programs for the poor.
Trump hopes to increase military spending by 10 percent and pour $2.6 billion into border security, including $1.6 billion to begin work on his proposed wall along the southern border to “stem the flow of people, drugs and other illicit material,” according to his budget.
Trump has also inserted $300 million into his spending plan to hire 500 new border patrol agents and 1,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
“In these dangerous times, our increased attention to public safety and national security sends a clear message to the world — a message of American strength and resolve,” Trump says in a preamble to his budget.
Impacts to Hawaii
Some of the proposed cuts, such as zeroing out federal funding for the East-West Center and UH’s Sea Grant program, were expected after Trump released his so-called skinny budget in March, which outlined his budget priorities.
Trump has also proposed eliminating tens of millions in federal funding that the state has been receiving annually under the Native Hawaiian Education Program. For 2015 the state received $32.4 million in funding for 11 programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Funding for the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant Program would also be eliminated. In the 2017 fiscal year, Hawaii received $2 million from the housing program.
Flights to and from Kalaupapa on Molokai and Waimea on Hawaii island could also be in trouble under Trump’s proposal, which cuts the Essential Air Service program by half. The federal program was established to ensure that small communities retained air transportation after the airlines were deregulated.
The state would also lose millions of dollars in funding that has gone toward anti-poverty programs, rural water and wastewater infrastructure, low-income housing projects and student loans.
Likely the most controversial of Trump’s proposals is slashing Medicaid spending by $610 billion over the next decade, something he said he wouldn’t do during his campaign. The program covers health care costs for the poor and disabled, as well as costs for seniors that aren’t picked up by Medicare.
About 350,000 Hawaii residents depend on Medicaid, including about one-third of the state’s children.
Under Trump’s budget plan, states would be given the choice of a per-capita cap on Medicaid payments or a block grant, thus “empowering states to innovate and prioritize Medicaid dollars to the most vulnerable populations.”
Members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation say that when paired with the Republican plan to repeal Obamacare, the cuts would be devastating for those who rely on the public health insurance program.
Hawaii’s Department of Human Services, which administers the state’s Medicaid program, said it’s too early in the congressional budget process to provide details on how the cuts could specifically play out in Hawaii.
“Because the proposed budget is one step in a long legislative process, we’re likely to see changes as deliberations continue,” said Keopu Reelitz, a spokeswoman for the department, by email.
Trump has also proposed cutting $191 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, currently known as SNAP and formerly called food stamps, which helps about 170,000 people in Hawaii afford food.
Trump says the cuts will result from closing “eligibility loopholes,” targeting benefits to the neediest households and requiring “able-bodied adults to work.”
Rep. Bob McDermott, one of the few Republicans in the state Legislature, said he supported the cut.
“Food stamps went wild under Obama,” McDermott said.
“Part of it too is a cultural shift in the ideology of Americans. Americans used to be ashamed to ask for help or get food stamps,” he continued. “It was looked at as an embarrassment. Now it’s looked at as free money.”
About two-thirds of SNAP recipients nationally are children, seniors or disabled, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C.-based, nonpartisan policy institute. In the 2016 fiscal year, the average household relying on SNAP funds received about $255 a month.
A promise to fight
The four members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation, all of whom are Democrats, released strongly worded statements in opposition to the budget Tuesday.
“I will fight tooth and nail in opposition to these dangerous and devastating cuts to programs Hawaii families depend on every day,” said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, who is on the Senate Appropriations Committee, suggested that many of the cuts wouldn’t make it past Congress.
The budget proposal “is not just radical, it’s cruel,” Schatz said in a news release. “But make no mistake — this budget is dead on arrival.”
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa said that Trump clearly hadn’t listened to the people, as his budget “is a reincarnation of his skinny budget, reflecting his complete disregard for the elderly, sick, disabled and working families.”
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also derided the budget during a speech on the House floor, saying she looked forward “to working with my colleagues in Congress to pass a budget that actually serves the people and our planet.”
