BUDGET/DEMS/ENTITLEMENTS/GOP/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is preparing to submit to the U.S. Congress up to $25 billion in immediate spending cuts, including possible reductions to social safety net programs, lawmakers said on Wednesday [4-25-18], in a move that could upend a budget deal enacted last month.The White House plan, which has not yet been unveiled, would call on Congress to rescind funding already enacted into law. It likely would be submitted next month, sometime after a recess that ends on May 7. Veteran House of Representatives Republican Tom Cole told reporters that the package of proposed cuts was being scaled back from the $60 billion initially floated by the administration. He added that it could include cuts of funds appropriated for 2016 and 2017 that have not been spent. ‘And they’re also looking at some mandatory adjustments’ that Cole said ‘Democrats probably wouldn’t like’ but are outside the scope of a two-year budget deal enacted earlier this year. Mandatory programs include Social Security for retirees, Medicare and Medicaid healthcare for the elderly, disabled and poor and other welfare benefits. In its fiscal 2018 budget proposal, the Trump administration called for deep reductions in mandatory spending, totaling around $2 trillion over a decade.”
-Reuters Staff, “U.S. Congress girds for fight over expected Trump spending cuts,” Reuters, April 25, 2018 9:37 am