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Velazquez on Trump’s Budget

March 16, 2017

Velázquez on Trump’s Budget

Washington, DC –Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement regarding the release of President Trump's budget today:

"Donald Trump campaigned on promises of standing for working people. This budget makes a mockery of those claims and makes clear where the Administration's real priorities lie.

"Among other travesties, this budget would eviscerate the Environmental Protection Agency, reducing its resources by 31% and hobbling it from enforcing rules that keep our water safe to drink and our air breathable. Shortchanging the agency in this regard would hamper its ability to tackle the growing dangers of climate change.

"For New Yorkers, this budget would undercut support for vital housing services. By slashing the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Administration would harm the New York City Housing Authority and prevent it from making badly needed infrastructure repairs and upgrades. For the 400,000 New Yorkers that call NYCHA units home, this underfunding constitutes a direct assault on their housing and quality of life. The budget even eliminates the Community Development Block Grant initiative, slashing support for programs like ‘Meals on Wheels' that benefit some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

"In almost every significant domestic policy area, the Trump budget would make life harder for working families. Public education funding would be reduced. Transportation services would be scaled back or become more expensive. Internationally, by weakening programs at the State Department, the Budget would jeopardize our national security.

"At the end of the day, this budget is an attack on the values that Americans hold dear. In that regard, I am glad that several Republican Members of Congress have already called it ‘dead on arrival.' I plan to hold them to that and work with all my colleagues to fund priorities important to all Americans."