President Donald Trump’s final budget request for fiscal 2018 would allocate $607 billion in discretionary funds for defense and $560 billion in discretionary spending for nondefense programs, Federal News Radio reported Monday.The fiscal 2018 budget plan proposes to reduce spending by $3.6 trillion over 10 years and slash public debt to 60 percent of the gross domestic product.
The proposed budget would also cut nondefense discretionary spending by $54 billion in order to balance increases to the defense budget for fiscal 2018.
The report noted spending reductions would be derived from changes to several government programs such as Medicaid, Child Tax Credit, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Earned Income Tax Credit and student loan.
The Department of Homeland Security would get $2.6 billion in fiscal 2018 budget to hire staff and establish new infrastructure to support Trump’s plans along the southern border.
DoD Buzz also reports that Trump’s budget request would appropriate $603 billion in baseline budget for the Defense Department and allocate $65 billion for overseas contingency operations.
The proposed base defense budget includes $29 billion in funds for the Energy Department’s nuclear programs.
The Department of Veterans Affairs would get a 6 percent increase under the fiscal 2018 budget request in order to fund recruitment efforts and support the Choice Program’s expansion for private care, the report added.
