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Icy reception to Trump budget from fellow Republicans

ERICA WERNER,Associated Press 1 hour 56 minutes ago .


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WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump's first budget proposal got an icy recept
ion on Capitol Hill Tuesday, and that was just from the Republicans.
Longtime GOP Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky declared proposed cuts to safety net an
d environmental proposals "draconian."
"I don't think the president's budget is going anywhere," said Republican Sen. B
ill Cassidy of Louisiana, asked if he's concerned about the message sent by slas
hing the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled.
GOP Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina questioned the rosy economic projections
that allow the budget to balance over a decade even without touching Social Sec
urity or Medicare.
"Part of what's going on here is supposedly you can put these different pieces o
f the puzzle together in a way that you don't touch entitlements, but the realit
y is you can't," Sanford said. "So it creates a lie that we all then either addr
ess or don't address, but it makes for a make-believe debate that I find frustra
ting."
GOP Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, a senior lawmaker, said border security is impo
rtant, but questioned the need for $1.6 billion to be spent on Trump's border wa
ll.
"I thought Mexico was going to pay for the wall, why is this in our budget?" Upt
on remarked, only partly joking. He went on to say he was concerned about billio
ns being cut from medical research, and elimination of a Great Lakes cleanup fun
d supported by lawmakers of both parties.
"But you know it's only a proposal, it never gets to his desk," Upton added.
Every presidential budget is merely an administration's statement of priorities,
and there is never any expectation it will survive Congress intact. Even so, th
e GOP backlash to Trump's budget was striking, as few lawmakers apart from the t
op leaders in the House and Senate seemed inclined to give the president much de
ference. That could have something to do with Trump's low approval ratings and t
he scandal over potential Russia collusion that has beset his young administrati
on.
Several GOP lawmakers also complained that the administration made little or no
effort to consult with them before putting forward a roster of cuts that Congres
s would clearly find unacceptable. These include slashing agriculture spending f
or crop insurance and food stamps; a cut of more than 30 percent for the State D
epartment; as well as billions in cuts to an array of other domestic programs fr
om Superfund cleanup spending to student loans.
"You would hope that they would want to ask the folks who know the most about it
," said Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee,
adding he and his staff were not consulted.

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