Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s budget proposal released this morning:
“This budget is a moral affront to all Americans who believe that we should be creating ladders of opportunity, investing in our communities, and building an economy that works for everyone. President Trump and his Administration would rather waste billions on an ineffective border wall than invest in our children and our middle class. These egregious cuts will cost us thousands of jobs, irreparably harm the American economy, and threaten our national security.
“Trump’s budget will harm Nevada in myriad of ways and I will vehemently oppose it at every step. Alone, his proposal to invest in Yucca Mountain is a nonstarter – it is dead, it has been for years, and that will not change. Unfortunately, the absurdity of this proposal does not stop there: cuts to the EPA will harm Nevada’s natural lands, public health, and economy; cuts to the Department of Education will eliminate essential programs and grants that ensure all children regardless of race, income, or zip code are getting quality education; cuts to Department of Energy will slash initiatives focusing on renewable energy and solar projects, as well as all funding for programs assisting our Native Tribes; housing cuts will push Nevada families, the elderly, and people with disabilities out of affordable housing and into homelessness. And President Trump has shown he is nothing but empty promises and bloated rhetoric when it comes to investing in infrastructure: his budget cuts billions in funding for investment in current and future transportation and water needs, and harms our rural communities when we should be assisting them.
“Instead of ramping up spending to address the phantom threat of immigrants, we should be investing in our communities, our middle class, and our children. President Trump’s budget proposal is just another manifesto of the misguided beliefs he touted on the campaign trail and shows he has no intention of fulfilling his inane promise to ‘Make America Great Again.’ Despite what President Trump may think, Congress has final say on our national budget and Senate Democrats are going to ensure that his egregious proposals go nowhere.”
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