BY BILL ESTEP [email protected]
Federal spending on safety-net programs, such as food stamps and health care for poor Kentuckians, would see significant cuts under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget.
The budget has not been released, but parts have surfaced in national media reports.
For instance, Trump proposes to cut spending on food stamps, formally called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, by 28.8 percent, according to a story in the Washington Post.
Trump proposes budgeting $478 billion for the program over 10 years. Without the cut, spending on SNAP is projected to total $672 billion in that time, the newspaper reported.
The program helps feed hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians. Enrollment in December 2015 was 647,056, for instance, according to the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Trump’s budget also would cut Medicaid, which provides health care for poor and disabled people, by 11.8 percent, the Post reported.
The proposal would reduce Medicaid spending to a total of $4.7 trillion over 10 years instead of a projected total of $5.3 trillion.
The number of low-income Kentuckians without health insurance has gone down sharply the last few years because of an expansion of Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, though many Republicans say the expensive expansion is unsustainable.
More than 1 million Kentuckians are covered by Medicaid.
Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, told the Post the budget proposal is focused on protecting taxpayer money and cutting spending on programs that are ineffective or encourage people not to work.
“We need people to go to work,” Mulvaney said. “If you are on food stamps and you are able-bodied, we need you to go to work. If you are on disability insurance and you are not supposed to be, you are not truly disabled, we need you to go back to work. We need everybody pulling in the same direction.”
Democrats have blasted the proposal, saying Trump seeks to reduce help to the most vulnerable Americans while seeking tax cuts for the wealthy.
Bill Estep: 606-678-4655, @billestep1