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Meng Issues Statement Opposing Trump Budget Proposal

March 16, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) today issued the following statement opposing President Trump's budget proposal.
"As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, there is absolutely no way I can support President Trump's budget request as it stands. His budget claims to put "America First," but I fail to see how slashing funding by $54 billion for our most vulnerable citizens is patriotic. The budget calls for a complete elimination of essential programs such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps low income families, particularly those with children or senior citizens in the home, with energy costs during cold winter and hot summer months. This program provides critical heating and cooling support to over 1 million New York households. Other programs will have their funding restricted, such as the Meals on Wheels program, which provides food to impoverished older and disabled Americans who can't leave their homes.
Every single American would be negatively impacted in some way by this budget, whether it be through the elimination of community development programs that assist at-risk communities both rural and urban; deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health, which conducts research to find cures for devastating diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease; continued exposure to toxic waste due to slashed funding for the Environmental Protection Agency that cleans up these waste sites; or the termination of before- and after-school programs, particularly in high poverty areas.
My constituents deserve better than this budget. America deserves better than this budget. And I will not stop until I see something workable on the table."