WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for next year calls for steep cuts to domestic spending, which if approved by Congress could gut an array of programs on Long Island aimed at helping low-income households and revitalizing aging infrastructure.
Trump’s budget plan, unveiled earlier this month, proposes slashing $163 billion in non-defense spending, or about 23% from current levels.
On Long Island, social service agencies are already bracing for cuts or the outright elimination of some programs, said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies.
“There’s nothing wrong with looking for ways to spend more efficiently and effectively,” Levy said in a phone interview. “But wholesale cuts, not only in money, but in the way it’s allocated, without any programmatic preparation, without some serious planning for alternatives, could be a disaster for local governments and the human service agencies that provide much of the services for them.”
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for next year calls for steep cuts to domestic spending, which if approved by Congress could gut an array of programs on Long Island aimed at helping low-income households and revitalizing aging infrastructure.
- Social service agencies on Long Island are already bracing for cuts or the outright elimination of some programs, said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban studies.
- The White House budget is typically regarded as a wish list that lays out the president’s priorities, but ultimately it’s up to lawmakers to negotiate how much of the president’s plan gets incorporated in spending bills.
The 46-page White House budget is typically regarded as a fiscal wish list that lays out the president’s spending priorities to Congress, but ultimately it’s up to lawmakers to negotiate how much of the president’s budget plan gets incorporated when drafting their spending bills for the upcoming year.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement shortly after Trump’s budget was released that she had “serious objections” to some of the funding cuts, but noted “The President’s Budget Request is simply one step in the annual budget process.”
“Ultimately, it is Congress that holds the power of the purse,” Collins said. “The Appropriations Committee has an aggressive hearing schedule to learn more about the president’s proposal and assess funding needs for the coming year.”
Here’s a look at some of the proposed cuts that could impact New York:
Energy assistance
Trump’s budget calls for the elimination of the decades-old Low Income Housing and Energy Assistance Program — known as LIHEAP — which provides households with financial assistance to pay for heating and cooling costs.
New York received about $400 million in federal funding to provide assistance for 1.8 million New York households enrolled in the program last year, The program typically issues a payment directly to the utility company.
In Nassau, 16,110 households were enrolled in the program, and in Suffolk 54,805 households were enrolled as of February, according to the most recent state data available.
The Trump Administration, in its budget proposal, took direct aim at New York and California, accusing the pair of blue states of implementing “anti-consumer policies that drive up home energy prices.”
Proponents of the program argue that it helps vulnerable families and seniors amid record high temperatures in the summer months, and record lows in the winter months.
“LIHEAP plays a vital role in helping New York families manage their energy costs — from heating expenses in the winter to cooling costs in the summer,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Suffern) wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services officials last month urging them to preserve the program. “The program supports our most vulnerable populations, including seniors, individuals with disabilities and households with young children under the age of 6.”
Revitalization grants
The Community Block Development Grant program that provides municipalities with funds to revitalize blighted and aging neighborhoods would be eliminated if Trump’s budget is approved.
New York received $320 million in CBDG grant funding last year, according to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Data. The money is meant to be used for community infrastructure projects including sewer upgrades, affordable housing programs and small business development projects.
Nassau County received $13.4 million in grant funding last year and Suffolk County received $1.3 million, according to HUD data. Several Suffolk towns also receive their own allocation, including Babylon which received $1.1 million, Brookhaven at $2.1 million, Huntington at $808,000 and Islip at $1.7 million, according to HUD.
The Trump Administration argues “this type of program is better funded and administered at the state and local level.” But advocates of the grant program, which was established in 1974 by Republican President Gerald Ford, argue municipalities with smaller tax bases will struggle to fill the gap in funding for critical projects.
Clean water
Last year, New York received a combined $662 million from two federal programs aimed at funding clean water projects, but the pair of programs would undergo a nearly 89% funding cut under Trump’s proposed budget.
New York received $368 million in funding from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and nearly $294 million from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, according to figures available on the Environmental Protection Agency website.
The Trump Administration’s budget asserts that states should be responsible for funding their own water infrastructure projects.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate minority leader, in a teleconference with reporters on Wednesday, argued that the programs are essential to ensure the state’s aging water infrastructure does not fall into disrepair.
“These cuts would leave communities high and dry when it comes to upgrading their water and sewage infrastructure,” Schumer said.
Next steps
Agency heads have started testifying before the House and Senate appropriation committees, and more will continue in the coming weeks to make the case for Trump’s spending cuts.
But not all agency heads may be on board — on Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel, who grew up in Garden City, told the House Appropriations Committee he believed the FBI should not face the $545 million in cuts proposed by The White House.
Patel told the panel the cuts could force him to lay off more than 1,000 agents: “I’m working through the appropriations process to explain why we need more than what has been proposed in that budget.”
A day later Patel appeared to walk back his push for more money, telling a Senate Appropriations subcommittee he would work with the money allocated in the White House plan. “As the head of the FBI,” Patel said, “I was simply asking for more funds because I can do more with more money.”
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
