Trump asks for "sharp increases" in defense spending and "major cuts" to agencies, including EPA [View all]

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/26/us/politics/trump-budget.html
Trump to Ask for Sharp Increases in Military Spending, Officials Say
By GLENN THRUSH and KATE KELLY | FEB. 26, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a budget for the coming fiscal year that would include sharp increases in Defense Department spending; major cuts to other agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency; and no reductions to the largest entitlement programs, Social Security and Medicare, according to four senior administration officials.

The outline, drafted by the Office of Management and Budget director, Mick Mulvaney, is the first volley to the federal agencies. Departments will have several days to comment on the plan, and congressional leaders will be alerted ahead of Mr. Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

In putting together their budget plans, White House officials are operating under the assumption that the rate of the United States’ economic growth this year will be 2.4 percent, slightly ahead of current projects but well below the 3 percent growth that President Trump promised during the campaign, according to one person who has been briefed on the matter.

For next year, the operating assumption is only slightly higher, that person added.