Donald Trump releases 2020 budget proposal, seeks billions for border wall

US President Donald Trump on Monday presented to Congress a budget proposal for fiscal year 2020. The plan seeks billions more in funding for the controversial border wall. In budget blueprint, the Trump administration plans to cut non-defence domestic spending by 5 percent over the next year, or a nearly 30-billion-dollar reduction, involving programs on education, health care and environment protection. The budget roadmap would increase defence spending by nearly 5 percent to 750 billion dollars from 716 billion dollars in fiscal year 2019.

The proposals are likely to resistance from Democrats, especially coming off a partial shutdown triggered by a border wall dispute that only ended when Trump declared a national emergency over immigration.

“In the last two years, President Trump and this Administration have prioritized reining in reckless Washington spending. The Budget that we have presented to Congress and the American people, “A Budget for a Better America,” embodies fiscal responsibility, and takes aim at Washington’s waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Acting Director Vought. “Our national debt nearly doubled under the previous Administration and now stands at more than $22 trillion. This Budget shows that we can return to fiscal sanity without halting our economic resurgence while continuing to invest in critical priorities. President Trump’s Budget for 2020 will balance in 15 years, end runaway spending, and secure prosperity for future generations,” according to the White House press release.

The budget plan foresees a 1.1-trillion-dollar deficit in 2019, 2020 and 2021, and a 1-trillion-dollar deficit in 2022. The administration predicts that the United States will return to budget balance in 2034.

The White House projected that the government will pay 482 billion dollars on interest payments for the debt next year. "If nothing is done, interest payments alone on the Federal Government's debt will double by 2023 and exceed spending on the U.S. military by 2024," the budget document asserted. 

The administration official said the White House believes it is important to engage the appropriators in the national defence authorization process in a transparent manner, and "to be able to transparently put forward money that we would anticipate being drawn down from military construction accounts."