Trump budget calls for steep cuts to many programs that benefit rural areas - Entrepreneur Generations

President Trump's proposed $4.8 trillion budget for Fiscal Year 2021 won't get passed as-is, especially in the Democrat-led House, but it's instructive to see what his priorities are as he attempts to woo rural voters for his reelection campaign. Here are some of the details with rural resonance:

The proposed budget "once again calls for steep cuts to federal spending that supports rural communities," Bryce Oates reports for The Daily Yonder. That includes an 8 percent cut in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's discretionary budget—a $2 billion cut that mostly targets nutrition and food security programs, though farming, conservation and rural economic development programs are also cut.

Specifically, Trump proposes cutting funding for the Economic Research Service by 35%, from this year's $84 million to $62 million. The Rural Business and Cooperative Programs, would lose 97% of funding, from $94 million to $3 million. The budget would also eliminate the USDA Single Family Housing Direct Loans program, funded this year at $90 million, and would provide the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network only $2 million for local farm financial stress counseling—$8 million less than the 2018 Farm Bill's minimum, Oates reports.

"The budget proposes $44 million in distance learning and telemedicine grants, with 20% dedicated to projects that 'combat the opioid crisis and keep rural communities safe,'' Oates reports. "It provides $614 million in funding for water and wastewater grants and loans, $5.5 billion in electric loans, and $690 million in telecommunications loans, $2.5 billion for community facility direct loans and $500 million for guaranteed loans. The budget also provides $1.5 billion for business and industry guaranteed loans, a $500 million increase over current levels paid for by increased lending fees."

The budget calls for spending reductions over the next decade by cutting spending on school meal programs for the poor, large cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through work requirements, more than $9 billion in cuts to farm conservation programs, and increasing user fees for food safety inspections, Oates reports.

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