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Many federal employees—and others—are anxious about the dramatic cuts to agencies proposed by President Trump in his budget blueprint for the remainder of fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2018. It’s important to remember that the President’s blueprint is just a kickoff to the budget process.
The document is the first step in lengthy negotiations between the White House and members of Congress over how to allocate funding. Ultimately, Congress decides how much money to spend and what to spend it on. The federal budgeting process play out for months, until funding for the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.
But first, Congress must pass a measure to keep the government running past April 28, when funding for the current fiscal year runs out.
The White House will release a more detailed spending proposal for FY 18 in May. The current budget proposals contain almost no details on what offices and program accounts the recommended cuts come from within departments—for both the remainder of fiscal years 2017 and 2018.
Many in Congress are already voicing significant concerns with these spending recommendations, which will also require amending the current sequestration law. NTEU is on the forefront on Capitol Hill speaking out on the importance of your agencies and your programs to the American people, and we will keep working to secure your jobs.