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Washington, D.C. — The spending cuts contained in the administration’s proposed budget for 2018 would weaken our nation’s ability to protect the vulnerable, advance science and respond to basic taxpayer needs, said National Treasury Employees Union National President Tony Reardon.

“You can learn a lot from a budget proposal, and this budget shows an administration that doesn’t believe in science and research, doesn’t believe in our nation’s social safety net, and doesn’t believe that federal employees make a valuable contribution to the welfare of the American people,” Reardon said.

This budget is based upon a premise that would require Congress to overhaul the current law that established budgetary caps between defense and non-defense spending. While military spending would soar, non-defense discretionary spending, which is already at historic lows, would be significantly reduced by 2 percent each year over the next 10 years.

“This budget threatens the very fabric of our country, and fails to adequately provide for our citizens’ needs.  Additionally, federal employees and retirees cannot continue to be the source of spending solutions for Congress,” said Reardon.

It also takes another swipe at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by threatening an additional $239 million in cuts that would eliminate 5,800 full-time employees. The IRS has already lost nearly $1 billion in funding over the last several years and 18,000 employees. The agency’s ability to provide taxpayer assistance would be even further diminished. Of the 5,800 positions that would be lost are 4,000 people whose job it is to help taxpayers.

“The proposed $239 million cut to the IRS is another example of short-sightedness,” President Reardon said. “How can we consider further hamstringing the agency responsible for collecting 93 percent of the money that keeps our country running? This only makes our country’s financial situation worse.”

In 2018 alone, the $54 billion in cuts to non-defense agencies would immediately force layoffs of federal employees around the country and shortchange those taxpayers who rely on them every day.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is among the hardest hit, where a $2.6 billion cut in the first year alone would eliminate 3,200 jobs.

“EPA is on the cutting edge of research into how our environment affects our health, and this is work that our government should encourage, not eliminate,” Reardon said. “Such reckless, indiscriminate cuts would also jeopardize the enforcement of laws designed to ensure clean air, clean water and shield us from hazardous waste.” 

At the Department of Energy, a funding reduction of 18 percent is proposed for the non-nuclear activities. The cuts target important science programs including a $900 million cut to the Office of Science. The proposal also ends an important weatherization program mostly used by senior citizens with modest incomes to help reduce their winter heating bills.  

“Some of the most cutting edge energy research is done by the dedicated civil servants at the DOE, and it is shocking that this budget devalues their work,” Reardon said. “The DOE is responsible for making the U.S. a leader in the global transition to a clean energy economy and making the U.S. more energy independent. Taxpayer investments in their work return billions worth of economic benefits, and slashing this agency is particularly misguided for an administration focused on economic growth.”  

The budget proposes a 31 percent cut in appropriations for the Food and Drug Administration with a plan to make this up with a $1 billion increase in user fees.  But congressional leaders have already rejected these user fee increases, leaving a $1 billion dollar hole in the FDA's budget, the agency responsible for insuring our food and medical products are safe.

NTEU members at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture are also troubled by the cuts to child nutrition and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. 

“Our members who help administer these programs know that these programs make a real difference to low-income children and families,” Reardon said.

In addition to the spending cuts, there is another implied threat in this budget proposal: a government shutdown.

“This budget is so extreme that it only increases the likelihood of a showdown with Congress,” Reardon said. “How will the administration and Congress find common ground on spending when the White House starts the negotiation from a point that is so unrealistic? When Congress appropriately rejects this budget and writes appropriation bills that are more in line with a normal government operating budget, I’m worried it could result in a veto.”

NTEU represents 150,000 employees at 31 federal agencies and departments.