WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), today released the following statement following the announcement of President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 (FY 18) budget.

“After eight years of little-to-no economic growth, our government agencies are bloated, wasting taxpayer dollars to enforce duplicative, over-reaching regulations, all while our national debt has grown to almost $20 trillion. The president’s budget, which balances spending and reduces debt, takes a sharp turn away from the wasteful policies of the past administration and ensures taxpayer dollars are used wisely and on policies that will have meaningful impacts for all Americans.” 

“I often say that there’s an old, worn-out document that no one reads anymore called the Constitution which assigns lawmakers in Congress to do two things, defend the country and provide for our infrastructure. The budget includes $639 billion for the Department of Defense, a significant boost that our military desperately needs as we continue to fulfill the president’s promise of rebuilding our troops. The budget also paves a path to meet the goal of one trillion dollars in infrastructure investments.” 

“In his FY18 Budget, Trump, who in just his first few months has taken a strong stance against overregulation at the hands of Washington bureaucrats, generates opportunities for increased economic prosperity and job creation without the burden of red tape. Notably, the president has proposed a 30 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency—one of, if not the most, bloated federal agencies. This cut to EPA will right-size the agency and return the focus to protecting air, land and water instead of churning out regulations.” 

“I am pleased with the president’s budget proposal and I am glad to be working in a Washington that is once again prioritizing economic success, a strong military and a government that is more accountable but less intrusive.” 

Background

Defense

• Brings total U.S. military investment to $6.7 trillion over next 10 years—reversing the defense sequester and is fully offset by reductions in non-defense discretionary spending. This includes a $52 billion increase to the Department of Defense (DOD) in FY 18, bringing total DOD spending to $639 billion.
• Adds 56,400 in total force end strength over Obama’s budget and increases overall end strength by 11,000 over FY 17 NDAA levels.
• Adds 84 fighter aircraft—including 70 Joint Strike Fighters and 14 FA-18 Super Hornets—and eight battle force ships. 

Infrastructure

• Supports $1 trillion in infrastructure investments through a combination of new federal funding and incentivized non-federal funding. 

Border Security

• Includes an additional $2.6 billion for border security. This includes $1.6 billion for border wall.
• Includes $300 million to hire and recruit staff at Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
• Adds $1.5 billion for expanded detention, transportation and removal of illegal aliens.

 Budget and Taxes

• Reduces wasteful spending by $3.6 trillion and balances the budget within 10 years.
• Simplifies tax code by reducing number of tax brackets from seven to three and lowers business tax rate to 15 percent.
• Abolishes death tax, which penalizes farmers and small business owners who want to pass their family enterprises on to their children. 

Regulatory Reform

• Includes Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions passed in the 115^th Congress, saving taxpayers between $600 million and $1.2 billion per year. 

Veterans

• Requests $78.9 billion in discretionary funding for VA, a $4.4 billion, or 6 percent, increase over FY 17 to improve patient access to medical care for over nine million veterans.
• Includes $3.5 billion for continuation of Veteran’s Choice Program.