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Trump budget would hit Texas hard

Source: Houston Chronicle

President Donald Trump's first budget blueprint, released Thursday, would hit Texas' state and local finances hard if enacted as proposed, cutting deeply into housing and environmental programs as well as scientific and medical research that supports the state's health care and energy industries.

The proposal is likely to be changed dramatically by Congress, but it still drew outrage from Democratic leaders, city officials, and community advocates - and muted reactions from Republicans, who are walking a fine line between constituents and the White House.]

"It is important to keep in mind that the President's budget proposals are just the beginning of the negotiation process with Congress," said Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican representing a district between Houston and Austin. Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn did not return requests for comment.

Overall, Trump's $1.15 trillion budget strips $54 billion from discretionary programs - excluding entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, which constitute nearly three quarters of federal spending - and adds it to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

Read more: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/arti...008012.php

Ted Cruz usually makes a living of trying to out-crazy everyone so that he is called the extremist. It will be interesting to watch him try to argue that Trump should hammer Texas even harder with budget cuts to programs that Texans rely on.

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