Over the past few months, President Trump has made drastic changes to the national budget. His changes increased spending to the point that another government shutdown was a possibility. The last shutdown was in 2013 and lasted 17 days. Another shutdown would result in thousands of workers not being paid until the funding was resumed. For now, President Trump and Congress have put a temporary spending bill in place which will keep the government functioning until May 6 as they try to find a fix for the budget.
Michael Meyer, senior, said, “The government needs to make sure its budget can handle all the programs before they start trying to create new ones or replace others. There have already been cuts that have resulted in scholarships being taken from students, and a shutdown would only make things worse.”
After much negotiation, the Trump administration decided they would stop threats to end Obamacare until they come up with an official health care plan. They also agreed the government will not fund the building of a wall on the U.S. and Mexico border. Trump’s plans to increase military spending by $30 billion also might change. Due to these recent issues, he might have to reduce the amount he plans to add to the defense spending, or not increase it at all.
These attempts by Trump to keep his promises from his election campaign, along with the fighting over some of the programs put in place by the Obama administration, are the reasons for the thin budget. The government will need to plan carefully, and their current goal is to avoid the shutdown and then move on to what they will need to do for the future. Cam Peer, senior, said, “Trump can keep his promises and do what he wants: he just needs to slow down and make sure everything will be fine before he puts things into action. Holding off on funding the wall will be a good step.”
