Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) expressed his concern about President Trump’s budget cuts to Texas infrastructure, education, agriculture, business, and other vital programs:

“The people of Texas’ 28^th district will suffer if President Trump’s budget cuts are forced through Congress,” said Congressman Cuellar.

For example, in Webb County alone, students at Texas A&M International, Laredo Community College, and Laredo Beauty College will lose nearly a million dollars in grants that help pay tuition.

As billions of dollars are suddenly ripped away from Texas, jobs and even entire industries will be at risk. When companies close down and citizens look for new employment, they’ll find that President Trump eliminated job re-training and placement programs. If they try to start their own businesses instead, they’ll find that President Trump cut the loan and investment programs entrepreneurs need.

If they fall into homelessness, they’ll find President Trump ended the programs to help shelter and feed their children. If they are in a rural area, those children may get sick from untreated sewage and dangerous drinking water, since President Trump cut support for rural utilities. And they will struggle to break out of poverty through education, as President Trump cut funding for before- and after-school programs, and for college tuition assistance.

President Trump says he wants to make America great again. But this future doesn’t seem like America to me.” 

Attached is a document listing anticipated cuts specific to Webb County and Laredo. 

Trump’s budget cuts more than $18 million from Texas’ homeland security, more than $550 million from our economic and business programs, and more than $225.8 million from our local education.

Republican leaders are also criticizing President Trump’s budget. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), the former Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement: “many of the reductions and eliminations proposed in the President’s skinny budget are draconian, careless and counterproductive.”

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, current Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, also issued a statement reminding the public that Congress, not the President, has the power of the purse.

Please see attached document for cuts specific to Laredo and Webb County.

Below, we have shared a breakdown of some expected cuts to Texas*.

Flexible Funds Cities and Counties Need

The Community Development Block Grant program, which annually provides flexible funds to Texas communities, is being eliminated. In 2016, that program provided:

·         $11,457,418 to San Antonio, TX

·         $2,180,749 to Bexar County, TX

·         $3,436,805 to Laredo, TX

·         $904,240 to Mission, TX

·         $7,226,312 to Hidalgo County, TX

More than $18 billion in cuts to national security programs in Texas

·         -$5,374,500 from the State Homeland Security Program, which defends our whole state from terrorism

·         -$9,748,750 from the Urban Area Security Initiative, which specifically helps secure high-threat, high-density urban areas that are more vulnerable to terrorism

·         -$2,661,957 from the Port Security Grant Program

·         -$304,528 from the Transit Security Grant Program, which secures our transportation infrastructure

More than $21.5 million from programs to help working class and poor families

·         -$9,672,433 from the Emergency Food and Shelter Board Program, which helps homeless families get temporary food and shelter

·         -$31,196,205 from the Legal Services Corporation, which provides attorneys to people who can’t afford them, including more than 6,000 veterans in Texas last year

More than $550 million from programs for jobs, our economy, and businesses

·         -$181,018 from job training programs, which last year helped more than 500,000 Texans prepare for jobs in the new economy

·         -$6,700,881 from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which helps small and medium sized manufacturing businesses in Texas to become more globally competitive, and which last year led to $269,142,842 in new sales and more than 2,700 new jobs

·         -$14,917,940 from the Economic Development Program, which created or preserved an estimated 2,312 Texas jobs this year

·         The entire budget of our Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), which invested $258.5 million in Texas small businesses and communities in 2016

More than $225.8 million from education

·         -$103,166,330 from before-school and after-school programs, which 103,166 Texas children will lose access to in 2018 under the cuts

·         -$91,059,376 from Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, which helped 67,489 Texas students afford college in 2015-2016

·         -$31,620,577 from arts and humanities education

Rural programs entirely eliminated

·         The Essential Air Service, which helps small airports in remote rural areas stay open, and which serves 3,761 Texas passengers per year

·         The USDA rural water and waste program, which treats sewage and cleans drinking water in rural areas. Texas communities got $97,047,155 in 2016.

·         Rural Utilities Service Grants, which provided about $14,000,000 in grants to Texas in 2015

Clean water on the border endangered

·        Complete elimination of the EPA’s State and Tribal Assistance Grants to the U.S.-Mexico border, which supports clean drinking water, wastewater treatment, and other environmental programs necessary for health and safety. Border communities (including TX and other border states) relied on $10 million of these funds last year.

*Data primarily from the Committee on Appropriations – Democrats analysis. PDF provided with this release. All figures are approximate.

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