The Office of Management and Budget released President Trump’s “America First” budget blueprint for discretionary spending earlier this morning. Overall, it increases spending on defense, veterans’ health, immigration enforcement and combatting opioid abuse while decreasing civilian discretionary spending. Hardest hit are programs such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Legal Services Corporation, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which were cut completely from the budget. The Environmental Protection Agency and State Department received deep cuts, which will reduce foreign aid. The Department of Labor will have its budget reduced by about one-fifth.
The Budget document provides the following introduction to the DOL appropriation request:
The Department of Labor fosters the welfare of wage earners, job seekers, and retirees by safeguarding their working conditions, benefits, and wages. With the need to rebuild the Nation’s military without increasing the deficit, this Budget focuses the Department of Labor on its highest priority functions and disinvests in activities that are duplicative, unnecessary, unproven, or ineffective.
The President’s 2018 Budget requests $9.6 billion for the Department of Labor, a $2.5 billion or 21 percent decrease from the 2017 annualized CR level.
The President would totally eliminate the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which retrains unemployed older workers for unsubsidized private sector jobs on the basis that it is ineffective. It closes underperforming Job Corps Centers, although it does not specify which ones. The budget would limit the Department’s International activity to ensuring that American Workers are protected under trade arrangements. While reducing federal subsidies for job training and employment service grants to states (in favor of greater reliance on state and local government and employer funding), it increases support for “evidence-based” apprenticeship programs to prepare individuals for jobs. Finally, it eliminates OSHA training grants, so that the agency can focus on its core mission of worker safety.
Overall, the cuts do not appear to drastically reduce the ability of the DOL to conduct its investigation and enforcement activities as much as might have been expected. There is much yet to be determined, however, and the budget process is likely to lead to substantial changes in the budget. It is clear, however, that the Trump Administration is prepared to make major cuts in civilian discretionary spending in order to increase funding for border security and military capacity.