In order to fund his infamous border wall, Donald Trump is reportedly planning on slashing budgets for the Transportation Safety Administration and the Coast Guard, as reported by The Washington Post. In other words, Trump believes his wall will make the U.S. more secure, but the cuts he wants to make in order to fund the wall — as revealed by a draft plan — will undermine his goal.
The timeline for Trump’s great wall is forever being updated, with the start date being pushed and its price rising all the time, but Trump wants to offset the cost by plundering government departments that focus upon safety. The Post reveals that the TSA and Coast Guard are only a few areas where Trump wants to cut:
“The proposal, drawn up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also would slash the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides disaster relief after hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. The Coast Guard’s $9.1& billion budget in 2017 would be cut 14 percent to about $7.8 billion, while the TSA and FEMA budgets would be reduced about 11 percent each to $4.5 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively.”
These proposed cuts come as the Department of Homeland Security, which manages these departments, will see a 6.4 percent budget increase to $43.8 billion. Trump looks like he’s all-in to protect our southern border, while possibly neglecting other sections of the country.
While Trump’s efforts are aimed at keeping “bad hombres” out, some feel it could jeopardize the country’s safety. Nick Crossly, vice president of the International Association of Emergency Managers, says cutting funds could be “catastrophic:”
“When you propose not just cuts but draconian cuts, your ability to respond to a disaster can cause lives to be lost and property to be damaged…Defense and security at the border are important. But you’re damaging the national system that makes us the strongest country when it comes to being prepared for disasters.”
The Post reports that $2.9 billion of the DHS budget will go to the wall’s construction, with $285 million set aside to pay for Border Patrol agents and additional ICE staff. No word yet if part of that money will fund the rumored transparent sections of the wall.
(Via The Washington Post)