Five things to watch for in Trump's 2020 budget

President Trump will release his budget proposal for fiscal 2020 on Monday.

The actual numbers will be set by Congress and with Democrats in control of the House, Trump's budget won't go far.

But the president's blueprint will be a guide to his agenda under the new divided Congress and a roadmap to the budget fights looming in the coming year and as attention shifts to the next election.

Here are five things to watch for in Trump's budget blueprint.

A big boost to defense spending

The Trump administration is set to propose another boost to defense spending, a move that will be cheered by Republicans.

But the hike comes through a tactic that Democrats have denounced as a "gimmick" they believe will allow damaging cuts to domestic programs.

The White House will propose increasing defense spending by boosting a Pentagon war fund, known as Overseas Contingency Operations — or OCO.

It's a way to meet the Republican priority of increasing military spending without raising the caps on spending that were set in 2011. The move is essentially aimed at increasing defense spending without also reaching a deal with Democrats to raise domestic spending.

The White House is touting the plan as a return to fiscal discipline.

But the Democratic House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) and Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) denounced a preview of the move as a “gimmick to prop up defense spending” that would “severely shortchange other investments vital to our national and economic security.”

OCO funds have been the subject of controversy in the past. The funds are intended to be used for the country's wars in the Middle East, but critics, including some Republicans, have derided it as a military slush fund.

Deep cuts to domestic spending

The flip side of the move to increase only defense spending is an expected deep cut to domestic spending.

Returning to the budget caps set in 2011 would mean a cut of $55 billion to domestic spending. And it’s possible the White House could propose additional cuts on top of that.

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC on Friday said to expect a "path towards lower deficits as a share of GDP" and a 5 percent reduction in domestic spending "across the board."

President Trump has not prioritized deficit reduction so far. But after the signing of a massive tax cut bill and increases in government spending, White House budget director Russ Vought sought to put a focus on the deficit in an op-ed last month.

He pointed out that the national debt is now over $22 trillion.

“Unfortunately, too many lawmakers on Capitol Hill don’t see this as a reason for caution,” he wrote. “They simply cannot admit that Washington has a spending problem and they have not worked with President Trump to address it.”

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said there needs to be a focus on the debt. But MacGuineas cautioned that the budget should avoid gimmicks and unattainable goals in favor of “savings that are likely to pass and likely to stay in place.”

The border wall

The budget will also be a key signal of how much harder Trump wants to push on his signature priority, the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump asking for a significant additional sum for the wall in his budget would be a sign that he intends to keep up his push for congressional funding even as he looks to make an end-run around lawmakers to begin work on the project.

Trump was rebuffed by Congress after he sought $5.7 billion for the wall. The impasse led to the longest government shutdown in recent history.

Trump eventually agreed to sign a spending deal reopening the government but without his wall funding. And he later took the extraordinary step of declaring a national emergency to help him access $8 billion in other funds for the wall.

The move also raised concerns from conservatives over the precedent Trump was establishing with an emergency declaration and from defense hawks who worried about redirecting money intended for military construction

The emergency declaration is already facing a legal challenge in the court and opponents in Congress have the votes to send a resolution blocking the emergency declaration to Trump's desk. They do not have the two-thirds votes needed though to overturn Trump's promised veto.

ObamaCare

While the legislative effort to repeal ObamaCare is dead, Democrats are eager to try score political points if Trump again calls for repealing the law in his budget.

“Despite the American people speaking out loud and clear against the GOP’s health care agenda last November, we may once again see an attempt to gut Americans’ health security through a repeal and replace provision,” House Budget Committee Democrats wrote on Thursday.

more: https://thehill.com/policy/finance/433308-five-things-to-watch-for-in-trumps-2020-budget

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https://twitter.com/hodgetwins/status/1104536957843955712

8 Americans among 157 killed in Ethiopia Airlines crash

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — An Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Ethiopia’s capital on Sunday morning, killing all 157 on board, authorities said, as grieving families rushed to airports in Addis Ababa and the destination, Nairobi. More than 30 nationalities were among the dead.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash of the Boeing 737-8 MAX plane, which was new and had been delivered to the airline in November. The pilot sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return, the airline’s CEO told reporters.

The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines, widely considered the best-managed airline in Africa, calls itself Africa’s largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent. It is known as an early buyer of new aircraft as it assertively expands.

The airline said 149 passengers and eight crew members were thought to be on the plane. Kenyans, Canadians, Chinese, Americans, Ethiopians, Italians, French, British, Egyptians, Indians, Slovakians and others were among the dead, said the airline’s CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam.

The plane crashed six minutes after departing Addis Ababa on its way to Kenya’s capital, plowing into the ground at Hejere near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Addis Ababa, at 8:44 a.m.

The airline later published a photo showing its CEO standing in the wreckage. Little of the plane could be seen in the freshly churned earth, under a blue sky.

The CEO “expresses his profound sympathy and condolences to the families and loved ones of passengers and crew who lost their lives in this tragic accident,” the post on social media said.

The plane had showed unstable vertical speed after takeoff, air traffic monitor Flightradar 24 said in a Twitter post. Visibility was clear.

The airline has said 157 people were thought to be on board. State broadcaster EBC reported that 33 nationalities were among the victims. The airline’s CEO said those included 32 Kenyans and nine Ethiopians.

Authorities said other victims include 18 Canadians; eight each from China, the United States and Italy; seven each from France and Britain; six from Egypt; five from the Netherlands and four each from India and Slovakia. Spain’s foreign ministry said two Spanish nationals were on the passenger list.

The Ethiopian prime minister’s office offered its “deepest condolences” to families. “My prayers go to all the families and associates of those on board,” Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said.

The Addis Ababa-Nairobi route links East Africa’s two largest economic powers and is popular with tourists making their way to safari and other destinations. Sunburned travelers and tour groups crowd the Addis Ababa airport’s waiting areas, along with businessmen from China and elsewhere.

At the airport in Nairobi, worried families gathered.

“I came to the airport to receive my brother but I have been told there is a problem,” Agnes Muilu said. “I just pray that he is safe or he was not on it.”

“Why are they taking us round and round, it is all over the news that the plane crashed,” said Edwin Ong’undi, who had been waiting for his sister. “All we are asking for is information to know about their fate.”

The Boeing 737-8 MAX was new, delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in mid-November, the airline’s CEO said. Its last maintenance was on Feb. 4 and it had flown just 1,200 hours. The pilot was a senior one, joining the airline in 2010, he said.

The Boeing 737-8 MAX was one of 30 being delivered to the airline, Boeing said in a statement in July when the first was delivered.

In a statement, Boeing said it was “deeply saddened” to hear of the crash and that a technical team was ready to provide assistance at the request of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

In October, another Boeing 737-8 MAX plunged into the Java Sea just minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, killing all 189 people on board the plane Lion Air flight. The cockpit data recorder showed that the jet’s airspeed indicator had malfunctioned on its last four flights, though Lion Air initially claimed that problems with the aircraft had been fixed.

https://whdh.com/news/8-americans-among-157-killed-in-ethiopia-airlines-crash/

>>5607180

>>5607194

Wondering this myself. Article says:

Kenyans, Canadians, Chinese, Americans, Ethiopians, Italians, French, British, Egyptians, Indians, Slovakians and others were among the dead, said the airline’s CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam.

I'm following the story closely.

>>5607317

>>5606774

what in the fuck did I just watch!!??