Trump is asking Congress to claw back $15 billion from children's health, ObamaCare

Trump speaks about his infrastructure plan

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 8 May 2018

On Tuesday, President Trump will ask Congress to claw back $15 billion in previously approved spending, with $7 billion of that coming from the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), $4.2 billion from a vehicle technology program, $800 million from a health care innovation center created under the Affordable Care Act, and the rest from more than 30 other domestic programs. The "recission" request, which can pass with a simple majority, is expected to be approved by the House though its fate in the Senate is unclear. The last president to request a recission of previously appropriated funds was Bill Clinton, whose three requests totaled $128 million.

Trump is responding to outrage from conservatives over the $1.3 trillion spending package he signed March. This request would not touch that spending package, but the White House says Trump will soon request clawing back domestic appropriations from that law, too. A White House official described this first request as reclaiming pots of money that "are just sitting in accounts" unused.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Since becoming president, Trump enacted a massive tax cut for corporations and many individuals that is projected to add at least $1.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade (plus additional interest costs), according to the Congressional Budget Office. Then Congress and the president agreed to a two-year budget deal that will add $300 billion more to America's debt, the CBO says. After approving an additional $1,600,000,000 in spending since December alone, Trump now wants to cut $15,000,000 (or 0.9 percent). [The Washington Post]

"This is not a deficit reduction exercise, but more of a public relations exercise to soothe the base and convince them that the White House is fiscally responsible," G. William Hoagland, a former Senate budge director now at the Bipartisan Policy Center, tells Politico.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.