Do You Support Trump’s Budget Request for $8.6 Billion in Wall Funding?

What’s the story?

• President Donald Trump’s 2020 fiscal year budget includes a request for $8.6 billion in additional funding for a border wall. The request is about 6 percent more than Trump has corralled via his emergency order.
• The record $4.75 trillion budget also proposes a 5 percent increase in military spending (including funds for Trump’s Space Force) and deep cuts to domestic programs like education and environmental protections. The proposed budget would balance in 15 years.

What are both sides saying?

Proponents of the wall

• White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox News over the weekend that the “the whole issue of the wall and border security is of paramount importance. We have a crisis down there. I think the president has made that case very effectively."  
• Kudlow said Trump was expecting another budget fight, like that which resulted in a five-week partial government shutdown.

“I suppose there will be... He’s going to stay with his wall and he’s going to stay with the border security theme. I think it’s essential.”

Critics of the wall

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared the budget DOA on Sunday.

“Congress refused to fund his wall, and he was forced to admit defeat and reopen the government,” they said in a joint statement. “The same thing will repeat itself if he tries this again. We hope he learned his lesson.”

What do you think?

Do you support Trump’s request for $8.6 billion in funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr)