White House Releases President’s Budget Plan

This week, the White House released President Trump’s budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. This document outlines the Administration’s spending priorities for the coming fiscal year, including federal programs that support education, workforce training, and human services. Though Congress has the final say on funding decisions through its annual appropriations bills, the President’s budget plan paints a bleak picture for many of the key programs that assist local Goodwill organizations in delivering vital services to their communities.

The Trump Administration is seeking a 5 percent cut to overall funding for domestic discretionary programs, including a 10 percent cut for the Department of Labor and a 12 percent reduction to the Department of Education. Specifically, the budget proposes to eliminate funding for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which helps low-income older workers with community service employment and private sector job placement services (Goodwill Industries International is a national SCSEP grantee).

The budget plan requests level funding for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) youth, adult, and dislocated worker state grants, as well as the career and technical education state grant program. Funding for YouthBuild would be cut by $5 million and Adult Education state grants would see a $156 million reduction under the President’s budget.

The Department of Labor’s signature investment in apprenticeships would receive $160 million again in FY 2020, with a particular focus on expanding industry-recognized apprenticeship programs for in-demand fields. Additionally, the Administration is seeking policy changes and reductions in spending for a range of human service programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and Medicare.

We will continue to engage our Goodwill advocates throughout the FY 2020 funding process to urge lawmakers to invest in the critical federal programs that support our mission.