Tester decries Trump's budget cuts

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said Wednesday he is concerned about the negative impact President Donald Trump’s proposed budget could have on rural Montana.

“He used a chainsaw where he should have been using a scalpel,” Tester said. “I know we need to get our fiscal house in order, there is no doubt about that, but we cannot balance the budget on the back of rural America.”

Last month, Trump unveiled his first budget proposal for FY 2018. It includes a $54 billion hike in defense spending and money to construct a wall on the U.S. southern border, but cuts spending in other departments and eliminates some programs.

The  Department of Transportation will absorb a $2.4 billion, or 13 percent cut, Trump’s budget proposal says.

Essential Air Service, a program under the Department of Transportation that subsidizes commercial airlines serving small airports around the nation including in Havre, would receive no funding.

“The budget eliminates Essential Air, and that’s a problem,” Tester said.

Essential Air was created in the late 1970s after the deregulation of airlines to ensure communities in remote areas with small airports have access to some commercial flights.

Tester said people in rural and frontier communities rely on Essential Air, especially when an individual suffers a heart attack or stroke and needs to be transported to a larger hospital to receive proper care.

Amtrak’s long-distance train services would also be affected.

Tester said Amtrak would be cut to the point where long-distance train services, such as the Empire Builder, which runs from Chicago and through communities along the Hi-Line to Seattle and Portand, Oregon, would be eliminated.

There is debate about whether the budget would eliminate the Empire Builder, Tester said. However, he said, the Empire Builder would  likely be subject to cuts before Amtrak services in the northeastern United States would be.

Trump’s budget proposal also calls for a 21 percent, or a $4.7 billion, decrease in funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Such cuts would  mean longer lines and less workers at Farm Service Agencies, Tester said.

Community Development Block Grants, often used for economic development in rural areas, would also be eliminated, Tester said.

Chances are slim Trump’s budget in its current form will actually become law, Tester said. Congress will be able to restore funding for Amtrak and other programs, but the problem is with the size and scope of the cuts faced by departments across the board is to see where lawmakers will be able to find the money, he said.

He added that is what makes the proposed cuts to Essential Air different from those which were discussed, but not acted on, three or four years ago.

Tester said he is going to work to try to educate Trump about the impacts his budget decisions could have on rural communities, something Trump might not know about given that he is from New York City.

“He might not understand the Empire Builder, which does cost taxpayers a few bucks but has incredible economic opportunity to the northern tier,” Tester said.