Children’s Health Fund (CHF) joins children’s advocacy groups across the country in opposing President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 (FY 18) budget released yesterday.

“By taking away the safety-net programs that help children and families mitigate the impacts of poverty, the budget cuts proposed by the Trump Administration would result in a literal free-fall for poor kids” said Dennis Walto, CHF’s Executive Director, “…budget decisions made in Washington, DC reflect our values – is this really where we are as a country?  Are we in favor of tax cuts to wealthy Americans and paying for those cuts on the backs of America’s children? Congress must oppose any budget that puts the health and lives of children at risk.”

The proposed budget calls for of an additional 610 billion dollar cut to Medicaid on top of the more than 880 billion passed in the House version of the American Health Care act; that would potentially mean more than 1.4 trillion in cuts to Medicaid over the next 10 years. Medicaid provides health insurance to more than 35 million children in the United States – almost half the total number of children in the country – a majority of which are needy.

In addition, the proposed budget slashes Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — a bi-partisan program passed in 1997 to cover uninsured children from working class families who did not qualify for Medicaid – by 20 percent cut over the next two fiscal years; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — the nutritional program for needy families —  by over 190 billion dollars over 10 years.

Taken as a whole President Trump’s proposed FY 2018 budget is dangerous for America’s children. “As Congress considers the President’s budget, lawmakers must hold America’s children harmless and not force them to shoulder the burden of budget cuts. Failing to address the needs of our youngest and most vulnerable is immoral. It shatters the dreams of children, destabilizes families and threatens the long economic future of our nation” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, President of the Children’s Health Fund.