Trump’s 2020 budget delayed by shutdown

President Trump will not present his budget proposal for the 2020 fiscal year as planned next week in the wake of the partial government shutdown, which left many workers from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) furloughed.

“It should come as no surprise, we won’t be transmitting the president’s budget next week,“ said a senior OMB Official. “OMB is working on a revised schedule and will provide additional information when it’s available.”

{mosads}The law requires the president to present his proposed budget to Congress by the first Monday in February to kick off the annual budgeting and spending process, but proposals are not always presented on time.

With discussions still underway as to how to pass seven of 12 remaining appropriations bills for the 2019 fiscal year, which began on October 1, the process for passing new bills could be delayed. Without action on those bills, whether a stopgap measure or full spending legislation, the relevant agencies will again shut down starting Feb. 16. 

But House Democrats say they expect to stick to the normal timeline.

“We’re going to go ahead and begin the process,” said John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) the chairman of the House Budget Committee.

“If we can, we’re going to try to get an indication from the White House about what their defense number will be, because that’s really critical as a starting point,” he said. “But if not we’ll make an assumption about what it’ll be and proceed.”

The budget resolutions in each chamber, due in April, are meant to cement top line spending number for defense and non-defense spending, before turning the job to appropriators to write spending bills to fund the government.

Appropriators expect that the spending levels for 2020 will be similar to current levels, with slight increases for both defense and non-defense. Trump said he will propose an across-the-board 5 percent cut in non-defense spending.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he wants to get the chamber’s appropriations bills done by June.