Legislative Update: President’s FY 2018 Budget Blueprint Outlines Spending Priorities, Proposes Elimination of Agencies Including ARC March 2017

On March 16, the White House released the president’s budget blueprint for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The budget proposes increased federal funding for certain defense, security, and other programs, with the increases offset by proposed reductions in or elimination of a range of programs. Elimination is proposed for the Appalachian Regional Commission and other regional commissions, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program, as well as other programs.

The proposed budget will serve as the basis for congressional discussion of funding for individual agencies, with the final decision on agency funding levels to be made by Congress as part of the regular appropriations process later this year.

The president’s budget blueprint is available on the White House Web site. The full FY 2018 budget proposal is expected to be released in May.