Window on a $4.1 trillion budget proposal

The big-picture story on President Trump’s budget proposal is its intention to balance the federal budget by 2027, reducing discretionary spending by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

The budget touches on a number of issues important to the housing and building supply industry. The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association identified the following highlights.

• As part of the proposed cuts to the EPA, enforcement for the Lead: Renovation, Repair, and Painting program is defunded. Although the regulation would remain in effect, responsibility for enforcement would be the responsibility of each state. There are 14 states authorized to run their own RRP programs: Ala., Del., Ga., Iowa, Kan., Mass., Miss., N.C., Okla., Ore., R.I., Utah, Wash., and Wis.

• The White House budget eliminates the entire $10.5 million for the Susan Harwood grant program, which funds nonprofit organizations that provide worker safety-training programs. It has existed since 1978.

• The budget also proposes eliminating several HUD programs, including the HOME Investment Partnership program, which provides funding for activities such as building and rehabilitating affordable housing for rent and homeownership. HOME is receiving $950 million in funding for the current fiscal year.

• An overhaul of the tax code is included in the budget. It reduces the number of personal income tax brackets from 7 to 3, lowers the business tax rate for both pass-throughs and corporations to 15%, and doubles the standard deduction.

Looming over the budget debate is the need to raise the debt ceiling that sets a limit on money the government can borrow.