WASHINGTON — President Trump’s plan to dramatically hike defense spending would mean cuts for almost every other department — including the National Institutes of Health, an agency that many Republicans would rather invest more money into.
Congressman Tom Cole, a Republican who chairs a key appropriations committee that has overseen recent boosts to NIH’s funding, sounds worried. Trump is expected to propose increasing defense spending more than $50 billion in the next fiscal year and making offsetting cuts to other parts of the federal budget.
As Cole pointed out, spending for veterans and homeland security isn’t likely to be reduced, so that narrows the pool for potential cuts.
