"Under the guise of reorganizing healthcare programs, the Trump administration wants to make it easier to slash the basics that families rely on, impose broad work requirements, and further infringe on women's personal decisions."
—Reps. Diana DeGette and Barbara Lee
The White House on Thursday released a 32-point plan (pdf) to reorganize several departments of the federal government. The proposal was developed in response to an executive order President Donald Trump issued early last year and cannot be implemented without congressional approval.
In what critics are calling an "insane" proposal by the Trump administration "to make it easier to screw the poor," the White House is reportedly considering sweeping changes to the organization of the federal government, which could be announced as early as Thursday.
According to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, as part of this massive reorganization, President Donald Trump may propose:
merging the Labor and Education Departments;
collapsing all social safety net programs "into a new megadepartment" that would replace the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and redefine benefit programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); and
in "an attempt to strangle" the $3 billion Community Development Block Grant Program, relocating it from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to the Department of Commerce.
The looming welfare reorganization, first reported by Politico earlier this month, has been slammed "as a way to institute cuts and conservative policies such as work requirements on more programs," Rewire explained last week.
"Under the guise of reorganizing healthcare programs, the Trump administration wants to make it easier to slash the basics that families rely on, impose broad work requirements, and further infringe on women's personal decisions," Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus Chairs Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) told Rewire.
"Families who rely on these programs do so out of necessity—to feed their families, stay healthy, and keep a roof over their heads," the pair of lawmakers added. "Republicans have shown that they have no respect for either women's economic interests or their healthcare. In Congress, we will fight this dangerous proposal and protect the programs that women and their families need to thrive."
URL: [commondreams.org]|%20'This%20Is%20What%20Solidarity%20Looks%20Like'-_-'To%20Make%20It%20Easier%20to%20Screw%20the%20Poor%2C'%20Trump%20Wants%20to%20Massively%20Reorganize%20Federal%20Government