Trump faces backlash over $3M Holocaust Museum cuts

June 09, 2017 - 01:21 PM EDT
Trump faces backlash over $3M Holocaust Museum cuts
By Niv Elis


A bipartisan group of 64 members of Congress is demanding a reversal on $3 million in funding cuts to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum proposed in President Trump's budget.

"In our view, the mission of the museum has never been more important, particularly as the number of anti-Semitic attacks around the world rises," the letter to the Interior appropriations subcommittee said. "Now is not the time to cut funding for this national treasure."

The letter, spearheaded by Reps. Stephanie Murphy, (D-Fla.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), John Katko, (R-N.Y.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), highlights the challenges Trump faces in cutting funds to popular programs. Trump's budget proposal shifts $54 billion in nondefense discretionary funding to defense and proposes deep cuts to social safety net and health programs.

The reduction, which would return the museum's budget to its 2016 level of $54 million, is roughly a 5 percent decrease.

"It is important to craft a disciplined and fiscally-responsible budget, but cutting millions of dollars in essential funding for this museum is not the appropriate course of action," said Murphy

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http://thehill.com/policy/finance/337140-trump-faces-backlash-over-3m-holocaust-museum-cuts?amp