White House: U.S. Can’t Afford Veterans’ Health Care Without Cuts

By Eric Levitz
July 17, 2018

Last year, the Trump administration insisted that its regressive tax cuts were so important, it was worth adding $1.5 trillion ($1,500 billion) to the national debt to ensure their passage. Now, the White House is warning Congress that the United States cannot afford to add $1.6 billion to the deficit to expand health-care options for veterans.

In a letter Monday, the Trump administration demanded that lawmakers fund a popular veterans’ health-care program — which allows former troops to spend public funds on private doctors and hospitals — with cuts to other parts of the budget. Democrats, and some top Senate Republicans, prefer to raise the current caps on discretionary spending instead.

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