Yesterday, the White House released their proposed budget for 2018, which detailed plans for discretionary spending. The budget recommends increasing defense spending by $54 billion — the equivalent of buying the actual post-World Series Champion Chicago Cubs baseball team from the Ricketts family 24 times over — while cutting funding for executive departments and agencies across the board. The greatest proportion of cuts will be felt by the Environmental Protection Agency, which sees a 31% decrease in budget — or a loss of $2.5 billion. Other taxpayer services on the chopping block provide some of the largest returns to society, and have been vital to our nation’s progress and prosperity.

To prosper as Americans, we must become the giants upon which future generations stand.

With many important programs threatened that would otherwise increase the value of the American Dream, the question becomes, “What are we protecting?” If the aim is to protect life, we should invest in improving life, and curing life-threatening diseases through research. If the aim is to protect American property, we should invest in better identifying natural disasters in advance. If the aim is to protect America’s resources, we should invest in developing strategies to reduce our reliance on limited resources, and increase the preservation of the natural resources we do have. Yet, the budget proposed appears to value the role of defense, while devaluing the American assets it aims to defend.

Consider three agencies that attract less public attention, but are no less vital to the American Dream: The National Institutes of Health (NIH), The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The Department of Energy (DOE)

The EPA saves lives, and, because of the partisan politicization of its goals, often attracts the most controversy and conversation. However, consider three agencies that attract less public attention, but are no less vital to the American Dream: The National Institutes of Health (NIH), The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The Department of Energy (DOE).

According to the White House’s recommendations, these three agencies will experience a combined budget cut of $8.9 billion. Yet these three agencies, much like the Department of Defense, have been imperative to public safety and American prosperity. Isaac Newton famously stated, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” To prosper as Americans, we must become the giants upon which future generations stand. In order to accomplish this lofty promise, adequate funding must be sustained for the agencies affected by the proposed budget. Doing so will ensure that they, and we, continue to build on the significant societal achievements and contributions these agencies have already made.

These agencies have been protecting the American people from disease, from natural disasters, and from nuclear proliferation; now, it’s our turn to protect them.

Protecting American Health: NIH

Reduced deaths associated with cancer and heart disease, decreased number and frequency of strokes, and development of preventative techniques to maintain a healthier lifestyles for all of us — these are but a few of the direct benefit of the more-than-300,000 investigators funded by the NIH. These researchers have been producing major medical advancements, new approaches to healthcare, and lowering healthcare costs, since 1887. In their history since, the NIH has protected public health by properly identifying countless hazardous conditions and diseases by investing nearly $32 billion annually in medical research for the American people. Today, the NIH continue their extensive research in identifying new cures and treatments to the most challenging medical issues humanity faces. The NIH looks to improve quality of life for all by protecting our health. Learn more about the history and impact of the NIH here.

Aftermath of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900: Source Wikipedia/NOAA

Protecting American Property: NOAA

In 2016, there were 15 natural disasters totaling more than $15 billion in losses. The NOAA works to diminish those losses, and more importantly, to protect and save lives. Whether through predicting the vulnerability of dry lands to wildfire, identifying and providing sufficient warning for imminent natural disasters — such severe storms capable of producing flash floods — or even simply delivering daily weather forecasts, the NOAA provides necessary services that benefit every American. Over the decades, the agency has stayed true to its mission — proposed by President Nixon — that would work

“…for better protection of life and property from natural hazards…for a better understanding of the total environment…[and] for exploration and development leading to the intelligent use of our marine resources.” — President Nixon

On top of that, the NOAA also houses the largest archive of climate data in the world, gathered by more than 10,000 national volunteers from daily weather measurements. As climate continues to change and the resulting weather is more extreme, the NOAA’s efforts are becoming more invaluable to the safety, but even more so to the protection, of populations across the globe. Learn more about NOAA’s history and impact here.

Installing Solar Panels used by DOE: Source Wikipedia

Protecting American Resources: DOE

Managing America’s energy impacts our economy, the climate, and our position as one of the world’s leaders. Since its foundation in 1977, the DOE has made it a priority to achieve greener and renewable energies that will lessen human’s effects on climate. Close to 20% of the DOE’s budget is given to general science, technology and space research at seventeen National Labs, including Fermilab and Argonne in Chicagoland. Our current energy sources are finite, and increased demand on these limited resources will lead to national and global security risks if not managed appropriately. Most importantly, though, the DOE is given the immense duty of continuously working towards nuclear nonproliferation and the responsibility of safeguarding the United States’ stockpile of nuclear weapons. Learn more about how the DOE protects us here.