President Donald Trump's 62-page budget blueprint, released to the public on Thursday, would zero out funding for dozens of programs big and small. | AP Photo Trump budget would wipe out dozens of programs

If President Donald Trump has his way, the federal government will stop paying for programs to prevent homelessness, boost the struggling economy of Appalachia and investigate disasters like the 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 12 people.

Trump's first budget proposal would wipe out funding for programs that support public radio and television stations and helped create the National Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, as well as those that train nurses, help low-income families manage their energy bills, provide grants to vulnerable urban communities and aid poor countries struggling with the effects of global warming.


Trump's 62-page budget blueprint, released to the public on Thursday, would zero out funding for dozens of programs big and small, collectively saving taxpayers billions of dollars but setting up a major clash with members of Congress.

But the proposed cuts could anger voters in states that helped Trump win the election. Eliminating funding for restoring the Great Lakes likely won't go over well in Michigan. And cutting off federal money to the Appalachian Regional Commission, which assists communities in the eastern United States, might upset people in West Virginia, which has been a focal point of Trump's promise to rebuild rural America.

In a message to Congress included in the budget proposal, Trump calls his cuts "sensible and rational."

"Every agency and department will be driven to achieve greater efficiency and to eliminate wasteful spending in carrying out their honorable service to the American people," he wrote.

The budget proposal would kill more than 50 programs at the EPA alone, saving $347 million, according to the document.

The blueprint would ax funding for efforts to protect the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay. It would discontinue funding for much of the agency's work on climate change, including former President Barack Obama's regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, and climate research and international global warming programs.

Trump's plan also calls for eliminating funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, an Energy Department program that promotes high-risk, high-reward technology. The program, which is modeled on a similar program at the Defense Department that is credited with spawning the internet, is a favorite of many lawmakers in Congress.

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In addition, Trump's proposal takes the first steps toward shifting air traffic control away from the Federal Aviation Administration and to an "an independent, non-governmental organization," a proposal favored by most major U.S. airlines.

The budget plan closely mirrors recommendations released by the conservative Heritage Foundation in February. The Heritage plan similarly called for killing dozens of programs that it labeled as inefficient and wasteful. The word "eliminate" appears 230 times in the Heritage plan.

Heritage is an influential force in the Trump administration, especially when it comes to the budget. Heritage officials — including the group's president, former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint — have briefed Trump and his advisers on its proposals, and dozens of the think tanks staffers served on the presidential transition team and in the administration. Former Heritage staffer Paul Winfree is now the director of budget policy at the White House.

Here's a list of some agencies facing funding elimination:

African Development Foundation

Appalachian Regional Commission

Chemical Safety Board

Corporation for National and Community Service

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Delta Regional Authority

Denali Commission

Institute of Museum and Library Services

Inter-American Foundation

U.S. Trade and Development Agency

Legal Services Corporation

National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Humanities

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation

Northern Border Regional Commission

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

United States Institute of Peace

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

