Reduction of Foreign Aid and Environmental Costs in the 2018 U.S. Budget

According to reports, the budget expected to be presented by the new U.S. government for 2018 significantly reduces foreign aid, the State Department's budget, and payments related to environmental protection programs. The reduction in these areas will help fund a substantial increase in military and domestic security expenditures in the United States. The 2018 budget is expected to be presented on March 16 (26-27 Esfand in Iran). American media have reported that payments to the State Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are set to be cut by 28% and 31%, respectively. Reuters has stated that the approximately $11 billion reduction in the State Department's budget includes cuts to foreign aid and payments to multilateral development institutions such as the World Bank or climate change programs at the United Nations. There will also be cuts to climate change-related expenses at the EPA. According to Reuters, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has proposed halting over 50 environmental programs in the 2018 budget. The budget for the U.S. State Department and its international development agency this fiscal year is around $50 billion, which is just over 1% of the federal budget. The EPA, a federal agency established at the suggestion of former President Richard Nixon in 1970, had a budget of just over $8 billion in 2016. In the 2018 budget, expenses related to the largest government programs; Social Security and medical services for elderly citizens, have not changed; military spending will increase by 10% and domestic security spending by 6.8%, which includes costs for building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Reports indicate that the proposed budget for the U.S. government next year is $3.8 trillion. The budget must be approved by Congress.