A Republican congressman who represents some of the most deprived parts of the country is anxious that the Trump administration is recklessly planning on destroying a program designed for his constituents.
Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) admonished top White House budget aide Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday, saying the administration was relying on a 21-year-old study when justifying plans to shutter the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
Johnson told Mulvaney that the program last year raised $866 million in public and private investment, and that more than three-quarters of the money went to “93 counties that are considered economically distressed.”
Mulvaney had been asked about the planned elimination of ARC by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
The Democrat said the commission was something that both his party and Republicans could get behind. Mulvaney responded by claiming there was no evidence that the program worked.
“While we did zero out the Appalachian Regional Commission, we moved the money around to programs that were more effective,” Mulvaney said. “Or at least those we could prove were more effective.”
The White House staffer then said that the administration was planning on spending an additional $80 million on rural infrastructure, through the Department of Agriculture, and $66 million more on job training programs, through the Department of Labor.
Johnson, however, then told Mulvaney that ARC raised nearly $1 billion. He also said that the White House was relying on a 1996 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), when arguing against the commission.
“I would urge either you or the GAO or someone to take another closer look at what the Appalachian Regional Commission has been doing over recent years,” the Congressman said.
“We will look into that study, thank you,” Mulvaney replied.
The commission was founded in 1965 to spur economic development amid President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” It impacts a wide swath of the US, from Mississippi to New York.
Two years ago, ARC claimed to have helped reduce the number of regional counties in extreme poverty—from 295 to 107.
Proposals to cut ARC raise the prospect of Trump betraying people who voted for him—rural, poor white Americans that he termed “the forgotten man,” during his campaign. According to Reuters, 400 out of the 420 counties impacted by ARC voted for Trump last year.
The Trump administration budget, if enacted, could also disproportionately harm his base by slashing Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) by $72 billion over the next decade. According to The Economist, health outcomes were the best predictor of a locality’s preference for Trump.
“The data suggest that the ill may have been particularly susceptible to Mr Trump’s message,” the publication stated two weeks after the election.
Plans to cut SSDI also call into question Trump’s promise last year to refrain from cutting Social Security benefits.
“Social Security Disability is not Social Security,” Mulvaney said on Wednesday, responding to criticism from Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) “Social Security Disability Insurance is disability insurance. It’s a welfare program from the disabled.”
“We disagree on that,” Schakowsky replied.
