Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and OMB Acting Director Russell Vought
Issued on: March 11, 2019
Washington, DC - - Today, the U.S. White House provided the following transcript of the Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and OMB Acting Director Russell Vought:
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
2:13 P.M. EDT
MS. SANDERS: Good afternoon. President Trump’s 2020 budget, which was released today, builds upon incredible success and keeps his promises to the American people. It continues the President’s pro-job creation policies, keeps taxes low, combats the opioid epidemic, protects our veterans, defends our nation, and secures our borders.
Even with a strong economy, deficits are still a threat, and this budget demonstrates the President’s vision to restrain Washington spending and reach a balanced budget by 2034. This is a clear roadmap for a more fiscally responsible future if Congress chooses to follow it.
To talk about the President’s budget proposal and take questions on the topic, I’d like to bring up Acting Director of OMB Russ Vought.
After that, I’ll be back up to take questions of the day.
ACTING DIRECTOR VOUGHT: Thanks, Sarah. Good afternoon everyone. Happy budget day.
Q Happy budget day.
ACTING DIRECTOR VOUGHT: Today we have released the President’s fiscal year 2020 budget, “A Budget for a Better America: Promises Kept. Taxpayers First.” This budget reflects the President’s priorities to ensure that all Americans can benefit from the nation’s historic economic boom and record-low unemployment.
No President has done more in two years to strengthen our military, restart our economy, and reform our government than President Trump — promises he made while running for office.
This great progress is threatened by our unsustainable national debt, which has nearly doubled under the previous administration and now stands at more than $22 trillion. Annual deficits are continuing to rise and will exceed a trillion dollars a year. And it’s projected that interest payments on the national debt will exceed military spending by 2024. Washington has a spending problem and it endangers the future prosperity of our nation for generations to come.
This budget contains nearly $2.7 trillion in savings, more spending reductions proposed than any administration in history. This budget will
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