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How the US military compares to the rest of the world
02:00 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed President Donald Trump’s budget proposal on Tuesday, with Schumer describing it as “a blueprint for destroying America.”

Democrats have taken issue with the budget’s cuts to Medicaid, as well as cuts to other safety net programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.

The $4.8 trillion budget, unveiled Monday, calls for $844 billion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act over a decade. This would involve ending the enhanced federal match for Medicaid expansion enrollees and implementing work requirements for able-bodied adults in the program.

The savings the administration said it would seek from Medicare rely on reducing federal payments to providers, which would not directly affect beneficiaries’ costs. Democrats say it would harm rural hospitals and providers who depend on the payments.

RELATED: Trump budget includes deep cuts to health care and safety net programs

The presidential budget is typically regarded by lawmakers as more of a statement of policy priorities than an actual budget plan to adhere to — regardless of who is in the White House, Congress likes to make its own appropriations decisions.

Democrats said it is still important because it reveals Trump’s values. “It shows his values are so off base,” Schumer said.

Pelosi hit the budget’s extension of the Republican-passed 2017 tax cuts, saying it would harm the national debt.

“It’s absolutely shameful,” she said. “It increases the national debt. It must be rejected.”

“This is a heartless budget,” Pelosi added.

Asked about the Trump administration’s $2 billion target for border wall funding, which is significantly lower than last year’s $5 billion request, Schumer said Democrats are “going to fight every penny for wall construction.”

He also criticized the President for diverting money from the Department of Defense under a national security declaration to fund the wall.

CNN’s Tami Luhby, Laurie Ure, Manu Raju and Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.