FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Exact Date Unknown
1. Various of Capitol Building

Washington D.C., USA - May 23, 2017
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Gary Hufbauer, Reginald Jones Senior Research Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (partially overlaid with shots 3-5):
"I don't think the Medicare will be cut. I don't think they have the vote for that, because these benefits are already being paid out. If you start cutting them, then Republican States like Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas are all going to have a big additional burden on their state budgets. That will be very bad for the leaders of those states. A majority of the congressmen even amongst the Republicans agree to decrease non-defense discretionary spending. That's all the money for the agricultural department, world programs of various kinds, the various public agencies, e-commerce departments, and environmental protection agency, and so forth and so on. So there's a big disagreement there."
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FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Exact Date Unknown
3. Various of White House, pedestrians

Washington D.C., USA - May 23, 2017
4. Reporter in interview

FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Exact Date Unknown
5. U.S. dollar notes being printed
6. Various of White House exterior
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Washington D.C., USA - May 23, 2017
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gary Hufbauer, Reginald Jones Senior Research Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (partially overlaid with shot 8):
"They're expecting a three percent annual growth over the next decade in the US economy. And very few economists agree with that. Most of the economists think that US can grow at two percent or may be two and a quarter percent. That makes a big difference. If you have a three percent growth, you can get far more taxes collected."
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8. Reporter in interview
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FILE: Beijing, China - Jan 2016
9. Various of U.S. dollar banknotes going through cash counting machine

Economists predicted that the Trump administration will meet resistance in getting its budget to pass in the congress as the budget it unveiled on Tuesday seeks to cut 3.6 trillion U.S. dollars in government spending over the next 10 years to balance the federal budget.

According to the budget for fiscal year 2018 that starts from October 1, "the first step is to bring federal spending under control and return the federal budget to balance within 10 years. Deficit spending has become an ingrained part of the culture in the country's capital."

The budget, "A New Foundation for American Greatness", claims to eliminate the federal deficit by the end of the decade through faster economic growth and deep cuts in Medicaid payments, food stamps and disability benefits.

Funding for Medicaid, the health care program for low-income and disabled Americans, would be cut by more than 800 billion U.S. dollar over the next 10 years, while the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides benefits to about 44 million people, would be cut by about 193 billion dollars, according to the budget.

The budget will also shift 54 billion dollars from non-defense discretionary spending to defense by enacting major cuts to the State Department, the Environmental Protection and other agencies.

Gary Hufbauer, a senior research fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said that the defense budget is most likely to get to pass while the non-defense discretionary spending will meet with resistance in the congress.

"I don't think the Medicaid will be cut. I don't think they have the vote for that. Because these benefits are already being paid out. If you start cutting them then, Republican States like Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas are all going to have a big additional burden on their state budgets. That will be very bad for the leaders of those states. A majority of the congressmen even amongst the Republicans agree to decrease non-defense discretionary spending. That's all the money for the agricultural department, world programs of various kinds, the various public agencies, e-commerce departments, and environmental protection agency, and so forth and so on. So there's a big disagreement there," he said.

The administration also estimated that the U.S. economic growth would accelerate from 1.6 percent last year to three percent by 2021, and would continue staying at that level for the rest of the decade, with the help of tax reform and deregulation.

However, Hufbauer is skeptical about the administration's growth assumptions.

"They're expecting a three percent annual growth over the next decade in the US economy. And very few economists agree with that. Most of the economists think that US can grow at two percent or may be two and a quarter percent. That makes a big difference. If you have a three percent growth, you can get far more taxes collected," he said.

The U.S. economic growth will average about only 1.9 percent over the next 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.