Whitney Downard / The Meridian StarGreg Snowden, Speaker Pro Tem in the Mississippi legislature, responds to questions about President Donald Trump's proposed budget Tuesday.

Following the announcement of President Donald Trump’s budget Tuesday, Greg Snowden, Speaker Pro Tem in the Mississippi legislature, said he hadn’t yet had time to review the proposed cuts but supported balancing the federal budget.

“I’m really not familiar with the specifics but we are in a fiscal crisis in the country,” Snowden said. “We are $20 trillion in debt and that number could go up to $26 trillion in a few years. That is unsustainable.”

Trump sent Congress a $4.1 trillion spending plan that relies on faster economic growth and steep cuts in a range of support programs for low-income individuals to balance the government’s books over the next decade.

Programs projected to be cut include Medicaid, food stamps and disability payments. 

Snowden said, from his understanding, cuts to Medicaid would be offset by provided tax reliefs.

Mississippi receives the highest federal return for money spent in the capital. For every dollar sent to the federal treasury Mississippi, and New Mexico, receive about $3 in federal spending. Much of this money comes in Medicaid and Medicare payments. With steep cuts expected in both of those programs, Mississippi’s budget could take a hit.

“Congress needs to get in (fiscal) control,” Snowden said. “The federal government is literally running out of money… the amount of debt is staggering.

“We’re either going to have a soft landing or a crash landing, so they better start planning for a soft landing.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.