In his 2023 budget proposal released Monday, President Joe Biden is seeking to cut the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade while making investments toward bolstering national security, fighting crime, combatting inflation, growing the economy and preparing for infectious disease outbreaks beyond COVID-19.
What You Need To Know
- President Joe Biden is seeking to cut the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade while making investments toward bolstering national security, fighting crime, combatting inflation, growing the economy and preparing for infectious disease outbreaks beyond COVID-19
- The budget also makes clear that Biden is not ready to give up on many of the items on his social and climate wish list that have been stalled since his Build Back Better legislation failed to gain the traction it needed on Capitol Hill last year
- The programs would be paid for, in part, by tax reforms targeting the wealthiest Americans and corporations
- The budget proposes $6.9 billion for international efforts to counter Russia’s assault on Ukraine and support Kyiv, while spending $773 billion on efforts to deter China in the Indo-Pacific and around the world
The budget also makes clear that Biden is not ready to give up on many of the items on his social and climate wish list that have been stalled since his Build Back Better legislation failed to gain the traction it needed on Capitol Hill last year.
The budget includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund in anticipation of Congress passing a law that would help lower costs for families and expand production capacity. Biden wants to cut the costs of prescription drugs, health care premiums, child care, long-term care, housing and college.
The programs would be paid for, in part, by tax reforms targeting the wealthiest Americans and corporations. Individuals with more than $100 million would be required to pay at least 20% of their total income in federal taxes, while Biden would raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% — still well below the 35% it stood at before former President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress lowered it in 2017.
Biden reiterated his promise that Americans earning less than $400,000 a year will not pay more in taxes.
“Budgets are statements of values, and the budget I am releasing today sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and around the world, and the investments needed to continue our equitable growth and build a better America,” Biden said in a statement.
The president is scheduled to deliver a speech introducing his budget plan Monday afternoon from the White House.
The White House would not say Monday if there has been any recent progress in talks on legislation for a social and climate bill.
“The deficit-neutral reserve fund is meant to leave the space — the revenue, specifically — to allow congressional negotiators the room to do what President Biden has asked,” Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters in a call Monday morning.
The Biden administration estimates the government is on track to reduce the budget by $1.3 trillion this year, the largest one-year drop in U.S. history. It credits Biden’s policies — namely last year’s American Rescue Plan — for the reduced deficit, as well as a 5.7% growth of the economy in 2021 and a current unemployment rate of just 3.8%.
“That’s the direct result of my Administration’s strategy to get the pandemic under control and grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out,” Biden said. “We spent less money than the last Administration and got better results: strong economic growth, which has increased revenues and allowed us to responsibly scale back emergency spending. My budget will continue that progress.”
The budget also includes more than $33 billion to support state and local law enforcement agencies, including putting more police officers on the streets, and another $1.7 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to expand its gun-trafficking strike forces. Meanwhile, it boosts spending by $101 million, to $367 million, for the Justice Department to support police reform, the prosecution of hate crimes, voting-rights enforcement and efforts to provide equitable access to justice.
It also includes investments in creating jobs, increasing affordable housing supply, boosting manufacturing and expanding maritime freight capacity to move goods faster through ports and waterways, one of the factors that have led to the highest inflation the U.S. has seen in 40 years.
The budget proposes $6.9 billion for international efforts to counter Russia’s assault on Ukraine and support Kyiv, while spending $773 billion on efforts to deter China in the Indo-Pacific and around the world.
On climate change, Biden’s plan calls for $3.3 billion to support clean energy projects, as well as investments in climate resilience, adaptation programs and efforts to battle wildfires.
COVID-19 itself is not a major focus in the budget. The White House only mentioned the virus a handful of times in a fact sheet about the proposal, including investments to address global health and health security challenges, prepare for future pandemics and other biological threats, and strengthen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local public health agencies.
The White House has been warning in recent weeks that many COVID-19 response programs could be cut or dramatically scaled back if Congress does not pass an emergency funding bill soon. The Biden administration is seeking a $22.5 billion package.
