(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is laying out his vision for the future with a $6.8 trillion budget proposal that prioritizes protecting Medicare and Social Security.
Meanwhile, Republicans are demanding cuts to spending before they agree to raise the debt limit, which senior administration officials said Thursday is “unacceptable.”
The proposed budget includes a lot of the president’s existing wish list, including provisions such as paid family leave, restoring the child tax credit, and affordable health care for more Americans.
The top Republican in Washington signaled the plan is a no-go.
“President Biden just delivered his budget to Congress, and it is completely unserious,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter. “He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs. Mr. President: Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”
The budget proposal serves as a starting point for negotiations over the federal debt ceiling. There needs to be an agreement by early summer on how much more money the government can borrow to avoid a default on debt obligations.
The restored child tax credit would be expanded from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children 6 years old and above and $3,600 for those under 6. It would also reform the credit so it is fully refundable.
There are also funds for expanding affordable housing and energy assistance programs, plus more money for Pell grants, free community college programs and food assistance programs.
A paid family leave provision would grant Americans up to 12 weeks of leave to care for a new child or sick family member, and require employers to provide seven paid sick days for workers.
The budget also tackles health care, making permanent a pandemic-related expansion of health insurance premium tax cuts and including money for programs to limit drug costs and to help train nurses and recruit health care professionals to underserved areas.
It also includes significant increases for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
That includes hiring 350 U.S. Border Patrol agents, estimated to cost $800 million, and 460 processing assistants. There is also $535 million for border security technology and $40 million to combat fentanyl trafficking and disrupt cartels, as well as a $4.7 billion contingency fund for migrant surges at the Mexico border.
Funding for the Defense Department prioritizes deterrence in the Indo-Pacific as well as against China and Russia. There is also money for the continued support of Ukraine and expanded compensation for service members exposed to burn pits and other environmental hazards.
The White House estimates the budget could lower the deficit another $3 trillion over the next decade.
It could do that because it would raise taxes on people making $400,000 a year or more, create a minimum tax for billionaires and increase the corporate tax rate to 28%. In an effort to combat offshoring, the budget also increases the tax on foreign profits for U.S. multinational corporations. Also, the stock buyback surcharge instituted by the administration is set to go from 1% to 4%.
