(Manchester) US President Joe Biden on Monday released a budget proposal aimed at grabbing voters’ attention: it would offer tax breaks for families, lower health care costs, lower deficits and higher taxes for the rich and corporations.
It is unlikely to pass the House and Senate, but the proposal for 2025, an election year, is a model for what the future could hold if Mr. Biden and a number enough of his Democratic colleagues were elected next November.
The president and his aides previewed parts of his budget during last week’s State of the Union address, and they clarified the fine print on Monday.
If the Biden budget were adopted by Congress, deficits could be reduced by US3,000 billion over a decade (CAN4,044 billion).
This would increase tax revenues by a total of 4900 billion US (6605 billion CAN) over this period and use around 1900 billion US (2561 billion CAN) to finance various programs, the rest being intended for reducing the deficit.
Classifieds in Manchester
The president traveled to Manchester, New Hampshire, on Monday, where he called on Congress to apply its US$2,000 (C$2,670) cap to everyone, not just people on Medicare. ) on drug costs and US$35 ($47 CAN) on insulin. He also advocated for making certain privacy protections permanent. Affordable Care Act which will expire next year.
“I’m here in New Hampshire to talk about the budget that I released today that I think would be a big help,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Biden’s aides said that budget was realistic and detailed, while competing Republican measures were not financially viable.
“The Republicans in Congress don’t tell you what they’re cutting, who they’re hurting,” said White House budget director Shalanda Young. The president is transparent, detailing all the ways he shows he values the American people. »
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, issued a joint statement with other GOP leaders, calling the Biden proposal “a stark reminder of this administration’s insatiable appetite for reckless spending.”
“Biden’s budget isn’t just off the mark: It’s a road map for accelerating America’s decline,” House Republican leaders said.
Under this proposal, the government would spend US7,300 billion (CAN9,841 billion) during the next fiscal year and borrow US1,800 billion (CAN2,426 billion) to fill the tax revenue deficit. The 188-page plan covers a decade of spending, taxes and debt.
Parents could benefit from an increased child tax credit in 2025. Home buyers could benefit from a tax credit of up to US$10,000 (C$13,480) and a program down payment assistance of US10 billion (CAN13 billion) for first-time buyers. Corporate taxes would rise sharply, while billionaires would face a minimum tax of 25%.
President Biden said in his State of the Union that Medicare should have the ability to negotiate prices for 500 prescription drugs, which could save US$200 billion over 10 years (C$270 billion). Aides added that the budget did not specify how many drug prices would be negotiated.
The Biden plan would provide about US$900 billion (C$1,213) for defense in fiscal 2025, about US$16 billion (C$22 billion) more than the baseline.
The Biden administration is still looking for money to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia and to support Israel, with its budget reiterating the request for additional funding made last October for Ukraine and Israel, as well as the humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
A key theme of this budget plan is the effort to help families meet their basic needs, as the impact of inflation – which reached a four-decade high in 2022 – continues to give many voters feel they are worse off under the Biden administration.
The budget proposal includes US258 billion (CAN348 billion) to build or preserve 2 million homes. Parents earning less than US$200,000 per year (C$269,600) would have access to child care, with most eligible families paying no more than US$10 per day (C$13).
This would eliminate origination fees on government student loans, saving borrowers $1,000 over the life of the debt. The budget also includes $12 billion to help universities develop strategies to reduce costs.
Donald Trump’s reactions
All of these moves represent an opportunity for Mr. Biden to try to define the race on his preferred terms, just as the almost assured Republican nominee, Donald Trump, wants to rally voters around his own agenda.
Mr. Trump, for his part, would like to raise tariffs and extract masses of oil. He would like a “second phase” of tax cuts, as sections of his 2017 tax overhaul would expire after 2025. The Republican also said he would reduce government regulations and pledged to pay down the national debt, but it is unclear how he would do this without making significant spending cuts.
In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Trump indicated he would be willing to cut spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, although he did not propose a comprehensive policy.
“There are a lot of things you can do in terms of payments, in terms of cuts,” Donald Trump said.
The interview caught Biden’s attention, prompting him to tell the New Hampshire audience that budget cuts were not on the cards: “At the end of the day, he still insists. I will never allow this to happen. »
House Republicans voted Thursday in committee on their own budget resolution for the next fiscal year, saying it would reduce deficits by US$14 trillion over 10 years (CAN$19 trillion). But their measure would depend on optimistic economic forecasts and strong reductions in spending, notably US8,700 billion (CAN11,730 billion) in Medicare and Medicaid. Mr. Biden has pledged to end any cuts to Medicare.
Meanwhile, Congress is still working on a budget for the current fiscal year. On Saturday, Mr. Biden signed into law a US$460 billion (C$620 billion) plan to prevent the closure of several federal agencies, but lawmakers are only about halfway through processing spending for this fiscal year.