Under Biden’s re-election budget, families will receive tax cuts and health care expenses will be reduced.
On Monday, President Joe Biden unveiled a budget plan in Manchester, New Hampshire that aims to draw voter attention. It includes tax breaks for families, reduced health care expenses, reduced deficits, and increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
The likelihood of the proposal for fiscal 2025 becoming law is low as it would need to pass through both the House and Senate. However, it serves as a blueprint for what could happen if Biden and his fellow Democrats are successful in the upcoming election. The details of the budget were revealed by the president and his aides during last week’s State of the Union, with the fine print being released on Monday.
If the proposed budget by President Biden is implemented, it could potentially reduce deficits by $3 trillion in the next 10 years. This would be achieved by increasing tax revenues by a total of $4.9 trillion during that time period and allocating $1.9 trillion towards funding various programs, with the remaining amount being used for deficit reduction.
On Monday, the president visited Manchester, New Hampshire and urged Congress to extend his proposed limits of $2,000 for drug costs and $35 for insulin to all individuals, not just those with Medicare. He also supported the permanent extension of certain safeguards in the Affordable Care Act, which are currently set to expire next year.
Biden stated that he is in New Hampshire to discuss the budget he unveiled today, which he believes would provide significant assistance.
According to Biden’s team, their budget is both practical and specific, while the opposing proposals from Republicans are not economically feasible.
“The White House budget director, Shalanda Young, stated that Congressional Republicans lack transparency in disclosing their budget cuts and those affected by them. However, the President remains open and honest about his decisions.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., issued a joint statement with other GOP leaders calling the Biden proposal a “glaring reminder of this Administration’s insatiable appetite for reckless spending.”
The leaders of the House Republicans stated that Biden’s budget not only fails to meet expectations, but it also outlines a plan that will speed up America’s downfall.
As part of the proposal, the government is expected to allocate $7.3 trillion in the upcoming fiscal year and take out $1.8 trillion in loans to make up for the deficit in tax revenue. Biden’s plan, which is 188 pages long, outlines the budget for the next ten years, including expenditures, taxes, and debt.
In 2025, parents may receive a higher child tax credit, temporarily returning to the level of 2021 thanks to Biden’s coronavirus relief package. Those looking to buy a home may also benefit from a tax credit of up to $10,000, with an additional $10 billion in assistance for first-time buyers. Corporate taxes will see an increase, and billionaires will face a minimum tax rate of 25%.
In his State of the Union address, Biden proposed granting Medicare the power to bargain for lower costs on 500 prescription drugs. This has the potential to result in a savings of $200 billion within a 10-year period. However, his administration has not outlined the exact number of medications that would be eligible for negotiation in his budget.
Aides state that Biden’s proposal would ensure the long-term stability of Medicare, but Maya MacGuineas, president of the fiscal group Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, points out that it does not seem to address the issue with Social Security. Based on projections, Social Security may not have the ability to provide full benefits by 2033.
The suggested plan allocates approximately $900 billion towards defense for fiscal year 2025, which is $16 billion higher than the current baseline.
The Biden administration is in pursuit of funding to support Ukraine in protecting itself against Russia and providing aid to Israel. The budget proposal reinforces the previous request for additional funds made last October for Ukraine, Israel, and humanitarian aid for Palestinians.
The request also includes funding for increasing staff and resources at the southern border of the United States. However, military expenses over the course of 10 years would decrease by $146 billion to a total of $9.57 trillion.
The budget plan includes a focus on assisting families in meeting their basic necessities due to the increase of inflation in 2022, which is the highest it has been in 40 years. This has caused many voters to feel like they are struggling more under Biden’s presidency.
The suggested budget allocates $258 billion to support the construction or preservation of 2 million homes, aiming to tackle the United States’ housing shortage that has resulted in high prices. Families earning less than $200,000 per year would be able to access affordable child care, with the majority of eligible households paying a maximum of $10 per day.
It aims to remove the initial charges for federal student loans, potentially resulting in a $1,000 reduction for borrowers throughout the loan’s duration. Additionally, it allocates $12 billion to assist universities in devising methods to decrease their expenditures.
This presents an opportunity for Biden to shape the election according to his own terms, in contrast to the anticipated Republican candidate, Donald Trump, who aims to garner voter support for his objectives.
Trump aims to raise tariffs and increase oil production. He is pushing for a supplementary round of tax reductions since certain aspects of the 2017 tax code reform will come to an end in 2025. Additionally, the Republican plans to significantly decrease government regulations. Despite his promise to reduce the national debt, it is uncertain how he will achieve this without specifying substantial budget cuts.
During a Monday interview on CNBC, Trump stated his readiness to decrease funding for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, but did not provide a complete policy plan.
Trump stated that there is a wide range of options available for adjusting entitlements and reducing expenditures.
The interview drew Biden’s attention, prompting him to tell the audience in New Hampshire that cuts were off the table: “The bottom line is he’s still at it. I’m never going to allow that to happen.”
The Republican Party members in the House of Representatives passed their own budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year in committee on Thursday. They claim it will decrease deficits by $14 trillion within a span of 10 years. However, their plan relies on optimistic economic predictions and significant reductions in expenses, including $8.7 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid. President Biden has promised to prevent any reductions in Medicare.
The current focus of Congress is creating a budget for the ongoing fiscal year. Over the weekend, Biden approved a $460 billion plan to prevent the closure of various federal departments, however, legislators are only halfway done with addressing spending for this fiscal year.
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Reporting from Washington, Boak was accompanied by Colleen Long, a writer for the Associated Press who also provided contributions to this report.