Biden's Budget Proposal Full Of Bold Increases
Health, education and environmental protection all are among the biggest winners
The Biden administration rolled out a proposed $6 trillion federal budget for the 2022 fiscal year which represents the boldest such presidential spending plan in decades.
The Biden budget would invest major increases in the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency — all while working to grow employment and contain the deficit.
“That discretionary request recommended that Congress reinvest robustly in areas like public health, education, basic science, and clean energy. The country had been weakened by a decade of disinvestment in these areas, which were squeezed under restrictive budget caps,” said acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Shalanda Young. “The [new] discretionary request issued a clear call for Congress to reinvest in these areas, restoring nondefense appropriations to its historical average share of the economy.”
When combined with Biden's separate American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan initiatives, the budget “will be transformational," Young said, "strengthening our economy, boosting American competitiveness, and delivering shared prosperity and economic security.
“Today, we’re releasing a budget that puts these pieces together and does exactly what the president told the country he would do: grow the economy, create jobs, and do so responsibly by requiring the wealthiest Americans and big corporations to pay their fair share,” Young said.
“Already, we know that the president’s economic plan is working. New unemployment claims are down 60 percent since he took office, the economy created more new jobs in the president’s first 100 days than the first 100 days of any president on record, and growth is stronger than anyone expected. And this budget outlines the next steps in that plan,” she added.
Fiscal responsibility
Young emphasized, however, that the Biden budget would make these huge increases in a fiscally responsible way.
“In the near-term, the decades-long, global trend of declining interest rates, even as publicly held debt has increased, gives us the fiscal space to make necessary upfront investments,” she said. "Under the budget policies, the real cost of federal debt payments will remain below the historical average through the coming decade, even as the budget assumes that interest rates will rise from their current lows, consistent with private-sector forecasts.
“Low real debt service payments show that the cost of these upfront investments is not burdening the economy. To the contrast, failing to make these investments at a time of such low interest costs would be an historic missed opportunity that would leave future generations worse off,” Young added. “This budget does not make that mistake, and it invests — its investments will pay dividends for generations to come.
“Over the long run, when we face larger fiscal challenges and more uncertainty about interest rates, the budget will reduce the deficit and improve our nation’s finances,” she said. “That’s because its frontloaded investments are more than paid for through permanent tax reforms that will ensure corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.”
Reception on the Hill
Of course, a president's budget proposal — any president's — is just that: a proposal.
It's up to Congress, especially the appropriations committees in both the House and Senate, to take apart and turn into law.
Fortunately, the Democratic chairs of each of those committees — as well as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) — provided glowing reviews of the Biden budget.
“It was President Biden, back when he served in the Senate, who said: 'Don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.' President Biden has done exactly that,” said Hoyer. “We can see clearly that his Administration values working families, public health and safety, equity in access to opportunities, a strong national security, and an economy ready to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity for growth.
"As the House Appropriations Committee continues its work, the President's budget will serve as a guide, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with Chairwoman [Rosa] DeLauro and with leaders from the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that Congress and executive branch are partnering to deliver results for the people," Hoyer added.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) said that he is eager to get started on using the Biden proposal as his committee begins work to craft a federal budget for the fiscal year which begins October 1.
“Today, President Biden introduced a bold vision for an American future, and I share his priorities to build back better,” Leahy said in a statement Friday. “In the decade following the Budget Control Act, we lost ground in education, child care, environmental protections, infrastructure, and affordable housing. The Budget Control Act did not constrain our national debt; it left us a nation in disrepair. The investments outlined in the Biden budget reflect this reality.”
House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) was even more pointed in her eagerness to enact priorities represented in the Biden plan.
“The budget has a relentless focus on creating jobs and expanding opportunity for all, including with a historic $20 billion increase for high-poverty schools, more subsidized child care places and Head Start slots, and a $400 increase in the maximum Pell Grant. To protect workers on the job, the budget includes a $304 million increase to protect wages, benefits, and rights,” DeLauro said. “And to strengthen the safety net, the budget will unlock Housing Choice Vouchers for 200,000 more families and support nutrition assistance and expanded local food systems with nearly $4 billion in new funding.
“The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the deep fraying of our public health infrastructure. This budget begins to rebuild it, with record funding of $8.7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also directly addresses the most pressing public health crises, with $10.7 billion for opioid research, prevention treatment, and recovery, $1.6 billion for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, $200 million for maternal health, and $200 million for gun violence research,” DeLauro added. “I am also pleased that the budget strikes the Hyde Amendment, which is a major obstacle to low-income women receiving safe, affordable reproductive health care.
“We cannot prepare for a brighter future without addressing the existential threat of climate change, and this budget makes important investments to create jobs as we meet this challenge,” she added. “The whole-of-government effort emphasizes climate research, clean energy technologies that create jobs and economic growth, and environmental remediation efforts that require good-paying union jobs as we clean up communities that have been left behind for far too long.
“As we strengthen our nation at home, we must also restore our place in the world. The discretionary budget funds the mix of defense, diplomacy, and development that the Pentagon says is needed to counter our adversaries, mobilize global action on climate change and other pressing challenges, and support the world’s most vulnerable people,” DeLauro said.
“The Appropriations Committee will turn this blueprint into funding bills that meet this historic moment. We are ready to get to work delivering the help the American people so desperately need,” she added.