President of the States, Joe Biden, has issued his first annual budget of a $6 trillion (£4.2 trillion) spending plan.
The plan includes a steep increase in taxes for the wealthier Americans. The bumper proposal will consist of substantial new social programs and investment in the fight against climate change.
But it needs approval from Congress, where Lindsey Graham, a Republican Senator, condemned it as insanely expensive.
Under the plan, the debt would reach 117% of GDP by 2031, surpassing the levels during World War Two.
That would be in spite of at least $3 trillion of proposed tax increases on corporations. Additionally, on capital gains and the top income tax bracket.
Former President Donald Trump, a Republican, also ran up the deficit each year while in office. Additionally, his final annual spending proposal had a price tag of $4.8 trillion.
The Biden budget involves a $1.5 trillion request for operating expenses for the Pentagon and other government authorities. It also incorporates two plans he has previously publicised, his $1.8 trillion family plans and $2.8 trillion jobs plan.
President Biden, a Democrat, said his budget invests directly in the American people and will strengthen our nation’s economy. Along with it, it will enhance their long-run fiscal shape.
What’s in the program?
The White House says the proposal will help grow the economy from the middle out and bottom-up.
The budget promises:
- $200 billion to give free pre-school places for all three and 4-year olds.
- More than $800 billion for the battle upon climate change, including investment in clean energy.
- Two years of free community college worth $109 billion for Americans.
- $160 billion for railways and public transit and $115 billion for bridges and roads.
- $100 billion to improve access broadband internet to every American household.
- $225 billion for a national paid family and medical leave programme, bringing the US in line with similar affluent countries.
The budget also has a notable absence- the Hyde Amendment, a federal provision that says taxpayer money cannot subsidise abortions. Of course, with an exception in cases of rape incest in the US.
Mr Biden is the first president in decades to exclude the abortion coverage ban. A move that is already applauded by progressives.
