Biden's budget to boost military, raise taxes on billionaires
Send a link to a friend
[March 28, 2022] By
Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe
Biden is expected on Monday to ask Congress for record peacetime
military spending while raising taxes from billionaires and projecting
lower government deficits.
Biden's budget proposal for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 lays out his
administration's priorities but it is merely a wish list as lawmakers on
Capitol Hill make the final decisions on budget matters.
The document offers fresh insight into Biden's thinking as he attempts
to halt Russia's invasion of Ukraine and prepares for a Nov. 8 midterm
election that could see his Democratic Party lose its control of
Congress.
"The President's Budget will reflect three important values: fiscal
responsibility, safety and security at home and abroad, and a commitment
to building a better America," a White House official said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Mar/28/images/ads/current/peasley_sda_SFARM_2022.png)
"The Budget will help keep our communities safe by putting more cops on
the beat for community policing, fighting gun crime, and investing in
crime prevention and community violence interventions," the official
said.
Forced by disagreements within his own party to pump the brakes and
instead continue negotiating on vast swathes of his domestic "Build Back
Better" agenda, Biden is unlikely to include line items for all of his
ideas on how to improve the country's environment, healthcare,
education, housing infrastructure and manufacturing competitiveness.
But he will use the opportunity to throw his explicit public support for
the first time behind a new tax requiring billionaires to pay at least
20% of their income in taxes, including on the gains on investments that
have not been sold.
The White House says the tax would apply to 0.01% of American
households, those worth over $100 million, and that more than half of
the new revenue would come from households worth more than $1 billion.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/032822PIX/busine14.jpg)
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Royal
Castle, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland March
26, 2022. Slawomir Kaminski /Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Mar/28/images/ads/current/chicagost_sda_SFARM_2022.png)
The measure would reduce the government deficit by $360 billion over the next
decade, they said.
Biden has long pushed the message that the U.S. tax system rewards the wealthy
too much and that the rich should pony up for more social services.
Two sources told Reuters in February that about $773 billion would be made
available for the Department of Defense, which in combination with other
spending would lead to a total national security budget above $800 billion.
Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has intensified concerns about European
security, while the Biden administration continues to invest in research and
development on hypersonic missiles and other modern capabilities.
The United States is not directly engaged against Russia in the Ukraine war but
is giving Kyiv weapons and extensive assistance. Working with European allies,
it has also imposed heavy economic sanctions against Russia.
The budget will also project a 2022 deficit of more than $1.3 trillion lower
than last year, as the U.S. economy rebounds from the COVID-19 recession and
Biden's administration puts more focus on fiscal sustainability.
The U.S. federal government, on the hook for rising healthcare and social
spending, especially for the elderly, has spent more money than it has taken for
each of the last 20 years.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Mike Stone; Editing by
Stephen Coates)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Mar/28/images/ads/current/elkhart_fertilizer_sda_SFARM_2022.png) |