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© . FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden speaks at an event at the Royal Castle amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland, March 26, 2022. Slawomir Kaminski /Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS/File Photo
By Andrea Shalal and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON () – US President Joe Biden submitted a $5.79 trillion budget plan to Congress on Monday calling for record peacetime military spending and further aid for Ukraine, while taxing billionaires and businesses are increased and government deficits are reduced. The budget proposal for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 sets out Biden’s priorities, including campaign promises to make the rich and corporations pay more in taxes. It’s just a wish list, as capitol Hill lawmakers make the final decisions on budgetary matters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress looked forward to working on Biden’s “bold fiscal blueprint,” even as some fellow Democrats were annoyed by Biden’s promise to increase military spending. Biden’s plan was immediately criticized by Republicans, who, along with moderate Democrats, killed similar tax proposals in the 2022 budget. “The budget I am releasing today sends a clear message to the American people (about) what we care about: first, fiscal responsibility, second, safety and security, and third… the investment needed to better build America,” Biden said. reporters at the White House. The Democratic president said he called for increased defense spending to bolster the US military and “respond vigorously to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s aggression against Ukraine” with $1 billion in additional US support for economic, humanitarian and security needs. from Ukraine. The document, based on economic projections captured in Ukraine before the war, offers new insight into Biden’s thinking as he prepares for a Nov. 8 by-election that could see his Democratic Party lose control of Congress. Biden told reporters that his administration is making “real progress in cleaning up the fiscal mess I inherited,” and will cut the federal deficit by more than $1.3 trillion this year with $1 trillion in further spending cuts slated for next year. decade. “The last few years have been really tough for most Americans, they’ve stretched them to the breaking point. But billionaires and big corporations are richer than ever,” he said, adding, “That’s not fair…Just pay your fair share.” has spent more money than it has withdrawn in the past 20 years. “CONTENTIVE” PROCESS House Budget Committee chairman John Yarmuth, a Democrat, predicted a “controversial” battle among Democrats over Biden’s call for major increases in the already massive U.S. military budget, with Republicans saying it was not raising enough military spending. A razor-thin House majority warned Democrats could lose no more than three to five votes within the party and still pass a budget Republicans opposed, saying the whole process could drag on again like it did last year when Congress didn’t approve a budget until August, long after the House wrote its credit bills.Lindsey Graham (NYSE:), Republican top Glisten in the Senate Budge et Committee, said Biden’s tax hikes hurt American workers and the economy in general, while increasing deficits. According to Biden’s policy, deficits would fall to 5.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and remain below 5% for the next ten years. That’s 14.9% of GDP in 2020, the Trump administration’s last year, the White House said. The focus on deficit reduction reflected the concerns of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, whose expressed concerns about rising US debt last year already prevented the approval of Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan. On the home front, Biden’s plan is increasing spending on police, efforts to fight gun crime and investing heavily in crime prevention, while adding about $50 billion to address the critical shortage of affordable housing. The plan does not include items for strengthening climate change, health care, education and industrial competitiveness, which were heavily featured in the “Build Back Better” bill. Instead, it has a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow lawmakers to negotiate these items, said Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget. BILLIONAIRE TAX It introduces a new minimum tax that requires the very rich to pay at least 20% of their income in taxes, including on the profits on investments that have not been sold. That tax would apply to 0.01% of U.S. households — worth more than $100 million — with more than half of new income coming from households worth more than $1 billion, the White said. House. It would reduce the government deficit by $360 billion over the next ten years. The budget also focuses on buying back U.S. companies, requiring company leaders to hold on to company shares they receive for several years after a share buyback. It would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% while making changes to the corporate tax law to reward job creation and investment. It requests $773 billion for the Department of Defense, plus $40 billion for defense-related programs at the FBI, Department of Energy and other agencies. Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine has heightened European security concerns, as the Biden administration continues to invest in research and development of hypersonic missiles and other modern capabilities.