Biden Budget to Propose $6 Trillion in 2022 Spending
Voice of America
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will ask Congress for the authority to spend nearly $6 trillion in 2022, which would give him the resources to begin implementing an ambitious agenda of infrastructure investment and expanded social programs. However, the blueprint would also increase federal spending to a nearly unprecedented share of the U.S. economy and drive the national debt to new highs.
The budget request will forecast continued increases in federal spending over the next decade, eventually rising to $8.2 trillion in 2031, according to The New York Times. Much of that increase reflects the $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan and $1.8 billion education and families plan the president wants to begin rolling out, though neither has yet passed Congress. Much of the new spending would be paid for with proposed tax increases on the wealthy and on corporations. However, the administration projects that the federal government will still run deficits of more than $1.3 trillion per year over the coming decade before the budget begins to trend back toward balance. The budget is an important statement of the president's policy goals and ambitions, but it's up to Congress to determine how much will actually be spent in the coming year and how that government spending will be financed. Democrats currently hold slender majorities in the House and Senate, but Republicans will have an important say on spending and tax decisions in the coming months.This handout picture released by the Canoas City Hall shows people helping to rescue flood victims in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on May 4, 2024. Beira Rio stadium is flooded after heavy rain in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, May 7, 2024. A man rows a makeshift boat through an inundated street flooded by heavy rains, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, May 7, 2024. Evacuees ride in a loader after their homes were flooded at Eldorado do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul Brazil May 7, 2024.