President Biden released a $5.8 trillion budget plan this week that includes a reduction in the federal budget deficit of more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
The White House budget, which serves as an opening salvo in negotiations with Congress, pivots to fiscal prudence by reducing pandemic safety net costs and proposing tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations. The plan would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% and introduce a new “billionaire minimum tax,” a 20% minimum tax on the top .01% of earners and households with assets worth more than $100 million.
Biden said his budget plan includes approximately $31 billion in new defense spending, with $6.9 billion directed to NATO and European and Ukraine defense to counter Russian aggression. The plan also includes more than $32 billion in spending to prevent crime in the U.S., including more than $20.6 billion for the Justice Department and $3.2 billion for state and local law enforcement grants and hiring police officers.
“All told, it is a budget that includes historic deficit reduction, historic investments in our security at home and abroad, and an unprecedented commitment to building an economy where everyone has a chance to succeed,” Biden said this week.
