President Joe Biden unveiled a $5.8 trillion budget request designed to appease moderate Democrats on Monday, with a proposal that emphasized deficit reduction, additional funding for police and veterans, and flexibility to negotiate new social spending programs.
Congress historically sets presidential budgets aside, and razor-thin Democratic majorities mean most proposals stand a slim chance of passing -- but they do form a key messaging device. The White House included measures that would add up to the biggest tax increase in history in dollar terms, helping stabilize deficits relative to the size of the economy.
The 2023 budget calls for $1.598 trillion in so-called discretionary spending -- areas that aren’t linked with mandatory programs like Social Security -- with $813 billion for defense-related programs and $769 billion for domestic spending.
That marks a 5.7% increase from the omnibus spending bill for the 2022 fiscal year that was signed by Biden earlier this month. The budget would reduce deficit spending by $1 trillion over the coming decade, buoyed by the elimination of pandemic assistance programs, but with shortfalls averaging 4.7% of GDP over a decade, the national debt continues to climb.
