US President Joe Biden’s next budget proposal aims to reduce the deficit by about 2.8 billion euros over the next decade, a government source said on Wednesday.
This deficit reduction target is significantly higher than the roughly 1.9 billion euros that Biden pledged in his State of the Union address last month.
It also contrasts sharply with House Republicans, who have called for a balanced budget but have yet to propose a plan.
The White House has always questioned Republicans’ commitment to what it sees as a sustainable federal budget.
US government sources told the Associated Press (AP) that various tax plans and other policies previously supported by Republican congressmen will add another 2.5 billion euros to the national debt in 10 years.
Biden intends to present his budget proposal on Thursday in Philadelphia and will propose government spending cuts for major pharmaceutical and oil companies, a government source who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity said.
The US president announced his intention to raise taxes to fund Medicare in an opinion piece published Tuesday in The New York Times.
In his text, the Democrat stressed that “Medicare is more than a government program,” emphasizing that “it’s a rock-solid guarantee that (North) Americans rely on to support them when they retire.”
Medicare is a federal health care program for people aged 65 and over and for some special needs.
The US economy is in a delicate phase due to high inflation.
This summer, the government must exhaust its emergency measures to keep Washington running, risking defaults that could lead to the collapse of the economy.
Biden’s spending priority package is unlikely to pass the lower house or Senate (upper house) of the US Congress, as suggested.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday the plan “will not see the light of day,” a sign that it could serve as a signal for the 2024 presidential election in the first place.
Republicans, who recently gained control of the House of Representatives, are demanding drastic spending cuts.
Biden suggested that increasing income and stock taxes for the nation’s wealthiest families could strengthen public finances, as well as improve Medicare and Social Security.
The head of state said in a speech on Monday that there are 680 billionaires in the US and that many of them pay lower taxes than families who consider themselves middle class.
“No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a firefighter, no one,” Biden said during a meeting of the International Association of Firefighters.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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