President Biden unveiled his $6 trillion budget proposal on Friday, with big increases in spending on infrastructure, public health, and education, along with tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy.
From what's in it for you to how will it be paid for, here's a quick introduction to the $6 trillion budget proposal.
Increase in Taxes on the Wealthy Will Help Pay for the Plan
President Biden would raise taxes on high-income households and corporations to pay for these plans. For example, the corporate tax rate would increase from 21% to 28%. The top capital-gains rate would rise from 23.8% to 43.4%. In addition, the Administration proposes an expansion of the IRS that is projected to yield $700 billion in net savings from increased tax enforcement.
In total, Biden's budget is estimated to be a $3.6 trillion tax hike on the wealthy and corporations.
$25B Additional Requested for Health
Biden's budget includes $132 billion for the Department of Health and Human services, and reflects priorities on more spending for pandemic preparedness and programs to reduce racial disparities in healthcare.
The President also wants $10.7 billion, an increase of $3.9 billion over 2021 enacted levels, for combating the opioid crisis. Lastly, Biden is asking for $6.5 billion to start a new agency called the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
$36B for Energy and the Environment
The proposed budget also calls for more than $36 billion in investments to combat climate change. The proposal links clean-energy spending on job growth, estimating $2 billion for welders, electricians and other workers on clean-energy projects.
A large portion of the $171 billion in federal research and development money would focus on technologies that could steer US power needs away from fossil fuels and help the country's energy and transportation sectors reach net zero emissions by 2050.
$715B for the Defense Department
The administration outlined a 2022 budget of $715 billion for the Pentagon. Officials said the budget reflected Biden’s shifting priorities toward confronting China and Russia and reducing emphasis on the “old wars” in places such as Afghanistan and in the Middle East.
The proposed budget is a 1.6% increase over last year, and officials say it will fund the administration’s focus on competitors, as well as modernization and investments in service members and addressing climate change.
Funding for Transportation
Many of the transit provisions in the budget are proposals from Mr. Biden’s American Jobs Plan, including funds for upgrading 20,000 miles of highways and streets and a focus on repairing the 10 most economically significant bridges, many of which require reconstruction.
Funding for Education
President Biden’s budget spells out his plans to have the government make four additional years of schooling—including preschool and two years of community college—free to families, with taxpayers covering the cost. It would also substantially boost federal funding for primary and secondary schools in high-poverty areas—so-called Title 1 schools.
Funding for Agriculture
The Agriculture Department would see a 16% funding increase, with significant additional funding for priorities like rural broadband, improving rural water infrastructure and improving forest management to prevent forest fires.
Additional Funding Buckets
There is also additional funding for the Justice Department, included around $400 million in new funds to improve relationships between law enforcement and the communities they work in. Plus, there's nearly $700 million for efforts to reform the criminal-justice system.
There's also funding for cybersecurity improvements. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would get an additional $110 million, bringing its funding to $2.1 billion. The bill provides $20 million for a new Cyber Response and Recovery fund.
Finally, the Space Agency (NASA) would get a 6.3% funding bump to support human and robotic exploration of the moon and Mars.