President Joe Biden released his wish list for the federal budget on Friday, asking for an 8.4% increase in discretionary spending with substantial gains …
President Joe Biden released his wish list for the federal budget on Friday, asking for an 8.4% increase in discretionary spending with substantial gains for education, health care, housing and environmental protection. The request issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget spells out Biden’s top priorities as Congress weighs its spending plans for next year. It’s the first financial outline of Democrats’ broader ambitions since the expiration of a 2011 law that capped discretionary spending. Roughly a third of the huge federal budget consists of discretionary spending, which is funding for the military, foreign policy and domestic programs set by Congress. The rest of the budget involves mandatory spending that is locked-in each year, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Biden, as vice president, helped strike the 2011 agreement with Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who will be on the other side of budget talks again as the chamber’s minority leader. The compromise was meant to reduce partisan gridlock over an increase to the government’s borrowing authority in return for deficit savings.
