President Joe Biden is releasing his annual budget on Monday, laying out his aspirational funding priorities in what serves as an important messaging event as he works to convince voters who are sour on the economy to give him a second term.
The budget outlined by the White House, which comes as the president hits battleground states on the campaign trail this week, builds on the policy vision he laid out in last week’s State of the Union address in which he vowed to help the middle class and tried to draw contrasts with congressional Republicans and presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, whom he referred to only as “my predecessor.”
With Biden facing persistently low ratings on his handling of the economy, despite improving economic indicators, his proposals focus on populist themes such as raising tax rates on the wealthy and large corporations and lowering the cost of prescription medications – areas where the White House thinks it can appeal to voters, even if some of those proposals as written are likely dead on arrival in a narrowly divided Congress.
The budget being released Monday will include proposals to lower costs for families, increase investments in American manufacturing, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and reduce the deficit, according to a White House official.
Specifically, the budget will include provisions to raise taxes on large corporations, crack down on corporate profit shifting, and propose a minimum 25% tax on billionaires, the official added. The White House argues that these provisions would cut the deficit by around $3 trillion over 10 years — an aspiration made by last year’s budget as well — and cut taxes for many middle- and low-income Americans.
The budget will also include proposals for national paid leave and advancements in cancer…
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