WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – President Biden traveled to Philadelphia Thursday to pitch his budget proposal directly to Americans at a union training center, while it’s Republican lawmakers he has to convince to pass it.
As President Biden says his plan will benefit Americans in many ways, Republicans are outright rejecting it because of the plans for new spending and new taxes on the wealthy.
“My dad would say ‘No, no, show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value,” President Biden said. “So, my budget reflects what we can do to lift the burden on hard-working Americans.”
The president says while he intends to continue battling inflation, his budget proposal would help Americans in other ways too. For example, his budget would restore the expanded Child Tax Credit — giving families up to $3,600 per child instead of $2,000.
The plan would also cap insulin prices at $35 dollars a month for everyone, not just Medicare recipients.
“It fits the need of American families to a ‘T,’” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said.
However, Republicans reject the president’s plan, in part, because of the new spending — saying the country is in financial trouble.
“Just to look at the next 10-year window, for the first time, three trust funds go insolvent — the Highway Trust Fund, Medicare and Social Security,” Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said.
The White House says the president’s plan would provide Medicare funding for at least 25 years and would lower the national debt by nearly $3 trillion by raising taxes on corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
But Republicans object to the idea of new taxes.
“We don’t have a revenue problem, we have an expenditure problem,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said.
The president’s budget has no chance of passing the Republican-controlled House as is, but Biden is hopeful some of his priorities will make it into next year’s budget after negotiating with Republicans.
