WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden will seek $6 trillion in US federal spending for the 2022 fiscal year, rising to $8.2 trillion by 2031, the New York Times reported on Thursday, a day before the White House is expected to unveil its budget proposal.
Citing documents it had obtained, the Times said the Democratic president planned to pay for his agenda through increased taxes on corporations and high earners, and that the budget deficits would start to decrease in the 2030s.
On Friday, Biden is set to release his first full budget since taking office in January as he seeks to push his priorities of investing in infrastructure, childcare and other public works in a national rebuilding effort.
Representatives for the White House could not be immediately reached for comment on the report, which noted Biden's proposal would put the nation on track for its highest sustained level of spending since World War II.
Republicans have criticised the president for seeking trillions in new spending, setting the stage for pitched battles over his priorities.
"It just seems like the trillions keep on coming," Republican US Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who is leading a group of colleagues pursuing a counteroffer to Biden's current $1.7 trillion infrastructure proposal.
While the president can propose an annual budget for the US government, it is up to Congress to approve spending bills. And while Democrats hold the majority in the US House of Representatives, they only narrowly control the 50-50 divided US Senate, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote.
Still, Biden campaigned on charting a new course for the country after four divisive years under his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, and has vowed to press ahead with his sweeping proposals.
His plan, expected Friday, will offer more details on that path, including possible spending jumps in Medicaid and other social programmes. It will also lay out proposed funds for foreign aid, immigration, policing and national defence.
Meanwhile, US Senate Republicans unveiled a new infrastructure offer on Thursday that would spend $928 billion over eight years to revitalize America's roads, bridges and broadband systems, still well below President Joe Biden's last proposal.
The plan, from a group of six Republicans led by Senator Shelley Moore Capito, represents their counter-offer to a week-old $1.7 trillion White House proposal that slashed more than $500 billion from Biden's original $2.25 trillion plan in a bid to reach a bipartisan agreement.
"Senate Republicans continue to negotiate in good faith," Capito told a news conference. "There is a real hunger for bipartisanship in the United States Senate."
The Republican proposal includes $506 billion for roads, bridges and major projects, with another $98 billion allocated to public transit.
Biden has imposed an unofficial end-of-May deadline on the negotiations, and some Senate Democrats have been pushing to go it alone if Republicans do not reach an agreement soon.
The White House has expressed willingness to negotiate on some of the finer details but has said it wants a large package that expands the definition of infrastructure to include items such as free community college and paid family leave.- AFP
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