Biden Unveils Budget Blueprint to Boost Federal Spending on Families and Slow Growth of National Debt

President Joe Biden unveiled a budget blueprint on Thursday that would boost federal spending on families while slowing the growth of the national debt by taxing the wealthy. The proposal is largely symbolic, as it has no chance of becoming law, but it shows that Democrats can match their economic rhetoric with theoretical legislation that meets the definition of “fiscally responsible.”

In a statement, Biden called the document “a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America in a fiscally responsible way that leaves no one behind.” The budget would increase spending on education, health care, and infrastructure, while avoiding cuts to popular programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Republicans have suggested they would balance the federal budget in a decade entirely by slashing spending, without raising taxes or touching popular programs. However, budget experts have said this is impossible.

Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in an interview with CNN that the budget proposal “lays down a strategic marker that White House officials plan to put at the center of the high-stakes policy and political battles looming over Washington.”

The budget blueprint is designed to show that Democrats can be fiscally responsible and invest in the American people, while avoiding cuts to programs that people absolutely need. It is a clear, if aspirational, policy vision for the year ahead.