Everything you need to know about the FY 2023 #BidenBudget
At its core, the budget is a values statement — a statement about what we want to prioritize, what we view as our greatest challenges, and what — and who — we believe is worth investing in.
President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget puts the American people first. It invests in education, public health, affordable housing, and scientific research and development, and it makes important changes to our tax system to ensure that corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. The budget promotes shared prosperity and expands access to opportunities.
In the weeks since President Biden put forward his budget, House Budget Committee members heard nearly a dozen hours of testimony from Biden administration officials at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Department of Defense (DoD) on how the Biden Budget invests in Americans’ health, safety, and well-being. Here’s what we learned:
The Biden Budget:
Expands high-quality, affordable education for all ages. The Biden Budget increases investments in affordable childcare, public schools, and higher education — including meeting President Biden’s commitment to double the maximum Pell Grant by 2029.
Read more on how the Biden Budget invests in America’s kids.
Tackles the COVID-19 pandemic and guard against future threats to public health. The Biden Budget strengthens our public health system for decades to come. It increases discretionary funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by 28 percent and makes major investments in our public health systems and surge capacity so we are prepared for future pandemics and biological threats.
Jumpstarts the development of treatment and cures for diseases including cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. The budget puts $5 billion towards President Biden’s new ARPA-H research initiative, putting us on track to meet President Biden’s goal of cutting cancer death rates by 50 percent over the next 25 years, which would save 300,000 lives and hundreds of billions of dollars annually. The budget also lays out a strategy to reduce HIV infection by 75 percent over next three years.
Expands mental health care and substance use disorder coverage. The Biden Budget requires insurance companies to cover three behavioral health visits and three primary care visits without cost-sharing or fees.
Targets systemic health disparities and invests in vulnerable communities that have historically been left behind or ignored. This includes investments to lower America’s unacceptably high maternal mortality rate — especially among Black and Native women — and substantial increases in funding for low-income women’s health care through the Title X Family Planning Program. And it guarantees a stable funding source for the Indian Health Services (IHS) over the next decade.
Read more on how the Biden Budget strengthens public health and expands access to health care.
“The Budget offers a vision for the nation that reinvests in America’s health, supports growth and prosperity, and meets our commitments to the American people and especially to the most vulnerable… If we step up in this moment, we can lay the foundation now.”
— HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra
Builds more affordable housing, increases rental assistance, and reduces homelessness. The Biden Budget provides nearly $48 billion to increase affordable housing supply and funds the HOME Investment Partnerships Program — which helps rehabilitate affordable rental housing — at its highest level in nearly 15 years.
Lowers energy costs for families by increasing funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help families with their home energy costs.
Tackles the climate crisis and quadruples funding for international climate finance.
Read more on how the Biden Budget tackles the climate crisis and other longstanding environmental challenges.
Fulfils our obligations to our veterans and service members. The Biden Budget gives members of our military their largest pay increase in a generation, funds a newly authorized basic needs allowance, and provides a sizable 19 percent increase in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Read more on how the Biden Budget prioritizes our veterans and their health and well-being.
Protects our communities by increasing funding to combat violent crime and investing a historic $1 billion to support the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Defends our national security with a whole-of-government approach that makes sure that Department of Defense has the resources necessary to protect our people at home and abroad. The budget also increases funding for the State Department and includes vital investments to support our European allies in the face of Russian aggression, advance cybersecurity, and maintain strong and credible deterrents.
“The budget aligns our capabilities to confront a dynamic landscape imposing new demands on the Department, at home, abroad, and across boundaries. This budget continues to modernize at speed and scale, while advancing key warfighting concepts, and investing strategically for the future.”
— DoD Under Secretary/Comptroller Michael McCord
The Biden Budget proposes long-overdue changes to make our tax system more fair and close loopholes that have allowed billionaires to get away with paying lower tax rates than teachers and firefighters. That starts with raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent. At a time when many corporations are touting record profits despite higher prices putting pressure on family budgets, this change alone will raise $1.3 trillion dollars over the next decade.
“Budgets are statements of values,” Biden said in a statement, “and the budget I am releasing today sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and around the world, and the investments needed to continue our equitable growth and build a better America.”
— President Joe Biden
The budget will also institute a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax of 20 percent on the wealthiest earners — those Americans worth more than $100 million. This will raise $361 billion in revenue over the decade. Finally, it will take steps to prevent large multinational corporations from using tax havens to game the system.
By investing in the foundations of our nation’s strength and making sure our tax code rewards work — not wealth — the Biden Budget will improve our country’s long-term fiscal outlook.
“Under the President’s leadership, our country has made historic progress in the face of unprecedented challenges… The Budget puts forward an economically and fiscally responsible path forward — addressing our country’s long-term fiscal challenges while making smart investments that will produce stronger growth and broadly shared prosperity for generations to come.”
— OMB Director Shalanda Young
The Biden Budget reflects the tremendous economic growth our nation has experienced since Congressional Democrats — led by the House Budget Committee — worked with President Biden to enact the historic American Rescue Plan.
The American Rescue Plan kicked off a record-breaking economic recovery that has been stronger and faster than economists and experts initially predicted. As a result, unemployment is down to 3.6 percent — the fastest decline in American history — and last year, our nation saw the fastest GDP growth in nearly 40 years.
But the work is not done; it’s just beginning. President Biden has laid out a compassionate and responsible budget that will meet the needs of our families and communities now, grow our economy, and build a stronger, more secure, and more inclusive nation for generations to come. Now, it’s time to move this vision forward.
LEARN MORE: Check out the Budget Committee’s summary report on President Biden’s Budget, “Biden Budget Reinvests in the Foundations of Our Nation’s Strength.”
