Biden seeks 8.4 percent increase in government budget

President Joe Biden seeks an 8.4 percent increase in the fiscal year 2022 budget to $1.52 trillion, Friday evening news said. fiscal year 2022 is set to begin in October 2021.

Biden’s budget plan seeks a 16 percent increase in spending on key domestic programs, a request that builds on Biden’s trillions of dollars in new infrastructure spending. Biden’s initial budget proposal does not include a $2 trillion infrastructure proposal or tax reform, and the White House is expected to submit the full budget to Congress later in the spring, U.S. government officials added.

Details of the budget proposal are as follows.

  1. $2.1 billion to address gun violence
  2. $14 billion in additional spending on climate change to reach net zero emissions by 2050
  3. 20 percent increase in the budget for the National Science Foundation, and $500 million for climate and energy research
  4. the budget seeks to increase non-defense discretionary spending by $769 billion in FY2022, a 16 percent increase over FY2021 levels; and increase defense spending by $753 billion, a 1.7 percent increase over FY2021
  5. the White House requested $11.2 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, an increase of $2 billion year-over-year

In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen said IRS enforcement funding would increase by $900 million in FY 2022 under President Biden’s budget. The budget request also includes $13.2 billion for the IRS, an increase of $1.2 billion or 10.4 percent from fiscal year 2021.

Foreign media commented that this shows Biden’s willingness to use the federal government’s power and financial resources to reverse a decade of government underinvestment in America’s most pressing domestic issues. But Congress, which is responsible for approving government spending, was not asked to comply with the White House budget. Officials have promised that Biden’s full budget will be released later this spring.