Huge financial assistance to Ukraine and a new tax for millionaires: Biden proposed a budget for 2023

US President Joe Biden unveiled the draft budget for fiscal year 2023. And while the project includes increasing security funding and cutting the deficit, officials say inflation could continue to create problems for the economy as a whole. The edition told in more detail CNN.

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Defense budget and assistance to Ukraine

Biden said the proposal had three main points: financial responsibility, security, and investment in "building a better America."

Biden also noted a change in his administration's approach to federal spending from earlier in the pandemic, thus criticizing his predecessor, the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, for widening the federal budget deficit throughout his tenure.

“After my predecessor's financial mismanagement, we are reducing the deficit and putting our financial house in order,” the president said.

Biden said his proposed $1,3 trillion cut would be "the largest annual deficit reduction in US history."

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, the proposed budget includes $6,9 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative and NATO, as well as "countering Russian aggression to support Ukraine." As well as $13,6 billion to help Ukraine provide security and help resupply weapons for Ukrainians.

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The president said his budget proposal "would be one of the largest investments in history for our national security." Biden's proposed FY2023 Pentagon budget includes $813 billion in national defense spending, up 4% from the spending package signed earlier. CNN.

Yet the Biden administration's defense budget remains focused on China as a major strategic challenge, with a focus on strengthening European security in the face of the threat posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The national security spending proposal has already drawn criticism from both sides.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Biden's budget was "grossly short of defense spending," arguing that in a high-inflation environment, the proposed 4% increase in military spending amounted to "a de facto cut in real dollar funding for our military."

Meanwhile, House and Senate liberals have declined to support Biden, with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders saying "we don't need massive increases in the defense budget when the U.S. is already spending more on the military than the next (ranked) 11 countries combined."

The president acknowledged criticism in Washington over defense spending, saying, “Some people don't like the increase, but today we live in a different world. America is more prosperous, more successful, and more just when it's safer."

Its budget includes $3,2 billion in "discretionary state and local grant resources" for communities to hire more police officers, and an additional $30 billion in "compulsory resources to support law enforcement, crime prevention and community violence."

Biden dismissed the suggestion that allocating a budget to intervene in criminal activity was a political ploy.

“When I was elected, I was criticized because I supported the police too much for the previous 30 years,” Biden said when asked if the additional funding was included due to political pressure from Republicans saying Democrats were being too lenient. relate to crime.

“Looking back, this budget shows that we can invest in the American people, and that we can do it with smart financial responsibility,” said Shalanda Young, Director of the US Office of Management and Budget.

Officials say the budget's inflation estimates were set in November, before Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which strained the economy and led to widespread price increases.

“The invasion is likely to put upward pressure on energy and food prices, which in turn could exacerbate inflation, which was already a problem before the invasion due to supply chain restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and demand for goods.” Cecilia Rose, chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said.

Modernization of the armed forces

The total number of troops of the US Army should be reduced by 3000 people.

The US Navy is proposing to decommission 24 ships, including nine coastal warships and five cruisers. Littoral warships faced perennial problems, including repeated breakdowns and questions about their limited armament.

The ships were part of the US deterrent against China as they were designed to operate in shallow waters such as the South China Sea. But decommissioning so many ships in one year seems to be an admission that costly surface warships have not lived up to expectations.

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The Pentagon plans to purchase only 61 F-35s, compared to 85 purchased last year. The Air Force also proposes to decommission A-10 attack aircraft and F-22 fighters.

A Defense Department spokesman said the proposed increased budget is not intended to increase the size of the US military, but rather to help modernize it so it can compete with Russia and China.

According to the official, many of the department's programs, even if they do not specifically relate to Russia or China, are aimed at solving the problems facing both countries. This includes investments such as space, cyberspace and industrial base.

However, the proposed budget includes $6,1 billion in funding for Pacific deterrence, including strengthening Guam's defenses and a new missile warning and tracking architecture.

Largest research and procurement budget

With a focus on modernizing the military, the budget request includes the largest ever investment in procurement, research and development, at $276 billion.

The Department of Defense's focus on building a "comprehensive deterrent" requires the modernization of the military in all areas of warfare: in the air, on land, at sea, in cyberspace and in space.

The budget is asking for $56,6 billion to purchase F-35 and F-15EX fighter jets, while the military is developing B-21 bombers and drones.

At sea, the budget is asking for $40,8 billion to build eight warships in the fleet, including nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The budget request also provides $12,6 billion for the modernization of military equipment of the army and marine corps.

The budget also provides for a 4,6% pay increase for both military and civilian employees.

And expands the department's commitment to climate change preparedness, including a request for a $3,1 billion investment intended to "lay the foundation for a more combat-ready force of the future."

The requested budget also included a $1 billion flexible fund to manage the response to a fuel spill at Red Hill Mass Fuel Storage in Hawaii. In early March, US Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd announced that he had made the decision to close the facility after an oil leak contaminated the water.

The official described the amount as "more than the down payment", while acknowledging that it is difficult to predict exactly how much money will be needed to operate the facility, especially with the ongoing litigation.

Other items

Other requests include $10 billion in new funding for elections needed to "strengthen American democracy" as it faces unprecedented threats. The money for officials, if approved by Congress, will be spent within 10 years.

"Federal funding for equipment, systems, and personnel that make up the nation's critical infrastructure has been episodic or crisis-driven," the White House budget proposal says.

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One of the notable points of the offer includes "free mailing of ballots". Mail-in voting is becoming more popular, especially after the 2020 election, but states must decide whether voters should pay for stamps.

Biden also wants to increase the Justice Department's civil rights budget by $101 million, to a new total of $367 million. The funds will support voting rights efforts, among other things.

The budget also includes funding for the president's renamed "Creating a Better America" ​​proposal, which has stalled in Congress, but "does not include specific investment items," Young said.

“The deficit-neutral reserve fund is designed to leave room for Americans to cut spending and reduce the deficit,” she said.

To make these investments and reduce the deficit, the budget provides for a new “minimum tax for billionaires”, which does not only include billionaires and applies to anyone with a net worth of more than $100 million.

It also increases the rate that corporations pay on profits and contains additional measures to ensure that multinational corporations operating in the United States cannot use tax havens to reduce taxes.

Rose told reporters that Biden's policies will reduce the expected deficit in the current fiscal year 2022 "to $1,3 trillion less than it was in fiscal 2021, and we believe the policies in this budget will further reduce the deficit by another trillion over the course of next decade." But much of this deficit reduction is due to the expiring temporary programs of the American Rescue Plan.

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