WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden will release his official budget request for the next fiscal year on Thursday, sparking another round in the age-old fight between the White House and Congress over federal government spending.
The budget process is complex and politically tinged, forcing policymakers to wrestle with fundamental questions about what Americans want from government and how much they’re willing to pay for it.
“At times like these, what Congress is doing and what the administration is proposing are two very different things because they have very different views of what the United States should be,” Douglas Holtz said. -Eakin, who ran the Treasurer’s Office. 2003-2005.
The federal budget keeps growing, no matter who is in power in Washington.
Twenty years ago, when George W. Bush took over the White House, federal government spending for fiscal year 2003 was $2.16 trillion. In 2023, they are expected to exceed $6 trillion.
The bulk of the budget is made up of mandatory expenditures that the government is required by law to bear: social security, health insurance for the elderly, federal and military pensions.
Mandatory spending will represent about 63% of all federal spending in fiscal year 2023, and interest payments on the federal debt will represent 8%.
Biden signaled that in his budget request he will propose measures to reduce the federal deficit by about $2 trillion over the next ten years. But he proposes to achieve this not by cutting spending, but by raising taxes on wealthy Americans.
Republicans have yet to release their final plan, but their internal party discussions are focused on cutting spending rather than increasing revenue.
Options being considered include a nearly 50% cut in the foreign aid budget, cuts to affordable housing programs for low-income Americans and a requirement of employment for some benefits.
While it’s impossible to imagine how this particular budget battle will play out, history suggests that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate won’t be able to agree on a common budget plan.
When this has happened in the past, the government has continued to work on “continuing funding resolutions” that allow Congress to maintain current spending levels while lawmakers continue to work on a deal, sometimes taking several months. .
