Biden Aims to Boost Military and Social Spending in 2023 Budget
The president will unveil his latest budget proposal amid a war in Ukraine and concerns at home about rising costs.
President Biden’s fiscal 2023 budget will call for additional military spending in the face of Russian aggression toward Ukraine, domestic funding for child care and police departments along with new taxes on the wealthiest Americans. The proposal, which will be released on Monday, could be the last salvo of Mr. Biden’s legislative agenda, as Democrats face the prospect of losing control of Congress in what are expected to be bruising midterm elections. Mr. Biden plans to ask Congress to help his administration tackle some of the biggest concerns facing voters, including soaring inflation that has dented consumer confidence and is contributing to an overall sense of economic malaise. A senior administration official said that the president’s budget would propose policies “that will reduce energy, health care, child care and other costs for families,” though it is unclear exactly what the White House will propose.
Mr. Biden will request $813.3 billion in national security spending, an increase of $31 billion, or 4 percent, from 2022, according to people familiar with the proposal. Funding for the Defense Department will also include $4.1 billion to conduct research and develop defense capabilities, nearly $5 billion for a space-based missile warning system to detect global threats and nearly $2 billion for a missile defense interceptor to protect the United States against ballistic missile threats from states like North Korea and Iran. The budget, which is simply a request to Congress and is not binding, will also offer an update on how the administration plans to advance the spending and tax priorities included in Mr. Biden’s Build Back Better plan, which had to be scaled back last year amid resistance from moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia.
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