Biden budget continues ocean of red ink
Hearings start this morning on $6.8 trillion spending plan
Also in today’s edition of “Regular Order” for March 10, 2023:
Lawmakers spar over GOP default plan.
McConnell remains hospitalized after fall.
Republicans press new D.C. law repeal.
BUDGET. At a union hall in Philadelphia, President Biden rolled out a $6.8 trillion budget on Thursday, touting the plan as one which will reduce the deficit, lower health care and prescription drug costs, protect Social Security and Medicare, expand the child tax credit for families, and more. You can read the highlights here. The nerdy tables that I like start on page 140.
SIZE. The President's proposal envisions a total federal budget of nearly $6.9 trillion next year, growing to over $10 trillion by 2033. Three years ago, President Trump proposed a record-setting $4.8 trillion budget.
TAXES. The Biden plan would raise an additional $2.8 trillion in taxes over ten years by raising the top income tax rate, and increasing corporate taxes, which were cut by President Trump. Here's the 9-page document which summarizes the revenue raising provisions, plus the 226 page explanation.
DEFENSE. Spending for the Pentagon would go up another $26 billion in this budget proposal to $842 billion. I would put money on the likelihood that Congress will vote to spend even more than that on defense for 2024.
BUDGET TALKS. The release of the budget plan also signaled the start of a fierce battle over the budget which could include the first U.S. default - if there’s no agreement. “I’ve now laid out my budget. Republicans in Congress should do the same,” Biden said.
DEFICITS. This document presents nothing close to a balanced budget. "My plans are going to reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years," Biden said. He's correct - it would mean lower deficits than under current law. But it would still add $17 trillion in new deficits over 10 years - an average of $1.7 trillion each year.
TOTALS. Here are the estimated yearly federal deficits over the next ten years in the Biden budget:
2024 - $1.846 trillion
2025 - $1.671 trillion
2026 - $1.521 trillion
2027 - $1.521 trillion
2028 - $1.604 trillion
2029 - $1.536 trillion
2030 - $1.686 trillion
2031 - $1.776 trillion
2032 - $1.871 trillion
2033 - $2.035 trillion
RED INK. Let's be honest, folks. You can have legitimate differences about how much money should be spent. But when the deficit routinely is more than $1.5 trillion per year - and getting closer to $2 trillion per year - that's unacceptable, and we all know it.
REPORT CARD. "When it comes to fixing the debt, this is by no means an award-winning budget," said Maya MacGuineas of the Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget, "but the President deserves at least a participation trophy."
BUDGET NERD NOTES. The White House did not release the giant 'Appendix' that details exactly how money would be spent across the federal government under this budget plan. My other favorite piece of the budget - the 'Analytical Perspectives' section - also won't be out until next week.
REACTION. To say that Republicans were not impressed with the Biden budget details would be an understatement. "The budget proposal Biden delivered to Congress today is a total joke," said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Speaker Kevin McCarthy called it 'completely unserious.'
GOP. But for all their bluster, Republicans have not laid down their own plan, and they seem in no hurry to do that at this point. Because of that delay, there may not be talks anytime soon between McCarthy and President Biden.
BUDGET. "I'm ready to meet with the Speaker anytime - tomorrow if he has his budget," the President said in Philadelphia. "Lay it down. Tell me what you want to do."
TODAY. Both sides will get their first crack at the budget in a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will make the case for the President’s plans before skeptical Republicans.
DEFAULT. Members of the Ways and Means Committee warmed up for today's budget hearing by sparring about a GOP plan to deal with a possible government default scenario. The bill would have the feds pay what bills they could - first by paying interest on bonds, followed by payments for Social Security and Medicare.
DETAILS. But the package was silent on what exactly the feds should not spend money on - basically giving the Treasury Secretary the task of making off-the-cuff budget cuts. Democrats pointed out that might mean foreign bondholders would get paid - but members of the military might not.
DEMS. "My question is, are you prioritizing the Chinese Communist Party over veterans, U.S. soldiers, and seniors?" asked Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY). It was a bit of a turnabout for the GOP, which has repeatedly used the specter of the Chinese to beat up on Democrats.
BILL. Democrats said the GOP is using this bill in part to avoid publicly signaling what Republicans want to cut in order to deal with the debt limit. It’s not clear if this will get a vote before the Easter break.
FISA. A Republican Congressman revealed on Thursday that the FBI searched for information about him in a database derived from special foreign intelligence surveillance. That news came amid more calls from GOP lawmakers for reforms in FISA, and a general anger with the FBI bubbling within Republican ranks.
QUERY. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) - who ironically is currently leading a Congressional review of FISA - told a hearing that he was the lawmaker who had been wrongly targeted. It happened between December 2019 and May 2020.
LAHOOD. "Based on what they reviewed, they found these queries to be wholly inappropriate," LaHood said. He slammed the 'culture' of the FBI, saying the episode degrades the trust that lawmakers have in the FISA process.
CULTURE. What’s really notable about the GOP attacks on the FBI is that they are portraying it as some kind of law enforcement haven for liberals. I have to say that runs against what I’ve observed over the years.
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TWITTER FILES. The latest House 'Weaponization' hearing was more like a mud wrestling match, as the two parties heatedly sparred with each other on Thursday, while Democrats tangled with two journalists hired by Elon Musk to try to prove that the feds had pressured Twitter to make content decisions biased against conservatives.
SOURCE. Maybe the most bizarre moments came when reporter Matt Taibbi - who was very publicly tapped by Musk to write up the Twitter Files release - refused to say who had given him the insider emails from Twitter. It led to some acidic exchanges with Democrats on the panel.
BRICKBATS. Republicans accused Democrats of being against the First Amendment and journalists. Democrats said the GOP was desperately searching for anything of substance.
WITNESSES. None of the GOP hearings so far have presented any witness with inside evidence of wrongdoing. The latest Twitter Files release - made just before yesterday’s hearing - focused on outside groups like the Aspen Institute.
GRUMBLING. Thursday's hearing came amid growing criticism - from inside the Trump wing of the party - about how Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is handling the probe so far, with some conservatives openly saying that Jordan has bungled the investigation.
WAR ROOM. Prominently raising questions this week was former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon. "This committee is what Jim Jordan is going to be known for," Bannon said, telling his viewers that he's heard bad tales about the weaponization probe.
FAILURE. On Bannon's show, conservative activist Mike Davis eagerly embraced complaints about the committee. "It's structurally set up to fail," Davis said, charging that the special panel is understaffed and underfunded. "This is a failure on Jim Jordan's part."
MCCONNELL. Senators went home for the weekend not certain about the injuries suffered Wednesday night by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell when he fell in a Washington hotel. McConnell's office said the Kentucky Republican suffered a concussion, and would be in the hospital for several days to come.
FALL. It was the second time that McConnell has been injured in a fall. He broke his shoulder back in 2019 after an accident at his home in Kentucky. McConnell was reportedly attending a private dinner when he fell - no other details were released.
WELL WISHES. "Jill and I are wishing Senator McConnell a speedy recovery," President Biden said on Thursday. "We look forward to seeing him back on the Senate floor."
OBSERVATION. I do have to note the different way that the news about McConnell was processed. Unlike when the husband of then Speaker Nancy Pelosi was attacked by an assailant, there were no conspiracy theories or jokes being made about McConnell by lawmakers of the other party.
D.C. CRIME. A day after the Senate rebuked the city of Washington, D.C. by easily voting to repeal a controversial crime law, two GOP lawmakers said they would try to block another plan from the city's council. This time, the focus is on police reforms made after protests in the summer of 2020, which are now being amended by the city.
CLYDE. "I'm fighting to block this anti-police law," said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), who led the successful effort to overturn a recently approved crime law in the city. Clyde says this new package of reforms is 'deeply flawed' - claiming it will force police officers out of law enforcement and harm public safety.
UNION. The move was swiftly endorsed by the D.C. Police Union. "This Act is laced with bad policies with real-world consequences," said union chief Gregg Pemberton, who said it would put 'criminals before victims.'
CRIME. Clyde obviously has some momentum here after his win on the D.C. crime law. While Democrats certainly bungled that in several ways - it was a clear victory for Republicans, and a reminder that elections have consequences. That's my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
HOUSE. Before leaving town for ten days, the House will vote today to send President Biden a bill which requires the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information about the origin of the COVID-19 virus. The plan was approved last week by the Senate.
INTEL. The U.S. Intelligence Community already did that once at the request of President Biden. That was the report which said intelligence agencies were divided on the origin, but ruled out one idea. "We judge the virus was not developed as a biological weapon."
JANUARY 6. Three House Republicans have written to the mayor of Washington, D.C., asking for documents and other information about the conditions for those jailed in the January 6 investigation. The letter accuses officials of 'violating detainees’ constitutional and human rights,' and asks for a tour by lawmakers.
LETTER. "The Committee also plans to confirm the accuracy of reports of disparate treatment January 6 detainees have received while incarcerated in the DC Jail Facilities," lawmakers stated. It was signed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. James Comer (R-KY), and Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA).
RAP SHEET. Another Florida man has been arrested for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Richard Cook was charged with joining other rioters who 'repeatedly engaged in violence against law enforcement officers guarding the Capitol.'
FEDS. "In the 26 months since Jan. 6, 2021, nearly 999 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement."
MUSE OF HISTORY. March 10, 1864. In the midst of the Civil War, the Congress was considering how best to improve the defenses of the Union. On this date, the House Committee on Roads and Canals reported a bill to enlarge the ship canal between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan in order to allow for the passage of armed naval vessels. The plan had support, but the debate quickly became one about process - in other words, some lawmakers said the bill had not gone through the (let's all say it together) regular order.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 9 am.
The Senate is back on Tuesday.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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“It's structurally set up to fail," Davis said. LOL. You know what would help Jim Jordan’s “weaponization” investigation? Actual evidence. You know, like the Jan. 6 committee had.
Also, it’s informative that Democrats aren’t frothing at the mouth spouting conspiracy theories about an underwear clad McConnell in a hotel room with a male prostitute.
Bottom line on the budget proposal is something beats nothing every time.
Recovery from the Bush and Trump tax cuts will take decades just as the deficits and debt caused by them accumulated over decades. Taxes are too low to cover the government spending the public demands. The primary problem with the Biden proposal is a failure to raise taxes enough.
The alternative of cutting enough spending to balance the budget would lead to a total collapse of our country as we know it due to the extreme poverty and suffering caused by it.