On March 28, the White House released the president’s $5.8 trillion budget for the next fiscal year, which renews calls for tax hikes to support Democrats’ federal spending priorities in the coming years.  

President Biden’s budget calls for $5.8 trillion in federal spending for fiscal year 2023 and requests a significant increase of approximately $31 billion in military spending, including aid to Ukraine as it continues its fight against Russia’s invasion. The president’s budget would also increase federal discretionary spending by $109 billion over the recently enacted FY22 omnibus federal spending bill and estimates that the national debt would grow by more than $13 trillion over the next decade. To fund the president’s priorities, the budget would impose tax increases for many Americans and American businesses, including an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, a raise in the top individual income tax rate to 39.6% and a new 20% tax hike on high-earning Americans.

While the president’s budget is not typically approved by Congress, it highlights the administration’s priorities for the coming year and provides a blueprint for Democrats in Congress as they continue discussions on the partisan budget reconciliation proposal this year. Aspects of the president’s budget seem designed to appeal to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is a key vote for any reconciliation proposal and previously blocked Democrats’ efforts to move forward with the partisan reconciliation process last year.

Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have praised the proposal, while Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee released a number of talking points critical of the president’s budget and its impact on the economy and national debt.

Throughout the budget proposal, the president also calls for the creation of union-only jobs on federal infrastructure, energy, broadband, supply chain and environmental projects, alluding to the administration’s continued support for ABC-opposed policies that will limit job opportunities for hard-working Americans in the construction industry. The White House proposal also calls for $319 million for the National Labor Relations Board, a 16% funding increase for the NLRB, which has maintained flat funding since 2014. The NLRB under President Biden continues to pursue rules and decisions that contradict decades of well-established precedent and upend labor relations without regard to the negative impact these actions have on employees, employers, and the economy.