Biden Unveils Budget Proposal with a Hefty Price Tag

President Joe Biden unveiled a $1.5 trillion budget proposal on Friday morning, asking Congress to allocate $769 billion for non-defense related programs and $753 billion for defense spending; the 2 requests mark 16 percent and 2 percent increases, respectively.

Acting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young touted the administration’s prioritization of climate change and public health in the discretionary spending request.

“As the Congress embarks on this year’s appropriations process, the Administration is outlining its discretionary funding request for FY 2022—a package of proposals to help build on efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and improve the public health infrastructure; create an economy that works for everyone; mount a historic, whole-of-Government-approach to combating climate change; advance equity across the Nation and economy; and restore America’s standing around the world,” she wrote to congressional appropriations leaders.

Nearly each cabinet department receives a bump in funding from Biden’s proposal, via Axios’ breakdown:

Department of Agriculture: $27.8 billion, up 16% from 2021
$1.7 billion to address the threat of wildfires, up $476 million from 2021
$6.7 billion for nutrition programs like food stamps, up $1 billion from 2021
Department of Commerce: $11.4 billion, up 28% from 2021
$442 million for programs supporting domestic manufacturing, more than double 2021
Department of Defense: $715 billion, up 1.5% from 2021
Goals include deterring China and Russia, modernizing nuclear deterrent, promoting climate resilience, countering emerging biological threats.
Department of Education: $29.8 billion, up 41% from 2021
$36.5 billion for Title I grant to students in high-poverty schools, up $20 billion from 2021
$15.5 billion to support children with disabilities
Increases the maximum Pell grant by $400 and increases funding for HBCU's and low-resourced institutions by over $600 million
Department of Energy: $46.1 billion, up 10.2% from 2021
$1.9 billion for clean energy projects
Department of Health and Human Services: $131.7 billion, up 23.5% from 2021
$8.7 billion for the CDC, up $1.6 billion from 2021
$10.7 billion to help end the opioid epidemic, up $3.9 billion from 2021
$1.6 billion mental health block grants, more than double 2021 levels
$4.3 billion for Office of Refugee Resettlement
$489 million for domestic violence survivors, more than double 2021 levels
Department of Homeland Security: $52 billion, about equal to 2021
$1.2 billion for border infrastructure
$2.1 billion for cyber agency, up $110 million from 2021
$131 million to address domestic terrorism, complementing DOJ
Department of Housing and Urban Development: $68.7 billion, up 15% from 2021
$30.4 billion for housing vouchers and to help address homelessness
Department of the Interior: $17.4 billion, up 16% from 2021
$4 billion to fund tribal programs, up $600 million from 2021
$340 million to address wildfires
Department of Justice: $35.2 billion, up 5.3% from 2021
$209 million for civil rights enforcement, up $33 million from 2021
$2.1 billion for combating gun violence, up $232 million from 2021
$1.2 billion for community policing programs, up $304 million from 2021
Department of Labor: $14.2 billion, up 14% from 2021
$2.1 billion for worker protection agencies, up $304 million from 2021
Department of State and other international programs: $63.5 billion, up 12% from 2021
$861 million for Central American aid, with four-year commitment of $4 billion
Department of Transportation: $25.6 billion, up 14% from 2021
$625 million for new passenger rail
Department of Treasury: $14.9 billion, up 10.6% from 2021
Department of Veterans Affairs: $113.1 billion, up 8.2% from 2021
$97.5 billion for VA Medical Care, up 8.5% from 2021
$542 million for veteran suicide prevention, up nearly $230 million from 2021