Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-lee-senate-republicans-have-more-than-enough-votes-to-block-clean-debt-ceiling-force-dems-to-negotiate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Lee</a> (R-UT) doesn’t like where <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-most-americans-want-spending-cuts-included-in-debt-ceiling-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debt-ceiling</a> negotiations between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden are heading. 
Lee, who chairs the Senate Republican Steering Committee, said Thursday morning that he fears the talks on raising the debt ceiling are ignoring “substantial spending and budgetary reforms” that conservatives in the House and the Senate say are vital for any deal to be made. 
“I will use every procedural tool at my disposal to impede a debt-ceiling deal that doesn’t contain substantial spending and budgetary reforms,” Lee tweeted. “I fear things are moving in that direction. If they do, that proposal will not face smooth sailing in the Senate.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I will use every procedural tool at my disposal to impede a debt-ceiling deal that doesn’t contain substantial spending and budgetary reforms. I fear things are moving in that direction. If they do, that proposal will not face smooth sailing in the Senate.
&mdash; Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1661716721575804928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Utah senator’s comment comes as the White House and McCarthy are reportedly nearing an agreement to raise the debt ceiling before June 1, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. could be unable to pay its bills. McCarthy <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/white-house-republicans-seek-close-us-debt-ceiling-deal-deadline-nears-2023-05-25/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Thursday that he worked “well past midnight” with Biden, but there are “still some outstanding issues,&#8221; adding that he has &#8220;directed our teams to work 24/7 to try to solve this problem.” 
The House speaker is being pressured by the House Freedom Caucus to hold the line. The most conservative bloc of the House Republicans <a href="https://twitter.com/freedomcaucus/status/1661775828982562816/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> to McCarthy on Thursday, asking him to only agree to a deal with the White House that would help “minimiz[e] the damaging inflationary consequences of reckless spending.”
The Republican-led House passed the “Limit, Save, Grow Act” last month, which would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion while also cutting the budget by $4.8 trillion over the next decade, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4020385-gop-senator-vows-to-delay-debt-ceiling-deal-lacking-substantial-reform/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The reforms desired in that legislation are not expected to make it past the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, however. 
Lee, who has led the effort to push for budgetary reform, could delay floor proceedings on a debt ceiling bill through procedural tools such as requiring a full reading of the bill and refusing to waive motions to skip other Senate formalities. 
Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined Lee and 41 other Senate Republicans in signing a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3991288-mcconnell-warns-he-wont-back-debt-ceiling-increase-without-substantive-reforms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stating that the Senate GOP would not support “any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms.” 
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“It is now clear that Senate Republicans aren’t going to bail out on Biden and Schumer, they have to negotiate. I thank my colleagues for joining my effort to emphasize this point in the clearest possible terms,” Lee said.

Sen. Mike Lee/President Joe Biden/Speaker Kevin McCarthy

GOP Senator Fears Debt-Ceiling Negotiations Headed In Wrong Direction, Vows To Delay For ‘Substantial’ Budget Reform

Sen. Mike Lee Fears Debt-Ceiling Deal Headed In Wrong Direction, Vows To Delay For 'Substantial' Budget Reform

Budget

Debt Ceiling

Economy

Joe Biden

Kevin McCarthy

Mike Lee

Politics

White House Press Secretary <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karine Jean-Pierre</a> told reporters on Tuesday that President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> has reduced the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/national-debt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deficit</a> in a meaningful way since the start of his tenure, a claim which comes as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a> insist on broader spending reforms.
One reporter noted that House Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-mccarthy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin McCarthy</a> (R-CA), with whom the commander-in-chief has been negotiating over moves to raise the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/debt-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debt ceiling</a> and implement future spending caps, said Democratic officials refuse to decrease expenditures. When asked if she agrees that Democrats “have a spending problem,” Jean-Pierre at first answered with a simple “no” and later said Biden “believes in dealing with the deficit in a real way.”
“The President takes this very seriously,” she commented. “He has proposed reducing the deficit by eliminating tax breaks for carried interest loopholes, retirement for wealthy, real estate investors, and cryptocurrency.”
Jean-Pierre said that Biden had reduced the federal budget deficit, which refers to the shortfall between annual tax collections and spending, by some $1.7 trillion over the past two years. Other senior White House officials have repeatedly made similar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-economic-czar-claims-white-house-is-reducing-the-budget-deficit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statements</a>, ostensibly referencing the decrease in deficits from $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020 to $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2022, as recorded in <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Office of Management and Budget.
The administration officials have failed to note, however, that the deficits in fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021 are attributable to stimulus packages meant to increase economic activity amid the lockdown-induced recession, one of which Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/comparing-trump-and-bidens-covid-relief-bills" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> after the nation was no longer in a recession. The White House has also neglected to mention that the $1.4 trillion deficit in the last fiscal year is still larger than any other deficit before the lockdowns.
Beyond references to proposed tax increases for billionaires, more severe tax penalties on corporate stock buybacks, and reductions in subsidy expenditures, Jean-Pierre said that the budget framework introduced by the White House earlier this year would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-wants-to-cut-3-trillion-in-spending-over-the-next-decade-america-needs-20-trillion-in-cuts-to-balance-the-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decrease</a> deficits by $3.0 trillion over the next decade. House Republicans have meanwhile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-led-house-passes-mccarthys-plan-to-raise-debt-limit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> a bill that would cap spending at fiscal year 2022 levels, allow for 1% annual increases, and raise the debt ceiling until the start of the next fiscal year.
The debt ceiling, a statute established by lawmakers which prevents the government from spending beyond a predetermined national debt limit of $31.4 trillion, exceeded the threshold earlier this year. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other officials have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-says-nation-could-face-debt-default-in-less-than-three-weeks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that continued negotiations may induce a failure to increase the debt ceiling before the first day of June and could cause a worldwide financial crisis as the nation defaults on obligations.
The national debt, on the other hand, now surpasses $31.7 trillion and serves as a continual damper on economic growth, while elevated interest rates have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/interest-payments-on-the-national-debt-on-pace-to-surpass-military-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weighed</a> on the budget as lawmakers are forced to devote more revenues toward servicing the debt.
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McCarthy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mccarthy-tells-house-republicans-he-is-nowhere-near-debt-ceiling-deal-with-biden-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> fellow Republicans in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to “hang with me on the debt limit” since he and Biden are “nowhere near a deal yet” with respect to spending. Biden had characterized the most recent discussions as “productive” and affirmed that “the only way to move forward is in good faith toward a bipartisan agreement.”

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

As WH Refuses Any Spending Cuts, Karine Jean-Pierre Insists Biden ‘Believes In Dealing With The Deficit In A Real Way’

As WH Refuses Any Spending Cuts, Karine Jean-Pierre Insists Biden 'Believes In Dealing With The Deficit In A Real Way'

Biden Administration

House Republicans

Karine Jean-Pierre

National Debt

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gavin-newsom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gavin Newsom</a> announced Friday that his state is already experiencing a greater-than-anticipated budget deficit.
In a press conference Friday, Newsom said that his budget proposal for the upcoming year had ballooned from $297 billion in January to $306.5 billion. As such, California is now facing a potential deficit of roughly $31.5 billion dollars, a $9 billion increase from the $22.5 billion deficit in the budget he proposed in January. The worsening budget shortfall comes even as the state proposes a gigantic reparations plan that dwarfs the state budget.
“This was not an easy budget, but I hope you see we tried to do our best to hold the line and take care of the most vulnerable, most needy, but still maintain prudence,” Newsom said during the press conference, via the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-12/california-budget-deficit-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Times</a>. “I have been very mindful of how concerned people have been about the impact on these fundamental core issues: education, homeless housing, healthcare, mental health, climate policy, public safety, broadly, and of course the issues of economic development, jobs, workforce development.”
Newsom has planned a series of cuts and offset spending in an effort to mitigate the state&#8217;s need to borrow. According to the <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article275315916.html?utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sacramento Bee</a>, the revised budget pares back an additional $1.1 billion in spending, on top of the $5.7 billion in &#8220;reductions&#8221; to key pillars of his agenda — including climate, transportation, housing and workforce initiatives — which he originally proposed in January. However, the Los Angeles Times notes that much of the &#8220;reductions&#8221; are rollbacks of planned increases, not actually cutting spending below current levels. Furthermore, part of the additional $1.1 billion paring comes from moving unused monies into the state&#8217;s general fund.
In addition to rolling back spending increases, the budget proposal plans to add $7.4 billion in deferred spending for child care, transportation, and education. It also delays some $695 million in spending until later years. The plan also includes $3.9 billion in &#8220;trigger reductions,&#8221; temporary cuts he can re-instate if California&#8217;s fiscal state improves later.
The budget closes the remaining gaps with $4.9 billion in borrowing and new revenue, $7.5 billion from shifting funds around, and $450 million from the state&#8217;s safety net reserves, leaving $450 million remaining. The <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-budget-deficit-18088922.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco Chronicle</a> notes that Newsom plans to add to the reserves to hedge against a future recession, which is part of why the budget increased despite an increasing deficit.
Even as Newsom plans to use financial gimmicks and moving money around in order to make his state&#8217;s ends meet, California&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-reparations-task-force-approves-plan-giving-up-to-1-2-million-to-each-black-resident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reparations</a> Task Force proposed its plan to repay residents who were descended from slaves or victims of discrimination. The nine-member panel, which became the first such task force in the United States to form in September 2020, advanced the plan recommendations in Oakland, California. The draft includes calculated dollar figures based on categories ranging from mass incarceration to housing discrimination, and other alleged injustices.
Based on a New York Times analysis, a black person living in California for 71 years — the average life expectancy of Black residents in California in 2021 — could receive up to $1.2 million. Some economists projected to The Associated Press that California could owe more than $800 billion in reparations, which more than doubles the state’s annual budget.
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Newsom himself <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gavin-newsom-praises-reparations-task-force-doesnt-endorse-plan-for-1-2-million-payouts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lauded</a> the principle of the committee, but did not endorse the proposed payouts.
Brandon Drey contributed to this report.

California Governor Newsom

Gavin Newsom’s Revised Budget Will Make California’s Budget Deficit Worse, Even As State Mulls Enormous Reparations Package

Gavin Newsom Revised Budget Makes California's Deficit Worse Amid Possible Reparations Package More Than Double The Entire Budget

California

Gavin Newsom

Reparations

U.S.

House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-PA) blasted White House Press Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karine Jean-Pierre</a> after she said that lawmakers have “limited time” to raise the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/debt-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debt ceiling</a>, an assertion which comes after the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration?_gl=1*gsk6ab*_ga*NzUzNDA5ODIxLjE2NzkzMjkzNzM.*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTY4MzEzMDgyNy4xNzUuMS4xNjgzMTM1MDkzLjM0LjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> delayed negotiations on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">matter</a> for several weeks.
The debt ceiling, a policy established by <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Congress</a> that prevents the federal government from spending beyond the predetermined national debt limit of $31.4 trillion, surpassed that threshold earlier this year. House Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-mccarthy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin McCarthy</a> (R-CA) and President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-takes-adversarial-posture-toward-mccarthy-ahead-of-budget-cut-meeting-heres-what-they-want-him-to-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">met</a> in early February to discuss possible mechanisms to raise or eliminate the debt limit, but the commander-in-chief delayed further meetings for several months.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-warns-of-debt-default-as-early-as-june-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> on Monday that the nation could face a default as soon as the first day of June unless the debt limit is amended. Jean-Pierre therefore <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/05/02/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> in a Tuesday press briefing that McCarthy is seeking to “hold the full faith and credit of the United States hostage” by insisting that any move to increase the debt ceiling should occur alongside meaningful spending cuts or limits upon future expenditures.
“Given the limited time Congress now has, it is clear the only practical path to avoid default is for Congress to suspend the debt limit without conditions,” she commented.
Perry reacted to the claim by noting that time to increase the debt ceiling is only limited because of the administration’s refusal to negotiate. “This is like a pyromaniac starting a fire and watching it burn for months suddenly declaring it needs to be put out while simultaneously pouring more gas on it,” the lawmaker told The Daily Wire. “Americans are fed up with economic illiteracy of a president who’s been willfully negligent and disconnected from the harm he’s caused our families, workers, and job creators.”
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of conservative Republicans, have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-freedom-caucus-chairman-responds-as-white-house-lobs-spurious-claims-at-spending-cut-proposal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> they would consider voting to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for a framework which returns expenditures to fiscal year 2022 levels, raises the debt ceiling only for the next year, and limits annual spending growth to 1% over the next decade. McCarthy unveiled a budget <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kevin-mccarthy-unveils-plan-to-responsibly-raise-debt-limit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposal</a> which mirrored the framework and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-led-house-passes-mccarthys-plan-to-raise-debt-limit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> the House last week.
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Some lawmakers in the House Freedom Caucus previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-concessions-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy-gave-to-republican-holdouts-to-win-their-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refused</a> to grant McCarthy control of the gavel earlier this year unless he promised to support a budget which does not allow the debt ceiling to rise. The budget framework passed last week is expected to reduce deficits by $4.8 trillion over the next decade, according to an <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2023-04/59102-Arrington-Letter_LSG%20Act_4-25-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from the Congressional Budget Office.
Jean-Pierre added that Biden called a meeting with senior House and Senate lawmakers for next week in order to “discuss the urgency and importance of avoiding default.” White House officials will propose creating a “separate process to address the budget and appropriations, because we have long said we welcome a conversation about spending priorities.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-deficiency-of-leadership-manchin-calls-out-biden-for-not-negotiating-with-republicans-on-debt-limit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> Biden for refusing to negotiate with McCarthy and other Republican leaders, calling the move a “deficiency of leadership” and urging both sides to reach an agreement. “For the sake of the country, I urge President Biden to come to the table, propose a plan for real and substantive spending cuts and deficit reduction, and negotiate now.”

Scott Perry

Freedom Caucus Chair Blasts White House For Punting Debt Ceiling Talks For Months Then Saying There Is ‘Limited Time’ To Negotiate

Congress

Freedom Caucus

Higher spending and lower revenue intake produced a $1.1 trillion <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a> deficit in the first six months of fiscal year 2023, according to a <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2023-04/58995-MBR.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> released Monday by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/congressional-budget-office-cbo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Congressional Budget Office</a>.
The federal government spent $3.1 trillion and received $2.0 trillion between October 2022 and March 2023, marking a 13% increase from the $2.8 trillion spent and a 3% decrease from the $2.1 trillion received during the same period in fiscal year 2022.
The budget deficit for the first half of the fiscal year, therefore, increased by $430 billion from the $668 billion deficit seen between October 2021 and March 2022.
Individual income and payroll taxes fell by $33 billion, while collection of corporate taxes increased by $13 billion, and receipts from other sources, such as remittances from the Federal Reserve and customs duties, decreased by $53 billion. Increased spending, on the other hand, largely emerged from $141 billion in additional Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid costs, as well as an additional $90 billion for interest expenses on the public debt.
“Our fiscal challenges will only become more difficult the longer we wait to do anything,” Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget President Maya MacGuineas said in a <a href="https://www.crfb.org/press-releases/cbo-estimates-11-trillion-deficit-first-6-months-fiscal-year-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> reacting to the report. “In just five years, the national debt will surpass its record as a share of the economy set just after World War II, when we had no choice but to borrow to win the war. However, we’re in no such emergency now. It’s long past time that policymakers figure out a way to sustainably finance their priorities, not just add the costs to the national credit card.”
The news of the higher expenditures comes amid negotiations between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and senior Biden administration officials on possible reductions to the budget deficit and an increase for the debt ceiling, a measure established by Congress that disallows the federal government from spending beyond the predetermined statutory limit of $31.4 trillion. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-warns-congress-extraordinary-measures-have-begun-after-debt-ceiling-breached" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> lawmakers that she was forced to implement “extraordinary measures” earlier this year to fund the government until early June, after which the government will default on obligations.
The current national debt is $31.6 trillion, roughly 20% higher than the gross domestic product of the United States, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEGDQ188S" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Office of Management and Budget.
President Joe Biden unveiled a budget <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-taxes-and-more-spending-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-president-bidens-newest-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposal</a> last month that would increase expenditures from $5.8 trillion to $6.9 trillion over the next fiscal year while reducing cumulative deficits by $3 trillion over the next decade through several tax hikes on businesses and wealthy individuals. Members of the House Freedom Caucus, led by Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), announced they would not <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-freedom-caucus-chairman-responds-as-white-house-lobs-spurious-claims-at-spending-cut-proposal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vote</a> to increase the debt ceiling unless their counterproposal, which would establish topline discretionary spending at the fiscal year 2022 level for one decade and allow for 1% annual growth, is greenlit by Congress.
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“By the end of the decade, if lawmakers do nothing, the deficit will approach $3 trillion. That amount of borrowing outside of a national emergency is plainly unacceptable,” MacGuineas continued. “Budgeting requires tradeoffs, often painful ones that politicians don’t want to grapple with. However, that is what they were elected to do, and they should consider the needs of both current and future Americans in upcoming fiscal negotiations. We simply cannot afford to ignore our unsustainable borrowing any longer.”

US Capitol

Deficit In First Six Months Of Fiscal Year 2023 Surpasses $1 Trillion

Deficit In First Six Months Of Fiscal Year 2023 Increases $430 Billion From Previous Period

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a> sent letters to protect <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/religion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faith-based</a> entities from discrimination in the federal <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a> due to their views on traditional <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/traditional-marriage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">marriage</a>.
The <a href="https://roy.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/roy.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/roy_gnda_lhhs.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a>, which was spearheaded by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and sent to multiple House Appropriations Subcommittees, requests that lawmakers add text to the budget that prohibits agencies from taking discriminatory action against people or organizations on the basis of a “sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction, that marriage is, or should be recognized as, a union of one man and one woman.&#8221;
“Without this language, we fear that the federal government will begin to systematically discriminate against religious schools, faith-based organizations, and other non-profits by barring their participation in federal programs, and removing their tax-exempt status, for their views on marriage,” the lawmakers wrote. “The First Amendment is sacred. It secures the right to write, pray, think, speak, and associate as one pleases. These fundamental rights are uncontroversial and must be protected.”
Other signatories of the letter included Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).
The call for explicit protections for religious liberty in the budget proposal comes after President Joe Biden endorsed the Respect for Marriage Act, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-controlled-house-passes-same-sex-marriage-bill-39-republicans-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enshrines</a> same-sex marriage protections into federal law in accordance with the Supreme Court’s opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges. Democratic lawmakers recruited 39 Republicans in the House and 10 Republicans in the Senate to support the bill, which was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-same-sex-marriage-bill-drag-queens-invited-to-lavish-wh-ceremony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> into law in December.
The bill also repealed the Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 to legally define marriage as between one man and one woman and to permit states not to recognize same-sex unions from other states.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) repeatedly <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1593000633954865153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1593000633954865153%7Ctwgr%5E25353db1d07f622a0ebb595d228af91f6e7c8813%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fsenate-advances-same-sex-marriage-bill-with-some-gop-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that the “religious liberty protections” in the Respect for Marriage Act were “severely anemic and largely illusory.” He voiced concern that religious entities could be exposed to litigation and the loss of nonprofit status under the new law.
Biden nevertheless <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/12/08/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-bipartisan-house-passage-of-the-respect-for-marriage-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praised</a> the final passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, saying that “millions of marriages and families” were put at ease by the new law following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and other previous opinions purporting a constitutional right to abortion.
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The overall budget proposal offered by the Biden administration, which suggests an increase in government spending from $5.8 trillion to $6.9 trillion, is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-taxes-and-more-spending-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-president-bidens-newest-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">marked</a> by a number of tax hikes on wealthy individuals and businesses. Households with more than $100 million in wealth would be subjected to a 25% minimum tax, while the top marginal tax rate would be increased to 39.6% from the current 37% rate. Businesses would see an increase in the corporate tax to 28%, which would split the difference between the current 21% rate and the previous 35% rate that was in effect before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, many of whom signed the letter urging explicit protections for religious organizations, have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-freedom-caucus-chairman-responds-as-white-house-lobs-spurious-claims-at-spending-cut-proposal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">countered</a> the administration’s budget proposal with a framework that would establish topline discretionary spending at the fiscal year 2022 level for one decade and allow for 1% annual growth.

Chip Roy

House Republicans Call For Budget To Prevent Discrimination Toward Groups Affirming Marriage Is Between ‘One Man And One Woman’

House Republicans Want Budget To Stop Discrimination Toward Groups Affirming Marriage Is Between ‘One Man And One Woman’

Christianity

Religion

Traditional Marriage

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> sent a combative response Tuesday after House Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-mccarthy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin McCarthy</a> (R-CA) called for jumpstarting talks on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/debt-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debt ceiling</a>.
&#8220;It’s time for Republicans to stop playing games, pass a clean debt ceiling bill, and quit threatening our economic recovery,&#8221; said <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karine Jean-Pierre</a>, press secretary to President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>.
Her statement served as a retort to McCarthy&#8217;s letter to Biden on Tuesday, which warned that time is running out to raise the debt limit after <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/01/politics/biden-mccarthy-meeting/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their last meeting</a> on the issue in February.
&#8220;With each passing day, I am incredibly concerned that you are putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy by insisting upon your extreme position of refusing to negotiate any meaningful changes to out of control government spending,&#8221; <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/POTUS_Letter_3.28.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">McCarthy wrote</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Mr. President:
I&#39;m incredibly concerned you are putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy by insisting upon your extreme position on the debt limit. It’s time to drop partisanship, roll up our sleeves, &amp; find common ground on this urgent challenge. <a href="https://t.co/HUbg7DckWU">https://t.co/HUbg7DckWU</a> <a href="https://t.co/t4zIaZUAqI">pic.twitter.com/t4zIaZUAqI</a>
&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1640689855762931714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As a starting place, McCarthy suggested he and Biden discuss ways to reduce spending and save taxpayer dollars. He listed potential areas for negotiation, including lowering &#8220;excessive&#8221; non-defense government spending, reclaiming unspent COVID relief funds, and shoring up work requirements &#8220;for those without dependents who can work.&#8221;
McCarthy asked that Biden&#8217;s team reach out to his office by the end of the week to set up their next meeting.
Time is of the essence, as experts <a href="https://thehill.com/business/3869077-us-could-default-on-debt-as-soon-as-june-analysis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warn of a default</a> as early as this June that could <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/us/politics/debt-default-economy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cripple the U.S. economy</a>.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress in January that the United States had crossed the current statutory limit of $31.381 trillion and advised that her agency take <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-warns-congress-extraordinary-measures-have-begun-after-debt-ceiling-breached" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;extraordinary measures&#8221;</a> so the government could continue to pay its bills, but only in the short term.
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So far, the White House refuses to budge, putting the onus on Congress to raise the debt ceiling while faulting House Republicans for not introducing a budget proposal of their own as they demand spending cuts.
After noting Congress &#8220;has a constitutional obligation to address the debt limit – as they did three times in the previous administration without conditions,&#8221; Jean-Pierre said Biden &#8220;welcomes a separate conversation about our nation’s fiscal future.&#8221;
&#8220;Earlier this month, he released a budget that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-wants-to-cut-3-trillion-in-spending-over-the-next-decade-america-needs-20-trillion-in-cuts-to-balance-the-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cuts the deficit by nearly $3 trillion</a> while lowering costs for families and investing in America. Speaker McCarthy and his extreme MAGA caucus have refused to put out a budget,&#8221; Jean-Pierre said.
&#8220;All we’ve heard from them is a list of devastating cuts to law enforcement and border security and proposals to take health care away from Americans and raise health care and child care costs,&#8221; she added. &#8220;All to pay for their tax giveaway to the super-wealthy and corporations. In fact, their proposals don’t reduce the deficit at all.&#8221;

Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy

White House Fires Back At McCarthy’s Proposal For Debt Ceiling Talks

White House Fires Back At McCarthy's Proposal For Debt Ceiling Talks

White House

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> responded to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a> cut proposal from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/freedom-caucus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Freedom Caucus</a> with a series of criticisms that the group’s senior lawmaker calls “preposterous.”
The Biden administration offered a budget framework earlier this month which would increase spending from $5.8 trillion to $6.9 trillion and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-taxes-and-more-spending-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-president-bidens-newest-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">implement</a> several tax hikes on wealthy individuals and businesses. Members of the House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of conservative Republican lawmakers, countered with a proposal that would establish topline discretionary spending at the fiscal year 2022 level for one decade and allow for 1% annual growth.
An <a href="https://twitter.com/freedomcaucus/status/1634205313623572480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> of the House Freedom Caucus framework asserted that its budget proposal would inhibit “the wasteful, woke, and weaponized federal bureaucracy.”
The release of the budget proposals coincides with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressional-budget-office-reveals-when-government-will-run-out-of-cash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">negotiations</a> between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over the debt ceiling, a measure established by Congress that disallows the federal government from spending beyond the predetermined statutory limit of $31.4 trillion. When the national debt surpassed the limit earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-warns-congress-extraordinary-measures-have-begun-after-debt-ceiling-breached" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> lawmakers that she was forced to implement “extraordinary measures” to fund the government until early June, after which the government will default on obligations.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus will consider voting to raise the debt ceiling contingent upon acceptance of their budget framework, as well as moves to rescind the $400 billion White House student loan cancellation plan, the $80 billion recently allocated to double the size of the IRS, and unspent stimulus funds passed during the lockdown-induced recession. The stringent demands from the House Freedom Caucus were met with <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/20/five-alarm-fire-the-house-freedom-caucus-extreme-budget-proposal-endangers-public-safety/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claims</a> from the White House on Monday that the framework would “make our borders less secure” and “defund the police.”
House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-PA) told The Daily Wire that the rebuttal from the Biden administration was not a serious counterargument to the proposal.
“This White House has done more to endanger our law enforcement and the American People than any in history. Fear and smear isn’t a pillar of policy,” Perry commented. “It’s propaganda, and this latest tactic is a disgusting attempt to distract, deceive, and deny his record-setting incompetence surrendering operational control of our southern border to lawless drug cartels, sinking our economy, and ushering in debt and bank crises.”
The assertion that law enforcement funding would be jeopardized by the House Freedom Caucus framework likely resides in the call for a reduction in “topline” spending, which would still allow lawmakers to reallocate wasteful spending within individual agencies.
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The White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/21/five-alarm-fire-the-house-freedom-caucus-extreme-budget-proposal-raises-costs-for-families/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> on Tuesday that the House Freedom Caucus proposal would raise “costs for families.” Inflation rates have more than <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-says-economy-will-continue-to-make-progress-after-another-dismal-inflation-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quadrupled</a> since Biden assumed office two years ago.
The Daily Wire asked Perry under what circumstances members of the House Freedom Caucus would amend their intentions to make votes on the debt ceiling contingent on their budget framework. He responded that “nearly every significant deficit reduction agreement since 1980” emerged from a negotiation regarding the debt limit.
“America is facing an unprecedented, unsustainable debt crisis thanks to out-of-control spending from Washington,” the lawmaker said. “President Biden, however, refuses to negotiate with Congress. Furthermore, the Constitution and our laws require the federal government to pay our debts, and the President has both the money and tools to do so. If he chooses to default on America’s debt for political reasons, that is on him and him alone.”

Key Speakers At Conservative Political Action Conference

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Responds As White House Lobs Spurious Claims At Spending Cut Proposal

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Responds As Biden Blasts Spending Cut Plans

The showdown over the future of the federal <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a> is taking shape as President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> releases his fiscal year 2024 spending proposal and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a> prepare to leverage their new majority to block the plan.
The White House suggested an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-taxes-and-more-spending-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-president-bidens-newest-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> in the federal budget from $5.8 trillion to $6.9 trillion over the next fiscal year while reducing cumulative deficits by $3 trillion over the next decade through a number of tax hikes on businesses and wealthy individuals. Households with more than $100 million in wealth would be subjected to a 25% minimum tax, while the top marginal tax rate would also be increased to 39.6% from the current 37% rate. Businesses would see an increase in the corporate tax to 28%, which would split the difference between the current 21% rate and the previous 35% rate that was in effect before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
The proposal, which also suggested new health care and education subsidies, largely adheres to the Democratic emphasis on redistributive fiscal policy. “This budget builds on our economic progress by making smart, fiscally responsible investments, which would be more than fully paid for by requiring corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/SecYellen/status/1633908057380929571" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “The budget’s growth-enhancing investments will continue the economic progress of the last two years and further boost the economy’s productive capacity.”
Republican officials, who have not yet countered the budget with a proposal of their own, meanwhile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dead-on-arrival-republicans-slam-biden-budgets-higher-taxes-and-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contested</a> various elements of the plan. “President Biden just delivered his budget to Congress, and it is completely unserious. He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs,” remarked House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). “Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”
The release of the budget proposal coincides with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressional-budget-office-reveals-when-government-will-run-out-of-cash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">negotiations</a> between Biden and McCarthy over the debt ceiling, a measure established by Congress that disallows the federal government from spending beyond the predetermined statutory limit of $31.4 trillion. Yellen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/yellen-warns-congress-extraordinary-measures-have-begun-after-debt-ceiling-breached" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> lawmakers that the Treasury Department was forced to implement “extraordinary measures” earlier this year to fund the government until early June, after which the government will default.
The House Freedom Caucus, which withheld votes from McCarthy at the beginning of the present Congress until he committed to negotiating with Biden on efforts to reduce the national debt, announced that members would likewise <a href="https://twitter.com/freedomcaucus/status/1634205313623572480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refuse</a> to support raising the debt ceiling unless various White House policies are rescinded.
Among the initiatives that the Republican lawmakers want to repeal are the $400 billion student debt cancellation executive order, the $80 billion allocation to the IRS enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act, and all unspent stimulus funds earmarked during the lockdown-induced recession. Votes in favor of raising the debt limit are also contingent upon capping discretionary spending at fiscal year 2022 levels for the next decade with a 1% annual growth allowance.
Business leaders and government officials have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/were-going-to-have-to-fix-this-jpmorgan-chase-ceo-sounds-the-alarm-over-soaring-national-debt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cautioned</a> that a default would likely induce a worldwide financial crisis. Increases in the national debt, however, are unsustainable: the federal government’s obligations surpassed $31.5 trillion, equivalent to roughly 120% of the nation’s gross domestic product. Maintenance costs are meanwhile increasing due to the present <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/interest-payments-on-the-national-debt-on-pace-to-surpass-military-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rise</a> in interest rates.
An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/government-must-raise-taxes-40-or-cut-spending-30-to-achieve-fiscal-balance-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from economists at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School recently concluded that a 30% decrease in spending or a 40% increase in taxation would be necessary to handle current deficit spending and future obligations. Republican and Democratic administrations alike have overseen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-american-people-want-a-real-change-steve-forbes-rebukes-both-parties-for-sinful-government-spending-habits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surges</a> in debt over the past several decades.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN-STATE OF THE UNION

Democrats And Republicans Fire First Shots In Debt Limit Showdown

Democrats And Republicans Battle Over The Budget

Taxes

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a> proposal submitted by the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> on Thursday would add roughly $43 billion in funding to the Internal Revenue Service, also known as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/internal-revenue-service-irs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS</a>, months after the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax</a> enforcement agency received $80 billion through the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/inflation-reduction-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inflation Reduction Act</a>.
Beyond the $14.1 billion allocated to the IRS, which marks a 15% increase from the previous year, the budget would provide another $29.1 billion in “mandatory funding for enforcement and operations,” according to a <a href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/never-enough-biden-budget-seeks-absurd-43-2-billion-for-irs-despite-receiving-unprecedented-80-billion-windfall-just-last-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> from the House Ways and Means Committee. The proposed allocation comes after the IRS received an $80 billion windfall through the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden in August.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1333" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> before the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday that the funds from the Inflation Reduction Act have resulted in taxpayers receiving “drastically improved customer service” because staffers were equipped to answer “hundreds of thousands more phone calls during this filing season than at this time last year.” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) meanwhile pressed the official over the increased tax enforcement allocation.
“I have to ask: Is this a joke? After a two-year inflation crisis that has cost American workers more than two months of pay, families need every penny they can get,” he said in opening remarks provided to The Daily Wire.
Yellen has previously vowed that the funds from the Inflation Reduction Act would not be used to increase audit rates for households earning less than $400,000 per year “relative to historical levels.” She has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-vows-irs-audits-wont-rise-for-middle-income-americans-but-theres-a-catch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed</a> to clarify that “historical levels” of enforcement were far higher as recently as one decade ago: audit rates for households earning between $25,000 and $200,000 declined 76% between 2010 and 2019, according to <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22-104960.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Government Accountability Office.
Officials have also claimed that the funds will enable IRS staff to more easily <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/janet-yellen-a-strong-irs-is-critical-to-the-economic-success-of-this-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assist</a> individuals and businesses attempting to properly file their taxes. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration nevertheless said in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irs-has-not-yet-finalized-how-middle-class-will-be-affected-by-80-billion-windfall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> that the budget for enforcement activities will increase 69% over the next decade while the budget for taxpayer services will increase 9%.
Biden administration officials contend that the more stringent tax enforcement enabled by the additional IRS funds would improve the nation’s fiscal health. The $43 billion allocated to the IRS would decrease the deficit by $134 billion over the next decade.
The overall budget proposal, which suggests an increase in government spending from $5.8 trillion to $6.9 trillion, is also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-taxes-and-more-spending-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-president-bidens-newest-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">marked</a> by a number of tax hikes on wealthy individuals and businesses. Households with more than $100 million in wealth would be subjected to a 25% minimum tax, while the top marginal tax rate would also be increased to 39.6% from the current 37% rate. Businesses would see an increase in the corporate tax to 28%, which would split the difference between the current 21% rate and the previous 35% rate that was in effect before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
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The additional $43 billion for the IRS is unlikely to pass the House of Representatives, which recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-republican-house-votes-to-repeal-the-democrats-army-of-87000-irs-agents" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to repeal the $80 billion offered to the IRS by the Inflation Reduction Act. Senior Republican officials have likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dead-on-arrival-republicans-slam-biden-budgets-higher-taxes-and-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that they would oppose the budget proposal.
“President Biden just delivered his budget to Congress, and it is completely unserious. He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) remarked. “Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”

President Biden Returns To The White House From Pennsylvania

‘Is This A Joke?’: Biden’s Budget Increases IRS Funding By $43 Billion Only Months After $80 Billion Windfall

Biden's Budget Increases IRS Funding By $43 Billion Only Months After $80 Billion Windfall

Inflation Reduction Act

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/republican-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republican</a> lawmakers denounced the fiscal year 2024 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a> proposal released by President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> on Thursday.
The suggested $6.9 trillion for the federal government’s operations would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-taxes-and-more-spending-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-president-bidens-newest-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">constitute</a> a $1.1 trillion increase from the $5.8 trillion proposed by the White House for the previous fiscal year. The budget would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-wants-to-cut-3-trillion-in-spending-over-the-next-decade-america-needs-20-trillion-in-cuts-to-balance-the-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decrease</a> the total deficit over the next decade from $20 trillion to $17 trillion.
Senior Republican officials announced that they would oppose the plan, which hinges upon expanded social programs and higher taxes. “President Biden just delivered his budget to Congress, and it is completely unserious. He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1633882237182803969" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarked</a> on social media. “Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) likewise <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/crapo-statement-on-tried-and-failed-tax-and-spend-budget-proposals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> that the budget proposal fails to encourage job creation and higher wages while increasing tax burdens and expenditure levels. “The President’s budget makes clear the administration has not learned from its mistakes that have led to two years of record-high inflation and excessive deficit spending. Instead, this administration is doubling down with more of the same,” he commented. “Revenues are not the problem; Washington’s insatiable appetite for unfettered spending is the problem.”
The budget is expected to fail in the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans as a result of the midterm elections, and face opposition from Republicans in the Senate. “The federal government can’t get enough of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) <a href="https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2023/3/blackburn-releases-budget-plan-to-slash-federal-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement, <a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1633926529087414275" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adding</a> on social media that “Joe Biden’s disastrous budget will be dead on arrival.”
The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/budget_fy2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget proposal</a> includes several tax hikes on affluent households, including a new 25% minimum tax on those with more than $100 million in wealth and an increase in the top marginal tax rate to 39.6% from the current 37%, which would represent a return to levels seen before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Businesses would see an increase in the corporate tax to 28%, which would split the difference between the current 21% rate and the previous 35% rate that was in effect before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, while the budget would also quadruple the stock buyback tax from 1% to 4% such that companies invest unused profits in operations.
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Democratic lawmakers praised the social initiatives that would be funded by the budget, including childcare benefits and higher education programs. “President Biden&#8217;s budget plan fits the needs of American families,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1633948569144119300" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commented</a> in a statement. “It is a roadmap that will lead our country to a better future.”
The budget proposal comes as Biden and McCarthy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressional-budget-office-reveals-when-government-will-run-out-of-cash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">negotiate</a> to decrease long-term spending after the debt ceiling, an arbitrary cap on the national debt established by Congress, exceeded the statutory limit of nearly $31.4 trillion earlier this year. Each official has said they will not consider reforms to Social Security and Medicare, raising <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sparing-the-sacred-cow-republicans-and-democrats-refuse-to-touch-social-security-as-debt-crisis-looms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questions</a> as to whether meaningful spending cuts will be possible since the two programs constituted more than half of the federal budget during the last fiscal year.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Republican Conference Press Conference

‘Dead On Arrival’: Republicans Slam Biden Budget’s Higher Taxes And Spending

Republican Officials Slam Biden Budget

Republicans

President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> unveiled record spending and several new <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/taxes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax</a> increases on Thursday in his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a> proposal for fiscal year 2024.
The suggested $6.9 trillion for the federal government’s operations between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024, would mark a $1.1 trillion increase from the $5.8 trillion proposed by the commander-in-chief for the previous fiscal year. House Republicans are expected to reject the proposal and counter with a budget of their own.
“This year’s budget cuts the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade by asking the wealthy and big corporations to begin to pay their fair share,” Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/03/09/on-the-record-press-call-by-omb-director-shalanda-young-and-cea-chair-cecilia-rouse-on-the-presidents-fy24-budget/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “It does this in part by reforming our tax code to reward work, not wealth, including by ensuring that no billionaire pays a lower tax rate than a teacher or a firefighter, and by quadrupling the tax on corporate stock buybacks.”
The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/budget_fy2024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget proposal</a> is indeed marked by a number of tax hikes on affluent households, including a 25% minimum tax on those with more than $100 million in wealth that the budget calls a “billionaire minimum tax.” The top marginal tax rate would also be increased to 39.6% from the current 37%, which would represent a return to levels seen before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the hallmark legislative accomplishment of former President Donald Trump.
The budget would also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/some-people-can-expect-medicare-tax-increases-under-next-biden-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> the investment income tax used to fund Medicare from 3.8% to 5% for individuals earning more than $400,000 per year, a move that the White House claims would extend the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for at least 25 years.
“The tax code currently offers special treatment for the types of income that wealthy people enjoy. Whereas the wages and salaries that everyday Americans earn are taxed as ordinary income, billionaires make their money in ways that are taxed at lower rates, and sometimes not taxed at all,” the budget said. “This special treatment, combined with sophisticated tax planning and giant loopholes, allows many of the wealthiest Americans to pay lower rates on their full income than many middle-class households pay.”
Businesses would likewise see a number of tax hikes, including an increase in the corporate tax to 28%, which would split the difference between the current 21% rate and the previous 35% rate that was in effect before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The budget would also quadruple the stock buyback tax from 1% to 4% such that companies invest unused profits in operations.
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A number of federal agencies would see large budget increases relative to enacted levels in the previous fiscal year: allocations for the Labor Department would rise by 11%, allocations for the Education Department would rise by 13.6%, and allocations for the Environmental Protection Agency would rise by 19%. Budgets for the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs would meanwhile increase 3.2% and 2.2% respectively.
The budget proposal would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-wants-to-cut-3-trillion-in-spending-over-the-next-decade-america-needs-20-trillion-in-cuts-to-balance-the-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decrease</a> the total deficit over the next decade from $20 trillion to $17 trillion. Reforms to taxes on wealthy households and the stock buyback penalty would increase revenues by $1.1 trillion over the next decade, while the hike in the corporate tax would increase revenues by $1.3 trillion. Childcare, early learning, housing, higher education, and other social initiatives would meanwhile introduce $1.1 trillion in new spending, while paid leave programs and tax benefits for certain families would reduce revenues by $1.0 trillion.

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