Joe Biden presented a new budget proposal, including $6 billion. for Ukraina

Spending at the level of $6.9 trillion, including $842 billion for defense and $6 billion for further support for Ukraine and NATO, is assumed in the new budget proposal presented on Thursday by President Joe Biden. Republicans who control the House of Representatives have already announced their opposition to the main points of Biden’s proposal.

As the president said during a speech in Philadelphia, his fiscal year 2024 budget project is intended to “give working people a chance” and at the same time get “the richest and largest corporations to start paying their share” of taxes.

The proposal would increase total spending from $6.3 trillion to $6.9 trillion and increase the budget deficit from $1.6 trillion this year to $1.8 trillion next year, including through increased spending on research, health care for the poor, preschools and higher education. At the same time, Biden wants to raise taxes on billionaires, the largest corporations, investors, and people earning over $400,000. hole. annually. According to the White House, this is expected to significantly reduce the deficit in the long run.

Biden’s proposal also talks about increasing the Pentagon’s budget to $842 billion, $26 billion more than the current budget. This amount is to include an additional 6 billion to help Ukraine and “other European partner countries in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.” The White House had previously announced that the funds for Ukraine ($45 billion) included in the budget last year would suffice for most of this year.

In addition, according to Biden’s proposal, 9.1 billion would be spent on strengthening the security and presence of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

Biden’s proposal will almost certainly not be passed due to the fact that as of this year Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives. The party’s leaders in the House on Thursday sharply criticized the bill, calling it “frivolous” and “irresponsible” in a joint statement due to the increase in spending and taxes.

Both parties remain in a deadlock over the issue of raising the debt limit, the failure to raise which may threaten the formal bankruptcy of the state in May this year. Republicans have already announced that they will push for sharp spending cuts and deficit reduction. However, the party has yet to submit its budget proposal.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

osk/ IU/