It also includes more than $11 billion for the Departments of Defense and State to fight Islamic State militants and stabilize Syria – one measure that could draw bipartisan support.
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The thick document, which will face the frontal opposition of Congress controlled by Republicans, has limited legislative scope.
“This isn’t even a budget so much as it is a progressive manual for growing the federal government at the expense of hardworking Americans”, House Speaker and Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan said in a statement Tuesday in response to Obama’s proposal.
The president’s budget includes a variety of proposals created to provoke a debate with Republicans.
President Obama on Tuesday submitted his final budget, a $4.15 trillion annual plan, that includes additional spending his administration says will help reduce gun violence.
Depending on your circumstances, President Obama’s final proposed budget of his presidency could help you save more for retirement, cut the price of college or trigger a bigger bill come tax time. It drives down the deficit. Cancer research would receive $755 million, a cyber security initiative would get $19 billion and $1.29 billion would go “to advance the goals of the Global Climate Change Initiative”. The most controversial of these is a $10.25-per-barrel oil tax, which would be used to fund “clean” transit projects and low-carbon technologies such a self-driving cars, which the private sector is already rapidly developing.
The proposal would boost total spending by 4.9%, mostly on mandatory programs such as Social Security and interest payments on the national debt, to more than $4.1 trillion in spending.
The budget forecasts that deficits would average 2.5 percent of United States economic output over 10 years compared to about 4.0 percent in the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate, which is based on existing tax and spending laws.
The budget proposes lifting the limits entirely from 2018. They announced this week that they would break with tradition and not schedule a hearing for White House Budget Director Shaun Donovan to address lawmakers.
“The question really for Republicans at this point is, are they going to do anything?”
“Rather than spend time on a proposal that, if anything like this administration’s previous budgets, will double down on the same failed policies that have led to the worst economic recovery in modern times, Congress should continue our work on building a budget that balances and that will foster a healthy economy”, House Budget Chairman Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) was quoted as saying by the broadcast network’s newsroom. And impose the Buffett Rule or so-called Fair Share Tax, which would mean those making $1 million or more would pay at least 30 percent of their income in federal taxes.
In addition, it proposes a new fee on the liabilities of the largest banks that would raise $111 billion over 10 years and discourage excessive leverage in the financial system.
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The president would like to add another $434 million for Head Start programs so more kids can attend the program on a full-time basis throughout the year.
