Factbox-Fewer submarines, more police detectives: highlights of Biden’s budget

© Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden board the USS Delaware nuclear submarine for a tour during a commemorative commissioning ceremony at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., April 2, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/ File Photo

(Reuters) -President Joe Biden released a $7.3 trillion proposed U.S. government budget for the 2025 fiscal year on Monday, including tax, spending and economic forecasts for the world’s largest economy.

Here are some highlights of the proposal:

IMMIGRATION

The proposal includes an increase in funding for immigration-related spending as polling shows voters concerned about U.S.-Mexico border crossings by undocumented migrants.

The White House reiterated its unfulfilled request last year for $13.6 billion in emergency funds for border enforcement to pay for more Border Patrol agents, asylum officers and immigration court judge teams.

DEFENSE 

Biden’s $895 billion national security budget calls for fewer stealthy F-35 fighter jets and Virginia-class submarines, first reported by Reuters, after a meager 1% increase allowed under caps agreed with Republicans last year left fewer than expected funds.

Biden also renewed his demand for funding on border security, Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and other national security issues that has been stalled by Republican congressional leadership for months.

He wants to increase the special immigrant visas for Afghans by 20,000 and fund initiatives to support the safe use of artificial intelligence.

HEALTHCARE

The Biden administration’s request for a 1.7% increase to $130.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services would facilitate extending health benefits he has secured for people aged 65 and older in the Medicare program to the general population, including those covered by Obamacare insurance or plans from their employer.

Healthcare costs are seen as one of the key issues in November’s general election, and Biden’s budget proposes extending his wins in the Inflation Reduction Act: a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket costs for all prescription drugs, a $35 monthly cap on out-of-pocket costs for insulin and capping drug price increases at inflation.

Biden also wants Medicare to be able to negotiate the prices of more drugs and sooner after they hit the market and to expand the Medicaid program aimed for low-income people.

He would vastly expand efforts to curtail ailments from cancer to Hepatitis C, increase access to HIV prophylaxis and spend money to prevent new bio-threats like the COVID-19 pandemic. He would also sharply increase funding to cut the country’s maternal mortality rate, the highest in the developed world.

STUDENT LOANS AND HOUSING

With concerns about costs a drag on his election campaign, Biden focused new budgetary efforts on cutting the cost of education and housing, two major expenses for many households.

He would pump billions into funding the construction of new housing units and repairing existing public housing, hand out more housing vouchers, provide downpayment assistance, and give emergency assistance to people at risk of becoming homeless. A new, two-year tax credit would give $10,000 in mortgage relief.

Biden would also provide free community college, 12 weeks of paid family leave, free preschool for four-year-olds, and fund a program to help retain public school teachers.

CRIME

The budget allocates $1.2 billion over five years in a new violent crime reduction and prevention fund to support law enforcement agencies, helping them hire new detectives to solve homicides, expand fentanyl seizures and hire prosecutors and forensic specialists.

The funding is part of a package to boost efforts to combat crime as Republicans have worked to portray Democrats as aligned with a movement Biden has long denounced to “defund the police.” Crime is a regular election-year topic, although the latest data showed violent crime in the U.S. decreased an estimated 1.7% in 2022.

Biden would also fund billions in new election security grants and wants to give $288 million to the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, a 28% increase over its 2023 funding.

THE COST OF FOOD

The Department of Agriculture budget requests $7.7 billion for the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, up $1.4 billion from last year’s request, reflecting pressure on the program caused by higher participation and rising food costs.

The budget also requests $6 billion for climate-related programs, including for hiring thousands of employees to implement Inflation Reduction Act programs, and a 20% increase to $365 million for agricultural research and education.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS

Biden is seeking funding from Congress to hire another 2,000 air traffic controllers in the 2025 budget year after a series of near-miss incidents.

A persistent shortage of controllers has delayed flights and, at many facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks to cover staffing shortages. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wants $43 million to accelerate the hiring and training of controllers.

Staffing issues forced the FAA to extend cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2024 – allowing airlines to fly fewer flights without forfeiting take-off and landing slots.

SPACE

In space, the White House sought $25.3 billion for NASA, a half-billion more than what the agency received for fiscal 2024 but contrasting with steeper increases the agency envisioned in years prior for its multibillion-dollar Artemis moon program.

NASA chief Bill Nelson told reporters the agency will have to make some “hard choices” on science programs to cut as it prioritizes returning humans to the moon under Artemis in competition with China.

Meanwhile, the White House sought $33.7 billion for defense-related space programs, including $29.4 billion for the U.S. Space Force. 

ECONOMIC FORECASTS

White House forecasts showed increasing optimism that the U.S. economy is having a “soft landing,” reining in inflation without causing a recession. Biden said last week that he expected the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates.

The White House forecast 1.7% real GDP growth in 2024, and 1.8% in 2025, rising to 2.2% by 2030. Forecast consumer price inflation was 2.9% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025.

They also saw 4% unemployment, a figure that falls to 3.8% later in the decade, which they said matches full unemployment.

The forecasts were set in November, and officials said the figures would be more optimistic if they were fixed today.