CNN
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President Joe Biden will propose cutting the deficits by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade in his budget blueprint, two administration officials told CNN.
Administration officials did not provide details on exactly how Biden intends to reach the nearly $3 trillion figure, but Biden has previously said his deficit cuts would come through a combination of cost-saving programs and revenue-raising tax increases on corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
The deficit reduction will be a central part of Biden’s budget proposal and a symbolic marker as the president approaches the showdown with House Republicans over the looming debt ceiling crisis.
The White House’s new deficit-cutting figure is aimed squarely at the House GOP, who have said they will not agree to raise the debt ceiling later this year unless the White House negotiates spending cuts.
The White House has said the two should proceed on separate tracks and that raising the debt ceiling is non-negotiable. Administration officials have argued that a combination of the proposals backed by some GOP lawmakers would add more than $2.7 trillion to the national debt.
“The President’s Budget improves the fiscal outlook by reducing the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade,” an administration official said. “The Budget achieves this deficit reduction while lowering costs for families, investing in our economy and our future, and protecting the most vulnerable Americans because it proposes tax reforms to ensure the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share while cutting wasteful spending on special interests like big oil and big pharma.”
Biden had said as recently as last week that his budget proposal would cut the deficits by $2 trillion, a figure he first announced last month during his State of the Union address.
“The plan I’m going to show you is going to cut the deficit by another $2 trillion. And it won’t cut a single bit of Medicare or Social Security. In fact, we’re going to extend the Medicare Trust Fund at least two decades,” Biden said.
He continued, “I will not raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000. But we’ll pay for it the way we talked about tonight: By making sure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.”
More details on Biden’s budget are expected in the coming days as the administration begins its rollout.
The budget is unlikely to become law – presidential budgets rarely pass through Congress untouched – but it is an important marker for Biden’s political future that will be shaped by the fight over the debt limit and his expected reelection announcement later this spring.
Biden has offered up several revenue-raising proposals that could help him reach his deficit reduction goals, including a new tax on households worth more than $100 million and quadrupling the tax on stock buybacks.
He has also proposed cost-saving measures, such as expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate the price of certain prescription drugs.
This story has been updated with additional details.