Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban
Development
The 2023 President’s
Budget
requests $71.9 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), approximately $11.6 billion more than the 2022
annualized continuing resolution (CR) level, to support underserved
communities and equitable community development, increase access to and
production of affordable housing, promote homeownership and
wealth-building, advance sustainable communities, climate resilience,
and environmental justice, and strengthen
HUD’s internal capacity.
The budget includes:
$1.1 billion in targeted climate resilience and energy efficiency
improvements in public housing, tribal housing, and other assisted
housing;
$400 million to remove dangerous health hazards from homes, including
mitigating threats from fire, lead, carbon monoxide, and radon
The President’s 2023 Budget supports authorizing the Community
Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. For more
than twenty years, the Congress has appropriated emergency
supplemental funds to HUD in response to
major disasters to address the unmet long term disaster recovery needs
of States, territories, local governments, and Tribes. Authorization
would improve the transparency and predictability of
CDBG-DR funds for impacted communities.
House Appropriations Committee
Senate Appropriations Committee
Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
In Fiscal Year 2023, we are now poised to build on early progress with a
President’s budget for the Department of Transportation that totals $142
billion, including $36.8 billion in advance appropriations provided by
BIL in that year.
Safety remains our top priority, and the budget includes funding to
help address the crisis of deaths on America’s roadways, as outlined
in our National Roadway Safety Strategy. That includes $3 billion for
the Highway Safety Improvement Program.
With $4 billion for RAISE and the new Mega
program, we will rebuild century old infrastructure and lay the
groundwork for America to compete and win in decades ahead.
With $23.6 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, we will
further enhance aviation safety, combat the effects of aviation on the
climate, and improve airport infrastructure.
With $4.45 billion in Capital Investment Grants, we will advance 15
major transit projects that shorten commutes, increase access to jobs,
and reduce congestion on the road for millions of Americans.
We will invest $17.9 billion to reverse decades of underinvestment in
intercity passenger rail and make fast, reliable train service
available to more people.
We will provide $1 billion to build out a nationwide network of
electric vehicle chargers, so that Americans in every part of the
country have access to the lower monthly costs of electric vehicles.
We will also begin implementing our ambitious new fuel efficiency
standards, which are projected to save the typical household hundreds
of dollars in gas costs and prevent 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon
dioxide from reaching our atmosphere.
And to keep making progress on supply chains to help move goods faster
and fight inflation, we will invest a total of $680 million to
modernize ports, $3 billion to improve the roadways that carry the
majority of America’s freight, and a total of $1.5 billion for
CRISI grants to improve freight rail.
House Appropriations Committee
Senate Appropriations Committee
Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Brian
McKeon,
Deputy Undersecretary for Management and Resources
The FY 2023 budget
request
has $2.3 billion to support U.S. leadership in addressing the
existential climate crisis through diplomacy; scaled-up international
climate programs that accelerate the global energy transition to net
zero by 2050; support to developing countries to enhance climate
resilience; and the prioritization of climate adaptation and
sustainability principles in Department and
USAID domestic and overseas facilities. This
total includes over $1.6 billion for direct programming for climate
mitigation and adaptation and over $650 million for the mainstreaming of
climate considerations across development programs. Our goal is to
deliver climate co-benefits and outcomes in sectors such as agriculture
and food security, water and sanitation, and global health.
The Biden Administration began in the midst of crisis. The
COVID-19 pandemic was raging, and the public
health response was chaotic. At the same time, the related economic
fallout kept many out of work. The President’s American Rescue Plan
helped get shots into arms, rescue checks to families, workers back in
jobs, and needed funds to State and local governments. But the work was
not complete. Our Nation faces serious deficits in our communities that
long predate the pandemic: failing infrastructure, limited access to
high-quality education and health care, a workforce without the skills
needed to succeed in today’s economy, growing income inequality,
systemic racism, climate change, and more. The President’s budget for
2022 lays out a visionary plan to address these needs and build a better
and more secure future for America.
In releases over the past two months, the President has previewed his
approach to strengthening our economy and improving the lives of
American families. His American Jobs Plan makes the broad range of
infrastructure investments that are essential for a modern economy. His
discretionary request highlights the federal government’s vital role in
innovation, research, and other investments in our people, and responds
to years of chronic underfunding and disinvestment. The American
Families Plan focuses on creating a more inclusive economy that expands
opportunities for all families to share in our prosperity. At the same
time, the President seeks to reform our tax code to ensure that wealthy
corporations and individuals pay their fair share. Today’s budget shows
how these proposals fit together to transform our country and meet the
challenges ahead.
Creating Jobs and Revitalizing U.S. Manufacturing While Building 21st Century Infrastructure
The budget invests $2.2 trillion over 10 years in fortifying and
modernizing American infrastructure, while creating good-paying jobs and
revitalizing U.S. manufacturing. Although physical infrastructure –
roads, bridges, mass transit, the electric grid – is critically
important and rightly receives significant funding, the budget takes a
comprehensive approach when considering what is crucial to advancing our
economy and securing our place in the global marketplace. The United
States currently lags behind our competitors, ranking only 13th in the
quality of our infrastructure and falling behind in research and
development. The budget rectifies this to protect American livelihoods
and strengthen our competitiveness.
Builds world-class transportation infrastructure — The budget ends
decades of underinvestment in transportation infrastructure and supports
a historic shift to help our transportation system respond to climate
change. The plan invests $596 billion over 10 years in our
transportation network. It includes $112 billion to modernize the
bridges, highways, roads, and main streets that are in most critical
need of repair. Repair efforts will be designed to improve air quality,
limit greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce congestion. An additional $19
billion will improve road safety for all users. The plan provides $77
billion to modernize existing transit and help agencies expand their
systems to meet rider demand, doubling federal funding for public
transit.
The plan would also invest $74 billion in Amtrak and other programs that
support passenger and freight rail. The budget accelerates the
transition already underway to a more electrified transportation system
that has a lesser impact on climate change. It invests $157 billion in
electric vehicles, including support for manufacturing of batteries and
vehicles, incentives for consumers, funding to build a network of
charging stations, and electrification of school buses. The budget also
includes funding for other modes of transportation that are critical to
jobs and the economy, providing $25 billion for airports and the Federal
Aviation Administration, as well as $17 billion to support freight
transportation by investing in inland waterways, coastal ports, land
ports of entry, and ferries. Finally, it makes some broader
transportation investments, spending: $24 billion for a new program to
redress historic inequities by restoring and reconnecting communities;
$42 billion to accelerate transformational projects and build the future
of transportation; and $49 billion for infrastructure resilience,
including the safeguarding of critical infrastructure and services,
defense of vulnerable communities, and deployment of green, nature-based
resilience solutions.
Makes transformative investments in a renewed electric grid and
energy-related economic development — The budget invests $98 billion in
building a resilient and upgraded electric grid and modernizing the
power sector through clean energy block grants and clean energy support
for rural electric cooperatives. This funding also supports economic
development in distressed and disadvantaged communities through
remediation and reclamation of abandoned mines, oil and gas wells, and
other industrial brownfield sites; investments in next-generation carbon
capture and hydrogen industrial facilities; and grants for critical new
physical and civic infrastructure and community-driven environmental
justice efforts. It also creates a Civilian Climate Corps to help build
resilience, support environmental justice, and conserve public lands and
waters. Together, these investments will increase energy resilience and
security, lower energy costs, improve air quality, create good-paying
jobs, and strengthen U.S. competitiveness on the pathway to 100 percent
carbon-free electricity by 2035.
Ensures highspeed broadband reaches all Americans — The budget
includes $100 billion for a digital infrastructure, adoption, and
affordability initiative that connects families to highspeed internet
service. The initiative prioritizes extending broadband service to
underrepresented and hard-to-reach communities and allowing municipal
and nonprofit service providers to compete with private entities. The
budget envisions closing the digital divide by lowering the cost of
service to make high speed broadband available and affordable for all
families.
Improves public health by rebuilding clean drinking water
infrastructure — In addition to funding requested through the
appropriations process, the budget provides $111 billion to replace the
Nation’s lead pipes and service lines and reduce lead exposure in homes,
schools, and child care facilities; modernize drinking water,
wastewater, and stormwater systems, including in rural communities; and
monitor and remediate new drinking water contaminants such as per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Invests in research and development (R&D) and cutting-edge technologies
to spur American innovation, competitiveness, and job creation — The
budget provides $180 billion in new, direct funding for researchers and
laboratories, primarily in emerging technology areas critical to U.S.
economic leadership, such as semiconductors, advanced computing,
biotechnology, and advanced clean energy. It supports a new technology
directorate at the National Science Foundation, upgrades research
capabilities at Department of Energy and other federal laboratories, and
invests in R&D across the country and at Historically Black College and
Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). It
addresses a full range of breakthrough technologies needed to address
the climate crisis and establish the United States as the global clean
energy leader, including by launching an Advanced Research Projects
Agency-Climate (ARPA-C) and supporting demonstration-scale energy
projects. This funding also includes $25 billion for R&D investments and
fellowships at HBCUs and other MSIs, to help eliminate racial and gender
inequities and unleash the full innovation capacity of the nation.
Revitalizes American manufacturing and small businesses, creating
economic and job growth across the country — The budget includes $130
billion in direct funding for a supply chain resilience fund to support
domestic production of critical goods, semiconductor manufacturing and
research incentives, and protection against future pandemics by
accelerating vaccine, therapeutics, and other medical countermeasure
development and production. It further provides $100 billion to increase
access to capital and establish early markets for domestic manufacturing
through expanded financing facilities, investments in biobased product
manufacturing and automotive supply chain modernization, and Federal
procurement of carbon-free power, sustainable buildings, and electric
vehicle fleets. It also includes $68 billion to establish regional
innovation hubs and to support advanced manufacturing research, small-
and medium-sized manufacturing business incubators and assistance, and
innovative community-led economic development projects. These efforts
will collectively emphasize rural, Tribal, and disadvantaged communities
outside the current U.S. high-growth centers.
Builds and retrofits buildings across the country for energy efficiency
and expanded housing options — Addressing the affordable housing
crisis, the budget includes $212 billion to build, preserve, and
retrofit more than two million homes and commercial buildings. The
budget includes funding to build and repair affordable housing units –
such as the $45 billion increase in the Housing Trust Fund and $40
billion in public housing capital funding – but also investments in
energy efficiency and sustainability. Rising home utility costs have
contributed to the affordability crisis. The budget addresses long-term
housing sustainability with $27 billion for a new Clean Energy and
Sustainability Accelerator to leverage private sector resources to
retrofit homes with energy efficient technology and solutions, $18
billion in weatherization grants, and $13 billion in energy efficiency
block grants. The budget also invests $87 billion in upgrading and
building schools, including community college facilities, and child-care
facilities to ensure they are safe, healthy, accessible,
energy-efficient, and resilient.
Invests $400 billion in home or community-based care for seniors and
people with disabilities — The COVID-19
pandemic exacerbated a longstanding caregiving crisis, as families
struggled to afford the costs of caring for aging relatives and family
members with disabilities. At the same time, many of the essential
workers who provide this critical care are chronically underpaid and
undervalued, and they are disproportionately women and people of color.
The budget’s investment of $400 billion in home and community-based
services will expand access to services and strengthen the workforce
that provides this care by creating new and better-paying jobs. The
budget also extends the Money Follows the Person program, which allows
people to have a choice of where they live and where they receive
long-term services and supports.
Supports workforce development — The budget invests $87 billion over
10 years in workforce development so that America will have a stronger,
more agile workforce. This includes a $16 billion for a new Dislocated
Workers Program to help retrain workers who lose jobs through no fault
of their own, $11 billion to train workers facing the highest barriers,
like the formerly incarcerated, $8.7 billion to support efforts to
expand career pathways for middle and high school students, along with
$10 billion to enforce rules to help keep workers safe and healthy and
earning fair pay.
Strengthening Families and Ensuring More Broadly Shared Prosperity
Even before the pandemic, too many American families struggled to make
ends meet. Underlying inequities and widening income inequality –
exacerbated by the pandemic-driven recession – have negatively impacted
many working Americans’ financial security. In the United States, the
wealthiest nation on earth, this is neither acceptable nor inevitable.
We have the means and opportunity to make sure that all families –
regardless of race, gender, or place of residence – can meet their basic
needs and participate in an economy with broadly shared prosperity. The
budget lays out policies that will create a better future and expand
opportunities for all American families.
Provides four additional years of free education — A more educated
workforce means a stronger economy in the future. The budget makes this
possible by providing quality pre-k and community college. Research
shows that early investments in education pay off for years to come. The
budget follows those findings and invests $165 billion over 10 years to
provide free, high-quality, accessible pre-k to all three- and
four-year-olds. At that same time, to increase college access and
affordability, the budget invests $109 billion for two years of free
community college, as well as $53 billion for evidence-based strategies
to improve community college retention and $84 billion to increase Pell
grants. In addition to investments discussed above, the budget spends $6
billion for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal
Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions; and $8
billion to train, equip and diversify America’s next generation of
teachers.
Makes critical investments in child care — The crushing cost of child
care in America is a burden to families and makes it harder for parents,
and particularly mothers, to work outside of the home. The budget
invests $225 billion over 10 years to make child care more affordable.
For families with the lowest income, child care will be free, while low-
and middle-income families will only pay 7 percent of their income in
child care costs. Meanwhile, child care providers will receive funding
to cover the true cost of high quality care, including providing a
living wage to child care workers.
Creates universal paid family and medical leave — The budget creates a
new national paid leave program so that workers no longer have to make a
difficult decision to forgo income when it is important to take time
away from work to care for themselves or a loved one. Once fully
phased-in, the program would provide workers up to 12 weeks of paid
parental, family, and personal illness leave, replacing up to $4,000 per
month of earnings. The leave program will cost $225 billion over 10
years.
Delivers nutrition security to America’s vulnerable families — The
budget builds on the antipoverty and food security initiatives in the
American Rescue Plan by expanding critical nutrition assistance so that
families have healthy food options for their kids at school and at home.
The budget invests $45 billion over 10 years in four primary ways.
First, it makes the summer EBT demonstration
permanent and increases the number of children in low income families
that can purchase meals during the summer when out of school. With a $26
billion investment, this expansion will further decrease food insecurity
among the 29 million children that receive free and reduced-price meals.
The budget also provides $17 billion for free school meals to all
students in high poverty school districts. An additional 9.3 million
students receive free meals under the Administration’s proposal. So that
schools can provide healthier food choices, the budget invests $1
billion in a demonstration project for schools that exceed current
healthy food standards. Finally, the budget invests almost $900 million
to provide SNAP eligibility to individuals
formerly incarcerated for drug offenses so they can feed their children
when they return to their families.
Extends key tax benefits for lower- and middle-income workers and
families — The budget provides nearly $800 billion of tax benefits for
workers and families over 10 years by extending the expanded tax credit
provisions enacted in the American Rescue Plan, including the Child Tax
Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care
Tax Credit. These key benefits not only help lower- and middle-income
families make ends meet, but also have been shown to boost children’s
academic and economic performance over time. The budget extends through
2025 the expanded Child Tax Credit, increasing the credit amount to
$3,000 for children aged 6 to 17 and $3,600 for children under 6, and
makes this credit fully refundable on a permanent basis so that this
benefit becomes fully available to families with no earnings or low
earnings. Furthermore, the budget permanently extends the expanded
Marketplace tax credits enacted in the American Rescue Plan, which are
lowering health insurance costs by an average of $50 per person per
month for nine million people and will enable millions of uninsured
people to gain coverage.
Discretionary priorities have faced chronic underinvestment for years
due to a self-inflicted austerity regime. The pandemic and related
economic downturn shined a bright light on the serious repercussions of
conflating forced austerity with fiscal responsibility. Our Nation was
not prepared for the challenges and crises we faced. This budget, the
first after the expiration of discretionary caps put in place a decade
ago, provides funding levels that will meet the needs of the American
people, spur short- and long-term economic growth through responsible
investments, and begin to counteract the detrimental effects of
disinvestment in our people. This funding will also reverse the
hollowing out of our federal agencies, a goal of “disruption” in the
previous Administration. It is not enough to fund programs and agencies:
we must also fund the people and resources needed to make them
successful. Investing in the federal workforce will ensure programs are
well-functioning, and that those who are entitled to benefits receive
them while those who owe taxes pay them. The budget provides a 16.5
percent increase in non-defense discretionary spending for 2022, which
together with the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan will
finally set the stage to not only meet ongoing challenges but also
responsibly prepare for whatever problems may arise.
Invests in the knowledge, technologies, and actions needed to tackle
the climate crisis and lead in the clean energy economy — The budget
supports major new climate change investments to put the United States
on a path to net-zero emissions no later than 2050 while generating
economic growth and new clean energy job opportunities. In addition to
the resources provided in the American Jobs Plan, the 2022 discretionary
budget invests more than $10 billion in clean energy innovation and
technologies across non-defense agencies, a nearly 30 percent increase
above 2021 that will enhance U.S. competitiveness and reduce emissions.
It provides more than $4 billion for climate science and sustainability
research across agencies that also supports regional and local
adaptation and resilience decision-making. It supports incorporating
climate impacts into pre-disaster planning and projects and
strengthening the resilience of ecosystems, federal facilities and
operations, and vulnerable and underserved communities to wildfires,
flooding, and drought. And it includes more than $2.3 billion for
international climate programs, multiple times the investment enacted
for 2021, to assist developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to
climate disruptions. Overall, the budget includes more than $36 billion
to combat climate change by investing in resilience and clean energy –
an increase of more than $14 billion compared to 2021—and prioritizes
support for disadvantaged and other communities that have been left
behind.
Protects our air, water, environment, and health and supports
distressed and disadvantaged communities — The budget provides $11.2
billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, an increase of $2.0
billion (or 22 percent) above 2021, including to restore critical staff
capacity and programmatic capabilities, implement climate change
programs, and accelerate toxicity studies and regulatory development. It
invests more than $1.4 billion to secure environmental justice for
marginalized and overburdened communities, in addition to ensuring that
40 percent of the benefits of climate and clean infrastructure
investments accrue to these communities. The 2022 discretionary budget
also includes $3.6 billion, which is $625 million above 2021, for
drinking and waste-water infrastructure improvement. And it supports
communities transitioning away from coal and other fossil fuel plants
and production by funding remediation of abandoned wells and mines and a
new multi-agency POWER+ Initiative to
transform local economies and assist, reskill, and reemploy workers.
Makes historic investments in education — The
COVID-19 crisis forced students to learn
remotely for over a year, a challenge for students and teachers. The
budget makes significant investments in our kids throughout their
education. The 41 percent increase for the Department of Education’s
discretionary budget (to $103 billion) is the largest increase provided
to any cabinet agency. Notably this funding includes $36.5 billion for
Title I grants to support under-resourced schools – a $20 billion
increase over the 2021 enacted level and the largest single increase
ever for Title I grants. The budget also provides $16 billion, a $2.7
billion increase over 2021, for Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act grants to increase the federal share of special education and
related services for the first time in eight years. To support the
physical and mental well-being of students after this challenging year,
the budget provides an additional $1 billion for counselors, nurses, and
mental health professionals in schools. While the budget makes historic
investments in K-12 education, it also provides significant support to
higher education, including increasing the maximum Pell grant by $400,
that in combination with new mandatory spending will increase the
maximum award by $1,875.
Strengthens public health infrastructure to enhance our ability to
address existing and emerging threats — The
COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that the
chronic underfunding of public health has serious costs. The budget
builds on the public health investments in the American Rescue Plan to
strengthen our nation’s response to future public health crises and
drive innovation in biomedical research. It provides $8.7 billion for
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase of $1.6
billion over the 2021 enacted level – the largest increase for the
agency in nearly two decades. These new resources will rebuild core
public health infrastructure, reduce racial and ethnic disparities,
deploy public health approaches to reduce violence, and address the
effects of climate change on health, among other initiatives. Finally,
the Budget includes $51 billion for the National Institutes of Health,
an increase of $9 billion over the 2021 enacted level. In part, this
funding establishes the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health
(ARPA-H), which will accelerate the development of treatments and cures
for cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Increases the supply, quality, and affordability of rental housing —
Congress and the White House provided emergency rental and homelessness
assistance in the American Rescue Plan as at-risk families struggled to
keep a roof over their head during the pandemic. That critical support
continues to save households from eviction so that they do not have to
make an impossible choice between paying their rent or feeding their
family. But ending the pandemic will not end our nation’s housing
crisis. For almost two decades before the pandemic, modest growth in
renters’ real income (3.4 percent) did not keep pace with a significant
increase in rent (15 percent after inflation). Federal rental assistance
programs have not helped enough families fill that gap – with three out
of four at-risk, eligible households not receiving support.
The President’s discretionary request makes a big investment in the
country’s rental assistance programs and affordable housing
infrastructure to help more at-risk families afford quality, modern
housing. The budget includes $30.4 billion in Housing Choice Vouchers, a
$5.4 billion increase over 2021 enacted funding, to continue rental
assistance for families currently receiving aid but also to support
200,000 new families. To address the homelessness crisis, the budget
requests $3.5 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, an increase of
$500 million over the 2021 enacted level, to support an additional
100,000 families through emergency shelters, rapid-rehousing,
transitional housing, and permanent solutions. Families supported
through these assistance programs will have new and rehabilitated
housing options. In addition to the investments included in the American
Families Plan, the discretionary request includes an $800 million
increase for programs to increase the energy efficiency and
sustainability of affordable housing, a $435 million increase in public
housing modernization grants, and a $500 million increase in the
HOME Investment Partnership Program to build
and rehabilitate affordable rental housing.
Strengthens American leadership in science, technology, and innovation
— In addition to the transformative R&D investments in the American Jobs
Plan, the budget provides $171 billion in 2022 discretionary R&D funding
across the federal government, an increase of $13 billion, or 9 percent,
above the 2021 enacted level. This funding supports foundational
research that advances the frontiers of knowledge and underpins our
innovation economy. It also advances applied research and development in
areas that are crucial for addressing climate change, accelerating
health breakthroughs, and securing U.S. leadership in critical
technologies – strengthening U.S. competitiveness and economic growth
and improving Americans’ lives and livelihoods. Highlights include $10.2
billion for the National Science Foundation, an increase of $1.7 billion
(or 20 percent) above 2021; $24.8 billion for
NASA, an increase of $1.5 billion (or 7
percent); and $1.5 billion for the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, and increase of $463 million (or 45 percent) that includes
more than doubling funding for its manufacturing programs.
Makes global leadership a priority — U.S. global leadership is
essential to our national security. It serves as a first line of defense
by protecting democratic values, fostering goodwill, and stabilizing
vulnerable areas around the world through diplomacy and development.
After four years of an administration bent on hobbling our diplomatic
corps and ceding global influence to China and other foreign powers,
this budget once again makes U.S. global leadership a high priority. It
provides $64 billion for international affairs activities, an 11 percent
increase above the 2021 enacted level. This increase will help rebuild
our diplomatic corps and make important investments in global health
programs to combat the pandemic, international programs to mitigate the
destabilizing effects of climate change, and development programs to
address the root causes of irregular immigration from Central America,
among others.
Fulfills sacred obligation to our veterans — The budget provides $113
billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA), an $8.5 billion or 8.2 percent increase from 2021. This funding
includes $97.5 billion for VA medical care, including increases in
funding for women’s health, mental health, suicide prevention, and
veterans’ homeless programs to improve access for underserved veterans.
The funding also includes $882 million for medical and prosthetic
research—including the largest increase in recent history—to advance
VA’s understanding of traumatic brain injury, the effects of toxic
exposure on long-term health outcomes, and the needs of disabled
veterans. The budget also provides $111 billion in advance
appropriations for VA medical care programs in 2023.
Supports needed reforms in justice system — The budget provides $35.3
billion for the Department of Justice, a $1.8 billion, or 5.3 percent,
increase above the 2021 enacted level. Funding is targeted to make
progress on a number of important reforms, including efforts to reduce
prison populations, advance police reforms, support the prosecution of
hate crimes, end gender-based violence, reduce gun violence and domestic
terrorism, and ensure equal treatment and protection of all people under
environmental policy and law.
Meeting National Defense Needs
The budget provides $753 billion for national defense for 2022, a 1.6
percent increase from the comparable 2021 level. With this funding, our
military will have the resources it needs to meet challenges around the
world, modernize and secure domestic defense systems, and ensure that
military members and their families get the support they deserve. The
budget ends the use of the “overseas contingency operations”
designation, which limited budget enforcement over defense dollars,
bringing more accountability to the budget process.
Funds national defense based on comprehensive security strategy — The
Administration prioritizes deterring the threat from China as its top
security challenge and focuses on a more comprehensive security strategy
that involves all elements of our national power. The defense budget
includes $715 billion for the Department of Defense and $38 billion for
the nuclear weapons-related activities of the Department of Energy and
for various security activities at several other agencies including the
Coast Guard and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Beyond the budget year,
the budget includes placeholder estimates pending final review of the
national security strategy. Those estimates increase 2.2 percent per
year, roughly inflation levels, over 2023 through 2026, and 1 percent
per year over the remaining five years of the 10-year budget window.
That lower annual rate is a proxy for long-run efficiency savings the
Administration believes the Pentagon can achieve in the defense budget.
Ends the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) loophole — For 2021,
Congress enacted $69 billion of OCO-designated
funding for defense and $8 billion for nondefense. Most of that funding
was used to finance regular activities unrelated to overseas operations,
a practice that has become an annual exercise to skirt budget caps. The
abuse of this designation has gone on far too long and the budget
finally ends this practice by moving defense and nondefense activities
previously funded with OCO-designated funds to
the base budget. This will ensure better management of resources by
providing more predictable funding streams and eliminating a long-abused
mechanism to circumvent regular budget processes to avoid making budget
tradeoffs.
Ensures NDD components of national security fulfill their roles — This
budget recognizes that strong national security depends on more than
just our military. It requires strong diplomacy, robust veterans’
programs, effective homeland security activities, aggressive mitigation
of the destabilizing effects of climate change, readied pandemic
defenses, and an economy poised to compete and win, which underpins our
national strength. The budget makes significant investments in each of
these areas. On all counts, this budget marks a stark departure from the
haphazard security approach of the last administration, which eschewed
U.S. global leadership, cozied up to dictatorships, and relied on our
military as our first and last line of defense against security threats.
Making a Fairer Tax Code
The budget raises $3.6 trillion in new revenues over 10 years, and
enough to offset the costs of the American Jobs Plan and the American
Families Plan over 15 years. Families earning less than $400,000 per
year are not asked to contribute more and instead are provided with
greater tax benefits, including extensions of the higher Child Tax
Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Marketplace tax credit enacted in
the American Rescue Plan (see discussion above under Strengthening
Families). The new tax code will encourage investment in the United
States and ensure that corporations and the wealthy contribute to the
betterment of our Nation by paying their fair share.
Ensures big corporations pay their fair share — The budget raises $2.3
trillion in new corporate tax revenues over the next decade and enough
in the next 15 years to fully pay for the investments in the American
Jobs Plan. The President’s Made in America corporate tax plan
incentivizes job creation and investment in the United States, stops
unfair and wasteful profit-shifting to tax havens, and ensures that
large corporations are paying their fair share. The tax plan reverses
the damage caused by the 2017 tax law and fundamentally reforms the way
the tax code treats the largest corporations by increasing the corporate
tax rate to 28 percent, returning corporate tax revenue as a share of
the economy to approximately its 21st century average before the 2017
tax law; increasing the minimum tax on U.S. multinational corporations
to 21 percent and calculating it on a country‑by‑country basis to
discourage shifting profits and jobs overseas; preventing U.S.
corporations from relocating operations overseas or claiming tax havens
as their residence; enacting a 15 percent minimum tax on large
corporations’ book income; and making other corporate tax changes. The
plan also eliminates tax preferences for fossil fuels, extends and
enhances incentives for clean energy, energy efficiency, and electricity
transmission, and ensures polluting industries pay for environmental
cleanup by restoring payments into the Superfund Trust Fund.
Ends tax loopholes for the wealthy — The budget reforms the tax code
so that the wealthy have to play by the same rules as everyone else. The
budget raises more than $750 billion in new revenues over 10 years by
making sure the highest-income individuals pay their fair share. Major
proposals include restoring the top individual tax rate to what it was
before the 2017 law (39 percent), which would apply only to those with
incomes within the top one percent of taxpayers; ending capital income
tax breaks for households making over $1 million so that these
households pay the same tax rate on investment returns as wages;
eliminating the loophole that allows the wealthiest Americans to
entirely escape tax on their wealth by passing it down to heirs by
ending the practice of “stepping-up” the basis for gains in excess of $1
million per individual or $2.5 million per couple; closing the carried
interest loophole so that hedge fund partners will pay ordinary income
rates on their income just like every other worker; and making other
reforms in the tax code to reward work and not wealth. The
Administration’s plan will protect family-owned businesses and farms
being passed down heirs who continue to run the business.
Provides the IRS with the resources it needs to crack down on wealthy
tax cheats and improve taxpayer services — The budget provides $78
billion over 10 years to restore the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS)
resources, including $71 billion of mandatory funds and $6.6 billion for
a new discretionary program integrity adjustment. This would fund the
IRS’s priorities, including hiring new
specialized enforcement staff to audit those with the highest incomes,
modernizing antiquated information technology, and investing in
meaningful taxpayer services, such as the implementation of the newly
expanded tax credits aimed at providing support to American families.
The increased audits would focus on those with the highest incomes, who
earn income in opaque categories like partnership and proprietorship
income, where misreporting rates are high. Audit rates will not rise for
those with less than $400,000 in income. Increased audits of high-income
individuals and improved financial account information reporting would
build a more equitable tax system and help close the tax gap, which is
estimated to raise $779 billion in new revenues over the next decade and
$1.6 trillion more in the second decade.
Last month, expert witnesses told us that the economic costs of climate
change
will be significant. But what will these costs look like for the
individuals, businesses, and communities facing severe coastal flooding
and storms, decreased agricultural productivity, increased health
threats, and national risks to security? To answer this question, on
July 24th, the House Budget Committee will hear testimony from five
expert witnesses on the impacts of climate change to coastal
communities, agricultural economies, public health, and national
security – and the implications for the federal budget.
Climate change puts millions of people at risk from coastal flooding and
storms — Coastal homes, businesses, infrastructure, and lives are
threatened by more intense hurricanes, increased flooding, saltwater
intrusion into freshwater supplies, and reduced fishery productivity.
More than 300,000 residential and commercial coastal properties , valued
at approximately $136 billion today, are projected to be at risk of
chronic tidal flooding by 2045 – even absent heavy rains or storms.
Major disasters related to hurricanes, severe storms, and flooding have
been getting worse, too. In the last three years, such disasters caused
more than 3,400 deaths in the United States, compared to less than 200
deaths over a similar period 35 years ago. By 2050, the risk of being
hit by a category 4 or 5 hurricane could increase by 275 percent from
1980 levels, and eight out of nine U.S. real estate companies are
already citing operational risks and costs from flooding and hurricanes
in their environmental disclosures. Cumulative damages to coastal
property from sea level rise and storm surge are projected to reach $3.6
trillion through 2100 unless we take action. The federal costs for flood
prevention, flood insurance, and disaster response will grow. Flood
insurance claims under the National Flood Insurance Program are already
increasing, with the six costliest years all occurring since 2005, and
federal spending on hurricane relief and recovery is projected to
increase 33 percent faster than the growth in the economy by 2075.
Climate change will further strain farmers and the agricultural economy
— The changing climate will lead to heat stress in plants and livestock,
reduced soil health and moisture, shifts in pollination, and greater
pressure from weeds, pests, and diseases. These changes will result in
declining crop yields and livestock and poultry productivity , increased
rates of crop failure, and reduced food nutrition. For example, hotter
temperatures and a doubling of water deficits by midcentury are expected
to reduce corn yields in Indiana by 16 to 20 percent, reduce soybean
yields by 9 to 11 percent, and double the number of livestock heat
stress days. The average inflation-adjusted price of crops is projected
to increase 20 percent by 2050 . Planting alternate crops, new farm and
soil management practices, and emerging technologies can help farmers
adapt but come at a cost for agricultural communities already under
significant financial pressure. The federal government will also absorb
additional costs. For example, climate change could increase crop
insurance costs for corn, soybeans, and wheat by 40 percent by 2080.
Climate change is the greatest public health challenge of the 21st
century — More than 90 health organizations have jointly identified
climate change as a public health emergency, and children, pregnant
women, older adults, outdoor workers, and low-income and marginalized
communities are disproportionately vulnerable. By midcentury, more than
90 million people in the United States – a 100-fold increase – will
experience 30 or more days with a heat index above 105°F in an average
year. Such extreme heat and heat waves will increase hospitalization for
heatstroke and cardiovascular, respiratory, and kidney disorders and
could cause thousands of deaths annually. Degraded air quality and
higher pollen concentrations will increase the incidence of respiratory
illnesses, heart attacks, asthma, and allergies. More people will be
exposed to infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks (such
as Zika and Lyme disease), toxic algal blooms, and waterborne diseases.
Cases of tickborne disease have already more than doubled from 2004 to
2016. Severe storms can disrupt critical healthcare systems and
infrastructure for months, as well as directly costing lives. The costs
to the public health system and federal programs such as Medicare and
Medicaid, although not yet quantified, are likely to be significant.
Climate change threatens defense readiness and stability around the
world — The intelligence community, senior defense officials, and
Department of Defense (DOD) strategies and plans have consistently
identified climate change as a national security challenge and threat
multiplier. U.S. military facilities, operations, and equipment are
vulnerable to storms, sea level rise, flooding, wildfires, and drought.
In just the last year, hurricane and flood damage to Camp Lejeune and
Tyndall and Offutt Air Force Bases will require $8.5 billion to repair –
and the DOD assesses that approximately
two-thirds of mission assurance priority installations are at risk.
Melting sea ice is opening the Arctic to increased competition with
Russia and China for natural resources and access to sea routes.
Globally, climate change will exacerbate food and water insecurity,
infectious disease outbreaks, natural resource scarcity, commodity price
shocks, economic distress and inequality, natural disaster severity, and
population displacement and migration. These in turn will increase the
risk of social unrest, political instability, and conflict abroad – and
increase the frequency, scale, complexity, and cost of future
DOD missions.
At this upcoming hearing, the Budget Committee will continue to examine
the challenges that climate change poses to the American people and
economy, building on its June
hearing
and looking more closely at specific sectors.
Witnesses
Georges C. Benjamin, M.D., Executive Director, American Public Health
Association
Stefani Millie Grant, Senior Manager for External Affairs and
Sustainability, Unilever
Rear Admiral Lower Half Ann C. Phillips, Special Assistant to the
Governor for Coastal Adaptation and Protection, Office of the Governor
of Virginia
Rich Powell, Executive Director, ClearPath
Rear Admiral Upper Half David W. Titley, Ph.D., Affiliate Professor of
Meteorology and of International Affairs, Department of Meteorology
and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University
Of the 403
amendments
offered on the House budget measure, the 2011 Continuing
Resolution (H.R.
1), many are focused on climate change, energy policy, and environmental
protection. Republican amendments, if fully enacted, would eliminate the
White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Special Envoy for
Climate Change, the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate
Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the
NOAA Climate Service, and would block rules
for cement plant pollution, coal ash, industrial boiler pollution, water
quality, climate change, climate change adaptation, energy-efficient
lighting, mountaintop removal, atrazine, and water conservation.
The following list was compiled by E&E
News and by Hill Heat.
Administration environment programs
Amendment No. 202 from Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) to defund the
White House Council on Environmental Quality, which advises the
president on environmental issues.
Amendment No. 203 from Labrador to stop the administration from
using its funding to designate new monuments under the Antiquities
Act. The administration downplayed that authority last summer after
Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee released a leaked
Interior Department memo listing 14 possible sites for future
monuments.
Amendment No. 344 from Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) to stop the
federal government from reimbursing attorneys’ fees that were incurred
while seeking enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act.
Amendment No. 204 from Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) to stop the
White House from using its funds to pay for an assistant to the
president for energy and climate change, a special envoy for climate
change or a special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation.
The first of those posts is held by departing climate czar Carol
Browner.
Amendment No. 257 from Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), also to stop
the White House from paying for an assistant to the president for
energy and climate change, the position held by Carol Browner.
Air and climate
Amendment No. 165 from Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) to stop
EPA from using its funding to implement new
air pollution rules for cement kilns. Carter has recently drawn fire
from environmentalists for introducing a resolution to block the
standards, which would set limits on mercury and other types of toxic
air pollution.
Amendment No. 201 from Labrador to stop
EPA from issuing or enforcing final
standards for air pollution from industrial boilers.
EPA sought an extension after industry
groups and many lawmakers in Congress slammed the rule that was
proposed last summer, but a court ordered the agency to issue a final
rule by Feb. 21. The agency sent its draft to the White House for
review last month, saying it would open up a reconsideration
proceeding after issuing a final rule.
Amendments No. 65 and 66 from Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) to allow
EPA to limit greenhouse gases under the
Clean Air Act if it is deemed “necessary to protect the public health
or prevent severe environmental degradation.”
Amendment No. 198 from Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) to stop
EPA from creating a cap-and-trade program or
enforcing any other regulations for greenhouse gases under the Clean
Air Act. Poe introduced a similar bill last month, as well as during
the previous Congress.
Amendment No. 348 from Pearce to stop Interior from putting
funding toward climate change adaptation.
Amendment No. 29 from Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) to reduce funding
for the International Fund for Agricultural Development by $2.599
million. Also reduces funding for Contributions to International
Organizations account by $44 million, Global Environmental Facility by
$4.6 million, International Development Association by $136 million,
Enterprise for American Multilateral Investment by $2.9 million, and
African Development Fund by $19.5 million.
Amendment No. 149 from Rep. Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-Mo.) to prohibit
funding the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Amendment No. 378 from Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas) to prohibit the
establishment of the NOAA Climate Service
(NCS).
Energy policy
Amendment No. 94 from Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) to stop
EPA from using its funding to implement its
decision to allow the ethanol content of gasoline to be increased from
10 percent to 15 percent. EPA issued a rule
in October that said E-15 could be used in vehicles made after 2007,
and in January, the agency followed up with another rule allowing cars
made between 2001 and 2006 to use the fuel.
Amendment No. 241 from Rep. John Carney (D-Del.) to stop the
Department of Energy from using its funding for the Oil and Gas
Research and Development Program.
Amendment No. 181 from Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) to bar the use of
federal funds to implement the section of the Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007 that phases out incandescent light bulbs in favor
of more energy-efficient alternatives. Republicans have gone after the
provision, citing it as an example of an overreaching federal
government.
Amendment No. 251 from Scalise to stop Interior from using any
funding to delay the approval of a plan or permit for energy
exploration on the outer continental shelf. The agency has been
rebuked twice by a federal court for slowing new oil and gas drilling
as part of its response to last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Amendments No. 300 through 320 from Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.)
to make a variety of changes to the appropriations given to
DOE for energy efficiency and renewable
energy research, including eliminating solar energy, water power,
building technologies, vehicle technologies, fuel cells, geothermal
energy, and biomass technologies.
Amendment No. 329 from Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) to bar
additional funding for the operations and maintenance of the
Southeastern Power Administration, which operates hydroelectric power
projects in the southeastern United States.
Amendment No. 27 from Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to stop Interior
from issuing new oil or natural gas leases on the outer continental
shelf if they do not include limitations on royalty relief based on
market price.
Amendment No. 228 from Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) to prevent the
Los Alamos Neutron Science Center refurbishment, and to reduce the
DOE nuclear budget by $20 million.
Water and mining rules
Amendment No. 13 from Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) would stop
EPA from using its funding to implement,
administer or enforce new water quality standards for Florida’s lakes
and flowing waters, which were issued in November. They have been
challenged by the state of Florida (E&ENews PM, Dec. 7, 2010).
Amendment No. 109 from Griffith to stop
EPA from using its funding to implement or
enforce new guidance for the review of possible water pollution from
proposed coal-mining projects. The guidance was challenged last summer
by the National Mining Association, which claims
EPA has enforced the guidance as if it were
a final rule without going through the usual notice-and-comment
process (Greenwire, July 20, 2010).
Amendment No. 216 from Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) to stop
EPA from administering or enforcing the
sections of the Clean Water Act that govern dredge-and-fill permits.
Those are the permits needed by mountaintop-removal operations such as
the Spruce No. 1 coal mine, a West Virginia project that had its water
quality permit revoked by EPA last month.
Amendment No. 218 from Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) to stop
EPA from issuing new rules for the
circumstances under which mining may be conducted near streams or from
conducting an environmental impact statement on the impact of the
rules.
Amendment No. 289 from McClintock to stop Interior from issuing
grants under the WaterSMART program. The conservation initiative,
which was created by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last year, is
intended to find solutions for the water shortages in many areas of
the West.
Chemicals and toxics
Amendment No. 10 from Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) to stop
EPA from developing or issuing standards
that list coal ash as hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act. After issuing a proposal last year, the agency has
not signaled when it might make a final decision on coal ash, which
was thrust into the public eye after a massive spill at a Tennessee
Valley Authority power plant in late 2008.
Amendment No. 217 from McKinley, also to stop the coal ash rules.
Amendment No. 279 from Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) to stop
EPA from using its funding to re-evaluate
the possible health effects of the approved herbicide atrazine. In
late 2009, the agency started a new review of atrazine, which is
widely used by corn and sugar cane growers, to investigate whether the
herbicide can have effects on the human endocrine system.
Restoration of Superfund.
In 2002, Bush crippled
Superfund,
the federal program for cleaning up the most toxic sites in America, by
eliminating the tax on industrial polluters “that once generated about
$1 billion a year.” President Obama’s budget reinstates Superfund
taxes
in 2011, restoring $17 billion over ten years to the depleted
program.
Polluters Pay To Fight Climate Change And Make Work Pay.
The Bush administration rejected the Kyoto
Protocol
in 2001, and instituted a voluntary
program
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2002, which instead rose.
President Obama calls for a mandatory cap on carbon
emissions
starting in 2012, expected to raise $645.7 billion over ten years.
Instead of sending those revenues back to the polluters, $15 billion a
year will go to clean energy technologies, with the rest funding the
Making Work Pay tax credit to reduce payroll
taxes for
every working American.
Ending Tax Breaks For Fossil Fuel Industry.
Oil, natural gas, and coal companies enjoyed record
profits in recent years, even as
numerous incentives and tax breaks for companies that drill and mine our
shared resources were protected. President Obama’s budget eliminates
$31.75 billion in oil and gas company giveaways and increases the
return from natural resources on federal lands by $2.9 billion over
ten years.
In a column at the Center for American Progress, director of climate
strategy Dan Weiss analyzes the budget and finds: “President Obama’s
proposed energy budget is a ray of sunshine after an eight-year
blackout.
Congress must now make this clean energy future a reality.”
In a sweeping address to both houses
of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet, President Barack Obama
introduced his budgetary plan for the United States government,
explaining it will “invest in the three areas that are absolutely
critical to our economic future: energy, health care, and education” :
It begins with energy.
Obama described how countries like China, Germany, Japan, and South
Korea have leapfrogged our nation, becoming the leaders in energy
efficiency and renewable energy – using technology invented in the
United States. “It is time for America to lead again,” Obama declared to
sustained applause. He noted the recovery plan’s
investments
in renewable energy, efficiency, and a new clean electrical
grid.
However, he challenged the Congress to deliver legislation to limit
global warming emissions “to truly transform our economy” and “save our
planet”:
But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our
planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make
clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this
Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on
carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in
America. And to support that innovation, we will invest fifteen
billion dollars a year to develop technologies like wind power and
solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient
cars and trucks built right here in America.
While Congress has been willing to support new incentives and tax breaks
for energy development (including “clean
coal”),
both Democrats and Republicans have balked at putting a price on global
warming pollution.
President Barack Obama’s excerpted remarks on energy:
Speaking before a joint session
of Congress on Tuesday, President Barack Obama declared that his plan to
restore America’s economic prosperity “
In a sweeping address to both houses
of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet, President Barack Obama
introduced his budgetary plan for the United States government,
explaining it will “invest in the three areas that are absolutely
critical to our economic future: energy, health care, and education” :