President Joe Biden will propose $ 1.8 trillion in new expenses and tax credits to Congress on Wednesday for children, students and families, senior administrators said.
Biden will unveil the massive new package less than a month after the White House released a sweeping proposal to spend more than $ 2 trillion on infrastructure and other projects over an eight-year period. Together, the plans include the Biden administration’s vision to overtake the U.S. economy as the nation seeks to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and look beyond.
The new proposal, which includes about $ 1 trillion in investments and $ 800 billion in tax credits over a decade, will be partially offset in 15 years by an increase in taxes paid by the richest Americans, the said White House.
Here are some of the requirements of the new plan:
- $ 225 billion for quality childcare and ensuring families pay only a fraction of their income for childcare services, based on a sliding scale
- $ 225 billion to establish a national comprehensive paid family and sick leave program
- $ 200 billion for a free universal preschool for all 3 and 4 year olds offered through a national partnership with states
- $ 109 billion to ensure a two-year free community college for all students
- Approximately $ 85 billion for Pell Grants and increase the maximum award for low-income students by approximately $ 1,400
- A $ 62 billion scholarship program to increase student retention and graduation rates
- A $ 39 billion program that engages students from families with incomes less than $ 125,000 who are attending a four-year historically black college or university, tribal college, or minority university or institution, are enrolled, receive subsidized tuition for two years
- $ 45 billion to meet the nutritional needs of children, including by expanding access to the summer EBT program, which helps some low-income families and children purchase groceries outside of the school year
- $ 200 billion to make the $ 1.9 trillion Covid stimulus deployment permanent and lower health insurance premiums for those who buy their own coverage
- The child tax credit expansion, which was included in the Covid relief bill, has been extended to 2025 and is permanently fully refunded
- The recent expansion of the child and dependent care tax credit make it permanent
- Earning the Childless Employee Tax Credit Permanently
“These are investments that we as a country cannot afford,” a senior administrator said on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday evening.
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To fund the programs and tax breaks, the proposal would partially reverse key elements of the 2017 Tax Cut Act, the major legislative achievement of former President Donald Trump’s first year in office.
The Biden government’s new spending plan would raise the highest income tax rate for the richest Americans to 39.6%. This rate has been reduced to 37% under the 2017 Act for married couples with taxable income greater than $ 600,000.
The plan would also aim to close a number of tax loopholes and raise taxes on capital gains to 39.6% for households making more than $ 1 million.
The Biden government claims that under the new plan, no one earning $ 400,000 a year or less will see their taxes rise.
Biden will detail the plan on Wednesday evening during a face-to-face address to a joint congressional session, which will also set out his administration’s broader legislative priorities. The event takes place on the eve of Biden’s 100th day in office.
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