President Joe Biden, armed with a new team of economic advisers, will take aim on Wednesday at Republican plans to cut US spending as his administration prepares for a big fight to preserve outlays he credits with boosting America’s recovery. .
At stake is the Republicans’ refusal to raise the legal US debt limit of $31.4 trillion unless Biden agrees to spending cuts, while the White House has said such measures will only be discussed later. that the debt limit is removed.
With his own approval ratings now at 36%, despite 53-year low unemployment and rising consumer confidence, Biden will seek to flip the script and point the finger at a Republican agenda he says , will amount to “a massive giveaway to the super-rich, big corporations and Big Pharma,” the White House said.
In a speech at a union hall in suburban Maryland, Biden will accuse Republicans, who now control the House of Representatives, of pressuring him to accept spending cuts, while his own plans would add more than $3 trillion to the debt.
By contrast, Biden says his administration’s plans will reduce US debt by another $2 trillion on top of the $1.7 trillion in reductions already made.
Republicans argue that US federal spending is too high
Since taking control of the House in January, Republicans have passed measures to reverse or reduce Biden-backed laws, including the Cut Inflation Act that includes green tax credits and reforms aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. .
Republicans argue that US federal spending is too high and will drive inflation while raising the US debt level.
On Tuesday, the president chose new allies to help lead the fight, naming Federal Reserve Vice President Lael Brainard to head the National Economic Council and naming Jared Bernstein to head the Council of Economic Advisers.
He also gave new authority to deputy head of the National Economic Council, Bharat Ramamurti, a former adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren and a vocal critic of windfall profits by oil and gas companies, and appointed Labor Department chief economist Joelle Gamble as one of Brainard’s adjuncts.
Biden’s speech to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 26 in Lanham, Maryland, will build on his State of the Union address last week in which he attacked oil companies for making big profits and doubled down on profits. promises to defeat “seepage” economics. of policy making.
He will tout his call to quadruple a 1% tax on corporate share buybacks and enact a minimum tax on billionaires, in part to reduce the deficit, but neither measure has much of a chance of passing the US-controlled House of Representatives. republicans.
Republicans have discussed fully repealing the stock buyback tax, which the White House says would add $74 billion to the federal debt.
[Con información de Reuters]
Source: VOA Español
