WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – President Joe Biden’s budget director was put in the hot seat on Tuesday as lawmakers grilled her over the administration’s newly-released spending plan.
There’s no shortage of Republican criticism for the Biden budget. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., criticized it at Tuesday’s budget committee hearing with Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young.
“The American people are not going to buy this budget, because frankly we can’t afford it,” Smith said.
The White House calls the budget fiscally responsible. It aims to lower the federal deficit and would raise taxes on the ultra wealthy.
Director Young says that tax will balance increased spending for things like education, law enforcement and public health.
“The other benefit of tax reform is we get to invest in the regular Americans who have price pressures,” Young said.
At the hearing with Young, Rep. Smith and Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., were quick to connect the spending in the budget to high inflation.
“This budget does nothing to address inflation,” Cline said.
“Doubling down on the delusion that the answer out of inflation is to spend more money,” Smith added.
The budget is notably missing some of the priorities from the president’s previous agenda. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says there’s a purpose for that.
“He’s not giving up on his priorities that were outlined in the Build Back Better bill – lower cost child care, lower cost prescription drugs, lower cost health care premiums,” Kaine said.
Instead, Kaine says he’s leaving that up to Congress.
“Letting us negotiate whether there will be a budget reconciliation vehicle to deal with some of those priorities. And he’s put, I would say, a meat and potatoes budget on the table,” Kaine said.
The presidential budget outlines priorities, but Congress ultimately controls how much is spent so the details of the plan are likely to change through negotiations in the months ahead.
