U.S. SENATOR KATIE BRITT: PRESIDENT BIDEN’S FY24 BUDGET PROPOSAL UNSERIOUS, UNSURPRISING

‘This is dangerous and should be rejected by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle’

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 9, 2023 — U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today issued a statement in response to President Biden releasing a skeleton of his Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal.

“President Biden’s budget proposal is completely out of touch with the harsh reality hardworking Alabamians are facing every day of his term,” said Senator Britt. “Prices have already skyrocketed 14.4% since he took office, while Americans’ personal savings have fallen to a nearly 15-year low. Today, President Biden confirmed that he wants to raise taxes and spend more. His unserious, yet unsurprising, budget proposal only doubles down on the failed tax-and-spend agenda fueling this kitchen table crisis. The people of Alabama know that the federal government does not have a revenue problem, this Administration has a spending problem.”

The budget proposal would increase the deficit to $1.8 trillion in the next fiscal year, while prioritizing spending in an illogical, wasteful manner. Defense spending, for example, would effectively be cut year-over-year when accounting for inflation. However, nondefense spending would jump 7.3%.

Additionally, President Biden’s proposal would reduce the overall Department of Homeland Security budget by 1%, not even accounting for reduced spending power due to inflation.

The budget proposal continues the Biden Administration’s primary focus of facilitating a historic surge of migrants instead of securing the border or actually enforcing immigration laws already on the books. Notably, the Administration is proposing a border “contingency fund” to respond after the fact to migrant surges resulting from President Biden’s open border policies, rather than seeking to deter migrant surges in the first place. Meanwhile, the budget would not provide a single cent in funding to fix gaps and inoperable gates in the southern border wall system.

“The Biden Administration has never taken border security seriously, and this disastrous Department of Homeland Security budget proposal only cements President Biden’s complete disinterest in solving the problem,” Senator Britt stated. “There is an unprecedented national security and humanitarian crisis at the border, yet the President would rather fund his own political agenda than the safety of American families and communities. This is dangerous and should be rejected by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.”

Senator Britt has made border security and the safety of American children, families, and communities a top focus during her first two months in office, including three visits to the border. She introduced a robust package of four pieces of legislation and has already cosponsored an additional eight bills related to the topic, including Senator Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) Stop Taxpayer Funding of Traffickers Act; Senator Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2023 and Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act; Senator Ted Budd’s (R-N.C.) Build the Wall Now Act; Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) No Coyote Cash Act and Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act; Senator Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) Stopping Border Surges Act; and Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) Border Safety and Security Act.

Fast Facts on the FY24 Biden Administration Budget, courtesy of Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley:

• A reality check on President Biden’s fiscal record. Despite the Administration’s delusional claims of reducing the deficit, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects deficits between 2021 and 2031 will be $6 trillion higher than was projected when President Biden took office.
• Building on a record of irresponsibility. The President’s own budget proposes $17.1 trillion in cumulative deficits over the next ten years, with annual deficits reaching $2 trillion by the end of the budget window. 
• The Biden Budget is a tax hike budget. The budget request focuses on tax hikes that will hit millions of hardworking Americans making under $400,000 and hurt the economy. The Biden Administration allows tax relief provided by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to lapse and layers on an additional $4.7 trillion in new and expanded taxes. By the end of the budget window, taxes as a share of the economy reach levels only previously seen during World War II.
• The Biden Budget ignores our growing debt. The Biden Budget would increase debt held by the public from $25.9 trillion in 2023 to $43.6 trillion by 2033. Gross debt rises from $32.7 trillion at the close of this year to $50.7 trillion by 2033.
• A new shameful record. Under the Biden Budget, debt held by the public surpasses the previous record as a share of GDP (106.1 percent) set in the wake of World War II in 2027 (106.3 percent). By the end of the budget, public debt as a share of the economy hits 109.8 percent.
• Fails again at funding Defense. Ignoring the reality of growing worldwide threats, the budget fails to adequately fund defense. The Biden Budget proposes a minimal increase for defense in 2024, followed by funding levels that fail to keep up with inflation.
• Irresponsible spending and no attempt to rein it in. Over the next ten years, the Biden Budget would result in $82.2 trillion in cumulative spending, including $2.5 trillion from new mandatory spending proposals. 
• Spending future generations into oblivion. The Biden Administration’s reckless borrowing causes interest costs to continue to mount, going from $661 billion in 2023 to $1.3 trillion in 2033. Over the 2024-2033 window, interest costs will total a staggering $10.2 trillion.
• More gimmicks, fewer cures. The Biden Budget fails to put major trust fund programs on a sustainable path, instead kicking the can down the road with accounting gimmicks, tax increases, and price controls that will reduce life-saving drugs and treatments.

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