Biden Touts Falling US Budget Deficit, Attacks Republicans

U.S. President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One to return to Washington from Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S., May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst /File photo

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden praised his administration’s efforts to reduce the nation’s budget deficit on Wednesday, seeking to draw a contrast with Republicans who oversaw soaring deficits before he would take control.

In what could be a preview of a mid-term campaign speech, Biden clearly took aim at what he called “MAGA” Republicans, whom he accused of protecting billionaires at the expense of the American working class while only paying lip service to budget deficits.

MAGA is a reference to former President Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”.

Biden and his fellow Democrats have come under fire from Republicans for a historic rise in inflation that some critics say is due to excessive spending in Washington amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as global supply constraints.

Biden signaled on Wednesday that the annual deficit is shrinking, thanks to rising revenues as the economy emerges from the pandemic and reduced COVID emergency spending, something that never happened under his predecessor, Donald Trump.

“The bottom line is that the deficit was increasing every year with my predecessor before the pandemic and during the pandemic,” Biden said.

The United States has reported budget deficits every year since 2001. As of 2016, increases in spending on Social Security, health care, and interest on federal debt have outpaced growth in federal revenue.

In recent years, the annual deficit has ballooned to around $3 trillion due to pandemic spending and lost revenue. In 2017, Republicans ushered in a massive tax cut bill under former President Donald Trump that, by some estimates, has added more than $1 trillion to the debt.

“The previous administration increased the deficit every year he was an office in part because of his reckless $2 trillion tax cut. Know that you are tired of hearing me say that, but a $2 trillion tax cut that was not paid for,” Biden said. .

Trump supporters have pointed out that the economy under Trump experienced historically low unemployment along with record levels in the stock market.

Biden noted that the budget deficit was cut by more than $350 billion in its first year and that new US Treasury estimates showed it would fall by more than $1.5 trillion this year, the largest deficit reduction in a year. single year on record and an upward revision from the $1.3 trillion projected in the president’s budget released earlier this year, the official said.

The Treasury Department also estimates that it will pay off the national debt this quarter for the first time since 2016.

Biden is still seeking a nearly $2 trillion bill to expand the social safety net and tackle climate change, but Democratic US Senator Joe Manchin effectively blocked it, citing spending concerns.

Biden took aim at Republican US Senator Rick Scott’s economic plan, saying he would raise taxes on 75 million Americans while leaving the nation’s wealthy untouched. Scott is leading Republican efforts to get Republicans elected to the Senate.

“It’s extreme, like most MAGA stuff is,” Biden said.

Scott’s campaign staff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Information from Jarrett Renshaw; Edited by Sam Holmes, Susan Heavey, Alex Richardson and Nick Zieminski

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