Biden proposes new $7.3trn budget beefing up border security and raising taxes on wealthy

President Joe Biden released his $7.3tn budget proposal that proposes vastly increasing security provisions at the US-Mexico border and raising taxes on the wealthy on Monday. But the proposal faces steep opposition from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The president’s budget proposal is almost never fully implemented even under a trifecta given that Congress--specifically the House of Representatives--controls spending.

The proposal proposes restoring the expanded child tax credit that Mr Biden signed as part of the American Rescue Plan that expired at the end of 2021.

The proposal would expand the credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 for children who are six years old and above and $3,600 for children who are younger than six. In addition, the proposal includes a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program as well as paid sick days that the US Social Security Administration would administer.

Mr Biden’s budget also includes allocating $2.9bn to the Department of Homeland Security for border security and to combat the trafficking of fentanyl. Specifically, the proposal includes $405mn to hire 1,300 Border Patrol agents; $239mn to hire 1,000 US Customs and Border Protection officers to stop the flow of fentanyl from the US-Mexico border; $100mn for Homeland Security Investigations to investigate international criminal organisations and drug traffickers; and $849mn for detection technology at the border.

The proposal comes a month after Republicans in the House and Senate vehemently opposed a bipartisan piece of legislation that would have increased security provisions at the US-Mexico border and restricted immigration in exchange for providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Mr Biden