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Today, on Equal Pay Day, we celebrate how far we have come—and how far we have yet to go—in closing the gender pay gap.  Under the Biden-Harris Administration, America has seen an unprecedented—and equitable—economic recovery, building back an economy that is the strongest in the world. Women’s labor force participation is the highest it has been in decades, and the gender pay gap is the narrowest it has ever been on record.

At the same time, President Biden recognizes we still have work left to do. Women workers are still paid on average only 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. And the disparities are even greater for many women of color. These inequities cost women more than $1 trillion every year, and add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars lost over the course of a career for individual workers.

President Biden and Vice President Harris remain committed to closing gender and racial wage gaps and ensuring all people have a fair and equal opportunity to participate in the labor force and support their families. Closing wage gaps is critical to strengthening and growing the economy. This Equal Pay Day, the Biden-Harris Administration reaffirms its commitment to tackling pay gaps and announces new efforts to continue to build our understanding of pay disparities, address inequities, and support women’s economic security.

These actions will:

• Promote equitable access to good-paying jobs. Last week, the President signed the Executive Order on Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships, which will expand and diversify Registered Apprenticeship programs, benefitting women and other underrepresented workers by increasing access to high-quality pathways to good-paying, family-sustaining jobs.
• Support equal pay and further understanding of pay inequities. Today, for the first time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is making available aggregate pay data from 2017 and 2018—collected from private employers and Federal contractors with 100 or more employees—via a user-friendly interactive tool, allowing researchers, stakeholders, and the public to better understand pay disparities based on sex, race/ethnicity, geography, industry, job category, and more.
• Address occupational segregation. Today, the Department of Labor (DOL) is issuing an update to the Bearing the Cost report, analyzing the impact of “occupational segregation” on women’s economic security, particularly for Black and Hispanic women. Occupational segregation—the overrepresentation of women and people of color in occupations and industries that pay less, and their underrepresentation in occupations and industries that pay more—is a key contributor to pay inequity. DOL found that, over the course of a year, Black women lost $42.7 billion and Hispanic women lost $53.3 billion in wages compared to white men due to the impacts of occupational segregation.

Today’s announcements follow recent actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to further pay equity and transparency. On Equal Pay Day 2022, the President issued an Executive Order that committed to eliminate discriminatory pay practices in the Federal government and Federal contracting workforces. In January 2024, the Administration made good on that promise by committing to:

• Advance pay equity for Federal workers. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a final rule ensuring that more than 80 Federal agencies will no longer consider an individual’s non-Federal current or past pay when determining the salaries of Federal employees.  Ending the consideration of salary history in pay-setting decisions is a proven way to curb pay discrimination that often follows workers from job to job.
• Promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in Federal contracting by advancing pay equity and pay transparency laws. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council issued a proposal to prohibit Federal contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants’ compensation history for employment decisions for personnel working on or in connection with a government contract. In addition, the proposal would require Federal contractors and subcontractors to disclose expected salary ranges in job postings, a policy shown to reduce pay inequities. These proposals will also help Federal contractors recruit, diversify, and retain talent; improve job satisfaction and performance; and reduce turnover—all factors associated with promoting the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Federal contractor workforce.
• Affirm equal pay obligations for Federal contractors. DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued new guidance clarifying existing protections against discrimination in hiring or pay decisions. The guidance will help Federal contractors and employees understand when reliance on an individual’s compensation history for hiring or pay decisions may result in unlawful discrimination.

These efforts build upon actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to close gender and racial wage gaps and strengthen women’s economic security, which has led to the lowest unemployment rate among women since 1953. These include:

• Ensuring women have access to good-paying jobs being created by the President’s Investing in America agenda. The Biden-Harris Administration’s investments through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have created thousands of good-paying jobs in industries of the future. The Administration has taken steps to ensure increased access to these jobs, including for women, people of color, and members of other communities currently underrepresented in these growing sectors have equitable access to these careers. These steps include:
  
  • Launching the Good Jobs Initiative. DOL’s Good Jobs Initiative provides critical information to workers, employers, and government agencies to improve job quality, empower workers, and ensure workers, especially those from underserved communities, can access good union jobs free from discrimination and harassment. The Initiative is dedicated to advancing the Departments of Labor and Commerce’s Good Jobs Principles, which address recruitment and hiring; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and pay. Key implementing agencies have signed memoranda of understanding with DOL to support the Good Jobs Initiative, promote equitable workforce development, and ensure workers have what they need to deliver on the President’s once-in-a-generation Investing in America agenda. 
  • Expanding access to good-paying construction jobs. To ensure women can access the almost 200,000 new construction jobs expected from the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments, the Department of Commerce launched the Million Women in Construction initiative, which calls on chip manufacturers, construction companies and unions to bring one million women into the construction industry over the next decade, roughly doubling women’s representation in the industry. DOL also launched the Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program, which fosters equal employment opportunity on designated BIL- and CHIPS-funded construction projects through intensive on-the-ground assistance to remove hiring barriers and promote consideration of a diverse pool of qualified workers, including women, people of color, veterans, and people with disabilities.
  • Improving access to child care for the semiconductor workforce through CHIPS and Science Act implementation requirements. The Department of Commerce’s implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act included a historic requirement that applicants requesting over $150 million in direct funding submit plans to provide accessible, affordable, high-quality child care. 
• Increasing access to affordable care and supporting caregivers. Access to affordable, high-quality care is essential to ensuring parents, especially moms, can participate fully in the workforce. From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has focused on ways to lower child care costs for hardworking families and improve wages for child care workers. The ARP Child Care Stabilization program delivered historic support to over 225,000 child care programs serving as many as 10 million children across the country. Over 90% of the child care programs that have received assistance are women-owned. The Council of Economic Advisors found that this stabilization funding supported savings for families with young children, raised the real wages of child care workers, and helped hundreds of thousands of women with young children enter or re-enter the workforce.

In addition, in April 2023, President Biden signed an Executive Order with more than 50 directives to nearly every cabinet-level agency to increase access to affordable, high-quality care and boost job quality for early educators and long-term care workers, who are disproportionately women of color. Among the many actions agencies have taken, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule strengthening the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program and lowering child care costs for more than 100,000 families. 

• Increasing the minimum wage. The President issued Executive Orders directing the Administration to work toward ensuring that employees working on Federal contracts and Federal employees earned at least a $15 per hour minimum wage. Those directives went into effect in January 2022, raising the wages of about 370,000 Federal employees and employees of Federal contractors. In addition to helping the government do its work more efficiently, these directives take a step towards narrowing racial and gender disparities in income, as many low paid workers are women and people of color. The order also eliminates the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities on Federal contracts. The President has called on Congress to raise the Federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, so that American workers can have a job that delivers dignity and to make greater strides towards pay equity.
• Supporting women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Small Business Administration-backed loans to women-owned small businesses are up more than 60 percent, totaling $5.1 billion in lending to women-owned businesses in FY23. And a new report found that from 2019 to 2023, women’s small business formation surged, substantially outpacing overall formation. This Administration has invested $70 million in the Women Business Centers (WBC) network, expanding it for the first time into all 50 states and tripling the number of WBCs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions. President Biden is also investing $10 billion through the ARP State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to help States, territories, and Tribal governments leverage tens of billions more in matching public and private dollars to support small businesses across the United States, with a particular focus on historically underserved entrepreneurs, including women business owners. The ARP Restaurant Revitalization Fund helped over 40,000 women-owned restaurants and bars—thanks in part to steps taken by the Administration to ensure that women-owned and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses were able to access assistance.

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My top economic priority is lowering costs and today’s report shows we continue to make progress on that front. Inflation is down two-thirds from its peak and annual core inflation is the lowest since May 2021. Wages are rising faster than prices over the last year and since the pandemic. Prices for key household purchases like gas, milk, eggs, and appliances are lower than a year ago. Inflation is down while unemployment has remained below 4% for the longest stretch in more than 50 years.

But as I said in my State of the Union, we have more to do to lower costs and give the middle class a fair shot. The Budget I put forward yesterday would take on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug costs. It would lower rents by building or preserving two million homes. It would lower costs for health care, child care, and education. And it would cut taxes for hardworking families while making billionaires pay their fair share. Congressional Republicans have no plan to lower costs—their only plan is more tax giveaways for big corporations and the wealthy while cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I won’t let them.

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Today, our hearts are heavy. Jill and I are devastated to learn that American Itay Chen was killed by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on October 7.
 
In December, Itay’s father and brother joined me at the White House, to share the agony and uncertainty they’ve faced as they prayed for the safe return of their loved one. No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through. At the end of our meeting, they gave me a menorah—a solemn reminder that light will always dispel the darkness, and evil will not win.
 
Today, as we join Itay’s parents, brothers, and family in grieving this tragic loss, we keep this reminder close to our hearts. And I reaffirm my pledge to all the families of those still held hostage: we are with you. We will never stop working to bring your loved ones home.

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Fairmont San Francisco Hotel
San Francisco, California

2:07 P.M. PDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Please have a seat.  Please have a seat.

Is this on?  It is on?  Now it’s on.

Good afternoon, everyone.  It is good to be home, and it’s good to be with so many friends.  I lost my voice somewhere along the five states that I’ve been in the last five days.  (Laughter.)  But I intend to find it again, so don’t worry.  Otherwise, all is good.

Sheldon — where is he?  There you are.  Thank you.  And Adrienne, thank you both and all of you for hosting us today and for the support.

You know, I was talking with the group and the host — and, again, I thank you all — outside.  You know, there is so much about this movement, the environmental movement, that we proudly and rightly call our own in terms of those of us who are in the Bay Area — live in the Bay Area, were born in the Bay Area. 

And the work that you all, then, are doing as a group and as individuals really is reflective of a movement that was borne out of a sense of urgency, a sense of understanding about what is at stake, but a movement that has really grown in an incredible way, that has incorporated all of the beauty of — of what we do in terms of a commitment to innovation; what we do in terms of rejecting the notions and the false choices that suggest that if we are going to be kind to our climate, that somehow that is contrary to strengthening our economy.

The work that you all are doing has been about innovation, about a commitment to our climate, and it has been about job creation and strengthening economies and creating new economies.  I am so excited about the clean energy economy and the work that is happening right here in the Bay area and around our country that is spurring and encouraging and — and, in some way, inciting innovation around the world.

I’ve been traveling a lot, both within our country and — and internationally.  Most recently, I was in Munich presenting at the Munich Security Conference.  But I’ll recall for you the last Munich Security Conference in `23. 

And after I gave a presentation that was mostly about our concern about what Ru- — Russia has been doing in Ukraine, I was on the stage taking questions.  And it was shortly after we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which we’ve talked about it and you all helped pass. 

And there among our allies — because, of course, the Munich Security Conference is really about NATO and our commitment to a military alliance and our commitment to our allies around the world.  But there on the stage in Munich at the Munich Security Conference, I was asked questions about the Inflation Reduction Act in a way that suggested that what we were doing as the United States of America was somehow contrary to our commitment to our partnerships around the world when we invest in American businesses and when we invest in a clean energy economy.

And I said, then — and I didn’t have to do it again this year because it became clear.  And I said, then: No, our commitment is about investing in our workforce, investing in innovation, investing in the businesses that will do this work, understanding and knowing and intending that it will benefit the entire world, both because of what you are modeling in terms of how these businesses work and can create opportunity and innovate and imagine what can be unburdened by what has been, but also what we are doing in terms of a commitment to innovation that we are then sharing with the world in a way that they can replicate and use to then build on that to create the next thing.

It’s very exciting what is happening in our country in a way that is not only, again, about strengthening communities but also what we are doing as a model for the world.  So, I’m very excited about what’s happening.

And we, of course, have an election coming up.  (Laughter.)   And on this subject and so many others, I will tell you, there is a big, big difference in terms of how we think and approach this issue of addressing our climate, investing in our economies in a way that we create a thriving clean energy economy.  There’s a big difference.

Sadly, with the Inflation Reduction Act — sadly, not one Republican in Congress voted for it, because this has somehow become a partisan issue.  When we look at where we are in terms of the contrast on issues about what we should do in terms of an investment in a way that we call out what historically has happened in terms of greenwashing, in terms of denial, in terms of delay, in smart and aggressive public policy on these issues, there’s a big difference.

And so, when we think about this election on this and so many others, I challenge people always, you know, throw up the split screen.  Because on the one hand, with our administration, the Biden-Harris administration, we are committed to and have shown our commitment to investing in what we know is actually for the best interest of our children and our grandchildren yet to come and is in the best interest of growing economies and is in the best interest of upskilling the workforce and training the workforce.

And on the other hand, you have a situation where there has been denial and delay and greenwashing on so many of these issues in terms of how we actually get the job done.  So, I am thankful to all of you for the support that you are giving our reelection and the work that we are doing.

I also have to say that, as many of you know, we are also fighting on such a fundamental level for our democracy.  You know, there is right now in our country a f- — an agenda, I believe, that is about a full-on attack on hard-won freedoms and rights. 

And I do believe, in this election, that each of us are being called upon to make a decision that is an answer to the question: What kind of country do we want to live in?  Do we want to live in a country that is guided by foundational principles that include the importance of freedom and liberty and justice and equality, or not? 

Many of this is at stake.  I was in Selma, Alabama, recently commemorating — commemorating Bloody Sunday, which was a day 59 years ago when a group of young civil rights leaders were trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge to stand up and march for the right of people to have the freedom to have access to the ballot box, the freedom to vote.

In our country right now, there is a full-on attack against the freedom to vote.  In states like Georgia, do you know they’ve passed a law that make it illegal to give people food and water if they are standing in line to vote?  I was with a group of pastors recently, and I looked at them and I said, “What happened to ‘love thy neighbor’?”  (Laughter.)

We look at what is happening in terms of our young people.  And, you know, I have to tell you — I’ll confess — I love Gen Z.  I love Gen Z.  I really do.  (Laughter.)  I know it’s a difficult issue for some of us — (laughter) — but I do.  And here’s why: Because when I look at them — and I just did a college tour last fall, and I met over 15,000 college-age students.  I actually did colleges and universities, and I did trade schools. 

And here’s the thing about that generation.  And it’s quite humbling, because, you know, if somebody is 18 today, you know what year they were born?  2006.  (Laughter.)  Think about that.  (Laughs.)  Think about that.

But theirs is a lived experience to only know the climate crisis.  They’ve only known the climate crisis.  They have coined a term “climate anxiety” to describe the anxiety they feel that causes them to question whether they should have children, whether they should ever aspire to buy a home for fear that some extreme weather will take it out.  It’s a lived experience for them, this issue. 

It’s a lived experience that from kindergarten to 12th grade — I would ask them when I would go to the schools — thousands of kids came.  I’d ask them, “Raise your hand if, at any time between kindergarten and 12th grade, you had to endure an active shooter drill.”  Almost every hand went up. 

It’s a lived experience for them that they are afraid of gun violence and want so desperately that we’d just do reasonable things, like pass an assault weapons ban, background checks, red flag laws. 

It’s a lived experience for them that during — you know, parents, it’s difficult to hear this — but during the height of their reproductive years, that they saw the highest court in our land take a fundamental right from the people of America, from the women of America — the right to just make decisions about your own body and not have the government tell you what to do.

And I say all that to say, then, that there is a very real split screen in terms of where we are on so many of these fundamental issues and the other side. 

The very likely nominee, the former President of the United States, on the last issue that I mentioned — not to mention the earlier issues — you know, he has said he is proud of the fact that he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo Roe v. Wade.  He said he is proud of doing that.

Think about it.  Proud of the fact that laws have been proposed and passed that criminalize healthcare providers — literally, in Texas, provide prison for life for a doctor or a nurse who administers care.  Proud of the fact that people of this generation have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers.

So, the split screen is real on so many issues.  And then, just recently, on the issue of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.  You know how many people in our country are seniors who live a whole, productive life and put money into Social Security, and now you’re saying, “Oh, it could be on the table for cuts”?  Medicare and Medicaid?

The split screen on this, we have just allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices for seniors so that finally their medication could be capped at $2,000 a year.  You know how many of our seniors that I have met in my travels over the years who either would try and get on a bus to go to Canada to buy their mes- — medication or make real decisions about whether they will either fill a doctor’s prescription or fill their refrigerator?

So, I say there’s so much at stake in this election.  And what you all are doing to support what I think is about standing for our democracy is very real. 

And I’ll en- — I’ll end with one point, which is: I think there’s a certain perversion that is happening right now to suggest that the measure of the sign of strength of a leader is based on who you beat down instead of what I think you all know, because I know your work — measured based on who you lift up.

And so, these are very real issues that we are being presented with in this election.  And ultimately, again, I’ll say: This is a moment where it is incumbent on each of us to decide what kind of country do we want to live in.

And with that, again, I thank you all, because I think I have an an- — a knowledge about your answer to that question.  (Laughter.)

Thank you.  (Applause.)

END

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YMCA Allard Center
Goffstown, New Hampshire

2:06 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)

Good to see you all.  Good to see you all.  Thank you.

By the way, Bowdoin College — good college.  I’ve spoken there.

Thanks, Rose.  Thanks for that introduction. 

And please have a seat — take a seat, if you have one.  Because I said that once early in my career, and they said, “We have no seats.  Biden didn’t even know they were standing.”  (Laughter.)

Anyway, thanks for that introduction, Rose, and for your — your courage.  Twenty-two years old, born with cystic fibrosis — a tough chronic disease that’s made even tougher — and she’s not exaggerating — by the high cost of medicines and, particularly, certain drugs that are needed. 

You know, Rose, you’re not alone.  I’m — I’m thinking about millions of Americans out there who are lying in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering: What if it happens?  What if it happens to me?  How am I going to pay for it?  How will I do it?  The mothers, the fathers wondering if their children come down with a chronic disease, how are they going to deal with it.

Not a joke.  You’re going to have to sell the house.  You’re going to have to mortgage.  What are you going to have to do?  It’s consequential.  Can you afford the medical bills? 

Look, folks, as I said in my State of the Union, I’m — I’m doing everything I can to lower the healthcare cost to provide peac- — people with peace of mind — not at the expense of doctors or medicine or hospitals or the drug companies but just to make it fair. 

Look, and we’re so lucky to have a great congressional delegation, including two of the — without hyperbole, two of the best senators in the United States Senate I’ve ever served with.  (Applause.)  Maggie Hassan.  Stand up, Maggie.  (Applause.) 

And Jeanne Shaheen couldn’t make it today, but she — she’s a dear, dear friend and a great ally and — but she sent somebody who if I have to be in a fight, I want them in my corner.  (Laughter.)  Stand up, pal.  (Applause.)  Billy — Billy Shaheen.  

Look, I’m here in New Hampshire to talk about the budget I released today that would — would, I think, help in a big way. 

As you just heard Rose — many — heard her say, many Americans pay prescription drugs — more money than anywhere in the country.  I can — if I got you on Air Force One with me and flew you to Toronto, to — to Berlin, to — to London, to Rome, anyplace in the — in the world, with the same prescription you might have for whatever you need, no matter what it is, and you — we could — by the same company, you could get it in all those cities.  And guess what?  It’d cost you between 40 to 60 percent less.  That’s a fact.  That’s not hyperbole; that’s a fact.

And it’s wrong.  And guess what?  I’ve been trying for years and years as a U.S. senator to end it, and I’m ending it now.  (Applause.)

Through the Inflation Reduction Act, a law I proposed and signed — not one Republican, I might add, voted for it — we finally beat Big Pharma.  Capped total prescription drugs costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 a year, even for expensive drugs, maximum. 

Right now, for example, it’s al- — this is already passed.  I got it passed already — we got it passed.  That beginning in the — next year, at the end of this c- — this term, what’s going to happen is the cost for all these prescription drugs for seniors, including cancer drugs that cost 10-, 12-, 15,000 bucks a year, will not have to pay more than $2,000 a year, period.  (Applause.)

And working with Maggie and Jeanne, I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for Rose and for everyone, not just seniors.  It could be transformational.

But that’s not all.  Instead of paying as much as 400 bucks a month for insulin for seniors with diabetes, you now only have to pay 35 bucks a month.  You know why we did that?  I’ve been fighting that a long time too.  I bet every one of you know somebody who needs insulin for diabetes — yourself or somebody else.

Well, it costs as much as 400 a month.  You know how much it costs to make that?  Ten dollars — T-E-N — ten.  Ten dollars.  And the guy who came up with the — with it, he didn’t want to patent it because he wanted to make sure everybody had access to it.

So, if you add everything, including the cost of packaging it, it’s 13 bucks.  They’re still making three times more than they would ordinarily.  They’re not getting cheated.  They’re just going to pay what other people pay around the world.

And now, with Jeanne’s leadership and Maggie’s partnership, that’s not the entire — and the entire delegation that’s here, I want to cap the cost of insulin at 35 bucks for every American — every American.  (Applause.)

When I first got it passed, it included all Americans.  When we got it reauthorized, the oth- — the other team wouldn’t do — said only for seniors. 

Look, for years, people talked about — talked about this, but we finally got it done and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prescription costs, just like the VA has been able to do for veterans for a long, long time.  It’s not just saving seniors money; it’s saving every taxpayer money.  It’s cutting the federal deficit. 

Just what we’ve just done so far cut the federal deficit over time by $160 billion.  That’s $160 billion Medicare does not have to pay out because they’re paying a rational price for the drug, not just the exorbitant price from before.

Look, this year, Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis.  That’s in the law that we’ve already passed.  Now, it’s time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for even more drugs over the next decade. 

Folks, if we’re able to do that, we’ll not only save lives, we’re going to save taxpayers another estimated $200 billion — $200 billion taxpayers will not have to pay the drug companies for exorbitant prices that aren’t warranted.  (Applause.)

And, folks, with Maggie and your delegation’s help, I’ve already cut the federal deficit by $1 trillion; signed a bipartisan budget to deal to cut another trillion dollars over the next decade, if they stick with the deal.  And now, it’s my goal to cut the federal debt even more by making big corporations and the very wealthy begin to p- — pay their fair share.

I’m not anti-corporation.  I come fr- — I used to re- — represented the state of Delaware.  More corporations are incorporated in Delaware than every other state in America combined — combined.  (Applause.)  But guess what?  But I’m a capitalist, man.  Make all the money you want, just begin to pay your fair share of taxes.  (Applause.)

You may remember that big fight I had not long ago — and the reason why I was able to cut the deficit already by $7 billion in the first year — and that was because we found out that — we wanted to make sure that — there were 50 corpor- — 50 corporations that made $40 billion in 2021, didn’t pay a penny in taxes.  I did an awful thing: I convinced us all to raise it to 15 percent.  Isn’t that awful?  (Laughter.)  And it paid for everything that we’ve paid for and we’ve done so far, and still cut the deficit.

Look, a fair tax code is how we invest in the things that make this country great — from healthcare, education, defense, and so much more — research, development. 

But here’s the deal.  The last administration enacted a $2 trillion tax cut — $2 trillion tax cut the benefits the very wealthy and the top 1 percent, the biggest corporations, and it exploded the federal deficit.

The last administration added more to the national debt than any presidential term in American history.  Debt.  You know, you turn on the TV and you think he’s telling the truth?  (Laughter.)  Debt.

Does anybody here think the tax code is fair?  Raise your hand.  Well, I don’t think so either.  I think if I — I don’t want to get — I’ll get in trouble with the press, but I bet they wouldn’t even raise their hand.  (Laughter.)

Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion tax breaks?  Because that’s what he wants to do.  His tax cut is about to expire, and he wants to add another $2 trillion tax cut.

Well, I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair. Under my plan, as I said, I ran for President and I promised nobody — nobody will, as long as I’m president, will earn — who earns less than $400,000 — that’s a lot more than I ever made — will pay an additional penny in federal taxes.  Nobody.  Not a single cent.  Nobody will pay a single penny more, and they haven’t thus far.

Folks, it’s about fundamental fairness. 

Here’s another example.  You know, folks, Obamacare, it became known as the Affordable Care Act — and by the way, it’s still a very big deal.  (Applause.)  Over 100 million of Americans can no longer be denied health insurance because of preexisting condition.  But my predecessor and many Republicans want to take that away — take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act. 

I’m not going to let it happen.  We stopped them, literally, 50 times — 50 — 5-0 — times in the last administration.  And we’re going to stop them again.  (Applause.) 

Folks, we all miss someone who cast the deciding vote to protect the Affordable Care Act last — not — not long ago — my buddy John McCain — passed away.  My predecessor — friend — he — that’s how he ended his career, voting “no” so we couldn’t — they couldn’t cut it.

John loved New Hampshire, and he still drives my predecessor crazy.  You know, John is long gone, but that’s John.  (Laughter.)  As my mother would say, “God love him.” 

Folks, working with your delegation, I’m — I’m protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act.  A recordbreaking 21 million Americans have signed up for healthcare under the ACA, including 65,000 folks right here in New Hampshire. 

I enacted tax credits that save, on average, $800 per person per year, reducing healthcare premiums for millions of working families on the Affordable Care Act.  But those tax credits expire next year, and I’m calling on Congress to make and expand the Affordable Care Act tax credits and make them permanent — make them permanent.  (Applause.)

Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security and Medicare back on the chocking blop [chopping] block again.  If anyone tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age again, I will stop them. 

Work- — (applause) — working people built this country.  They pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do.  It’s not fair. 

Folks, we have two ways to go at Social Security and Medicare.  Republicans will cut Social Security and Medicare to give us more tax cuts for the wealthy.  Even this morning, Donald Trump said cuts to Social Security and Medicare are on the table again.  When asked if he changed his position, he said, quote, “There is a lot you can do in terms of cutting.  Tremendous amount of things you can cut.”  Let me be precise: “Tremendous amount of things you can do,” not “cut.”   He said, “I will…” — and — but the bottom line is, he’s still at it.  

I’m never going to allow that to happen.  I won’t cut Social Security.  I won’t cut Medicare.  (Applause.)  Instead of cutting Medicare and Medica- — give tax breaks to the wealthy, I will protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare and make the wealthy begin to pay their fair share.  In fact, my budget plan would preserve Medicare benefits and this Medicare Trust Fund. 

Because Maggie’s leadership — because of it, I’m also cracking down on surprise medical bills. 

Here’s the deal.  Do you ho- — do — you know, you go out there and you do your homework; you choose a hospital, if you need a hospital, based on what your insurance company will cover.  And then, when you get the bill, there’s a surprise charge because the hospital assigned a anesthesiologist or a doc that isn’t in your — under your control, in your — in your insurance.  That surprise bill can add up to thousands of dollars — thousands. 

Thanks to Maggie, we ended that surprise billing, and we’re protecting 1 million Americans — (applause) — every single month from those surprise bills. 

Folks, look, my budget also cracks down on what’s called “facility fees” for telemedicine.  You get charged an extra fee if you’re in a rural area and you have a virtual visit where neither you nor your doctor is actually in the facility.  That’s just another junk fee.  It’s wrong.  We got to end it.

These surprise medical bills, junk fees add up to hundreds of dollars for ordinary families like the one I grew up in, and it makes a difference.  Although, it does generate $20 billion in profit.  That’s what it does.

Let me close with this.  Four years ago this week, before I came to office, our country was hit with the biggest, worst pandemic and economic crisis in a century.  Remember the anxiety and the fear, record job losses, a raging virus that would take more than 1 million American lives and leave millions of loved ones behind? 

It was estimated for every one who died left behind eight significant people — mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle — an empty chair at the table. 

A mental health crisis that resulted from isolation and loneliness. 

A President, my predecessor, who failed the most basic of any duty a president owes the American people: a duty to care.  I believe that’s unforgivable. 

I came to office determined to uphold that duty of — to care and get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history. 

And we have, building a future of American possibilities; building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not just the top down.  When the middle grows, the bottom has a chance, the poor have an opportunity, and the wealthy still do very well.  They still do very well.  Investing in all America, in all Americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot, we leave nobody behind — nobody.

Our plan is working, and America is coming back.

Four years later, the pandemic no longer controls our lives.  The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to beat — help beat cancer.

Turning setback into a comeback, that’s the American story.  And I believe we’re moving into a future where healthcare is a right, not a privilege, in America.  That’s why — (applause) — that’s why I’ve never been more optimistic about our future. 

We just have to remember who we are.  We’re the United States of America.  There is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together — nothing.  Seriously.  Not a joke.

We’re the only country that’s ever come out of every crisis stronger than we went in — stronger than when we went in. 

And, folks, give you one little example.  You know, I may not get it done, but if you give me a Congress, I will.  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.  I may not get it done, but here’s the deal.  If you — you know how much — we have a thousand billionaires in America.  That’s not a bad thing, per se.  You know what their average tax rate is?  8.2 percent taxes.  Anybody want to trade their — their tax rate?  (Laughter.)  No, I’m serious.

If we just charge them — I had a tax code, they’re charging them 25 percent — not the highest rate — 25 percent.  You know how much that would raise over the next 10 years?  Four hundred billion dollars.  Four hundred billion dollars a year.

Imagine what we could do, from cutting the deficit to providing for child care, to providing healthcare, to continue to provide our military with all they need.

So, folks, look, this is not beyond our capacity.  We just have to listen.  We got to tell people what we want to do and hope that they’ve figured out that — what is going on with the last guy if it gets repeated.  Because if he gets elected, he’s publicly stated he’d repeal — try to repeal every single thing we’ve done so far — 15 million new jobs, 800,000 manufacturing jobs, they go on and on. 

But people still need help.  They still need help, those pe- — folks sitting at the kitchen table.  They still need some help on the day-to-day things.  And we’re going to work on those as well.

But any rate, I’m taking too much of your time.  You’re very gracious.  Thank you all very much for being here. 

And as my mother would say, God bless you all.  Thank you.  And God protect our troops.  Thank you.

2:22 P.M. EDT

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En Route Manchester, New Hampshire
Air Force One

12:22 P.M. EDT

MS. DALTON:  Hey, good afternoon.  You’re going to need to bear with me because we do have a couple of things at the top today. 

Good morning.  I have a few items here.  As the President says, a budget is a statement of values.  And his budget released today makes a few of his values very clear. 

His budget invests in all of America to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind.  It lowers costs for families for housing, prescription drugs, healthcare, childcare, utilities, and college.  It lowers the deficit by $3 trillion dollars on top of the $1 trillion in deficit reduction he has signed into law already by making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.  And it protects and strengthens Social Security and Medicare, securing the Medicare Trust Fund indefinitely. 

Congressional Republicans have made their values clear in the meantime.  They have repeatedly fought to slash critical programs that the American people rely on.  Their plans would increase the deficit by $3 trillion with even more tax cuts for the rich and big corporations.  They want to repeal the President’s progress in taking on Big Pharma, wealthy tax cheats, and big corporations. 

While President Biden is fighting for the middle class and working families, congressional Republicans are fighting for the rich and special interests.  Their records reflect that and so do their plans for the future, which is a great segue for the fact that we’re on our way to New Hampshire today, where the President will discuss his administration’s historic work to lower healthcare costs. 

Through the Inflation Reduction Act that every single Republican in Congress voted against, President Biden took on Big Pharma and won, giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices for families.  He capped insulin prices at $35 for people on Medicare.  He capped total out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 for people on Medicare.  And he’s driven Affordable Care Act coverage to record highs with the uninsured rate at a record low and reforms that are saving millions of people an average of $800 per person per year. 

Today, the President will call on Congress to act to lower healthcare costs for even more Americans.  He’ll call on Congress to apply the $2,000 cap on prescription drug costs and $35 insulin to everyone, not just people on Medicare.  He’ll call for allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for at least 50 drugs per year.  And he’ll make permanent improvements to ACA coverage that are set to expire in the fall of 2025. 

That’s a very different vision than what Republican elected officials have laid out.  They have locked arms with Big Pharma to stop Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices.  They continue to talk about repealing the ACA.  They continue to talk about supporting changes to Medicare that would cut benefits and throw people off the program. 

As President Biden made clear in his State of the Union, if any Republican elected official tries to repeal the ACA or cut Social Security or Medicare, he will stop them.  The President won’t stop fighting for results in the face of these attacks from Republican elected officials and as Big Pharma spends hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying to try to stop the administration from lowering costs. 

That’s what you’re going to hear from the President today. 

And finally, I do want to echo the President’s deep gratitude and recognition for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge, who will be departing the administration later this month. 

As you will read in the President’s statement, no one understands the importance of fair housing market and access to quality and affordable hous- — housing better than Secretary Fudge. 

So, I wanted to briefly highlight a few key accomplishments from her tenure.  Under her leadership, HUD removed barriers to homeownership, resulting in more than 1.5 million new FHA homeowners and the highest rate of first-time homebuyers in 20 years. 

At her direction, the Department worked closely with partners at the federal, state, and local level to increase the housing supply, particularly the supply of affordable homes, while allocating historic resources to address homelessness. 

And with Secretary Fudge at the helm, HUD strictly enforced fair housing laws and took a stance against racial bias and discrimination in the appraisal market. 

We are so grateful for Secretary Fudge for her years of public service as mayor, as a member of Congress, and as a Cabinet Secretary — and, of course, as a trusted advisor to the President.  We wish her nothing but the best in her next chapter. 

And while Secretary Fudge may be leaving the Department, this administration’s work to lower housing costs and create more affordable housing will continue. 

As you heard during the President’s State of the Union Address last week and detailed in his budget proposal to Congress, President Biden laid out his plan to lower housing costs for working families nationwide by building and renovating more than 2 million homes, cracking down on big landlords who use antitrust laws to price fi- — fix and drive up rents, and providing a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and people who sell their starter homes. 

And, with that, I’ll take some of your questions.

Q    Why is she leaving?  And does she know when her last day is?

MS. DALTON:  I’ll refer you to HUD on any of those particulars.  But as I said, she has led a historic tenure over the last three years and we’re — we wish her nothing but the best.

Q    So, she let the President know what her last day is going to be?

MS. DALTON:  She did.  She informed the President, and he wishes her absolutely nothing but the best.  In fact, this morning, you might have heard him shout her out at the National League — League of Cities speech.  We wish her nothing but the best in the future.

Q    Do you have a plan for replacing her?  I mean, it’s kind of late in a fourth year of a fourth term.  What — or, excuse me, first term.  Will he nominate a replacement?

MS. DALTON:  Certainly, he’ll nominate a replacement.  But I don’t have anything on that front to share with you today.

Q    Does the President intend to watch the hearing tomorrow — the House Judiciary hearing on the Hur report?

MS. DALTON:  I have nothing to preview in terms of the President’s plan tomorrow.

Q    Does the White House intend to have a Ramadan event this year, given the Muslim community’s stance on the war and (inaudible)?

MS. DALTON:  That’s a great question.  Obviously, the President will issue an — a statement and — and — as he usually does, to mark the occasion of Ramadan.  I don’t have anything to preview in the way of events.  But certainly, this is a holy time of year.  The President will extend his typical well wishes to the Muslim community here and around the world.

Q    On Israel, can you say, when is the last time the President talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu?  And are they planning to talk in the next couple of days?

MS. DALTON:  I believe the last time they spoke was mid-February.  So, just a couple of weeks ago.  They’ve spoken more than a dozen times since the October 7th attacks.  And our teams are in touch on a daily basis in addition to that. 

Of course, we don’t typically preview calls between heads of state, and so I won’t do that here.  But, of course, our teams have been in regular touch, and so have they.

Q    Just how —  how does the President characterize his relationship right now with Prime Minister Netanyahu, given the exchange of some, kind of, testy comments that they’ve had in the last few days?

MS. DALTON:  I think we’ve been clear and consistent in saying the President has a — has held a decades-long constructive, productive relationship with President Netanyahu. They’re — that — that length of that relationship, the — the relationship that they’ve had allows them to be direct and honest at time where that’s needed.  But there’s no change here in the strength of the two leaders’ relationship.

Q    He said the other day that going into Rafah would be a — a red line.  And then, I believe the Prime Minister said, “Well, we’re doing that anyway.”  What is his — what are his thoughts about the Prime Minister obviously not caring that much about what the President said?

MS. DALTON:  Well, look, I — you know, the President was clear this weekend in his view that Israel has a right to self-defense, to protect itself in the face of an existential threat that’s posed by Hamas.  He’s also said that he believes Israel needs to do that in a manner consistent with the laws of war and pay greater attention to the level of humanitarian suf- — suffering and the unacceptably high level of civilian casualties that we’re seeing.

The President has also, you know, I think, iterated in that — in that interview that our view is that no military operation should take place in Rafah if there is not a credible and implementable plan to take care of the safety and security needs of the more than a million civilians who are sheltering there.  And we’ve seen no such plan.

So, the President was very clear in his remarks.  I don’t think it is productive for me to add speculation there one way or the other.  You know, I think he’s been very clear about what our overall position is.  And we’re not going to get into, sort of, hypotheticals or back-and-forth.

Q    When do —

Q    Does “red line” mean anything if —

MS. DALTON:  Sorry, I didn’t hear that.

Q    I mean, all — the things about protecting civilian life and — and et cetera.  The President has been saying that since, like, days after October 7th.  So, what is does a “red line” mean differently than what it’s — what he’s been saying?

MS. DALTON:  Again, I don’t think that it’s productive to assign a red line, sort of, terminology to what is a very complex set of policies.  So, I’m just going to leave it there.  I think the President was very clear about what his overall approach and view of the situation is and what needs to happen.

Q    Do you have a sense of how what — of whether the White House can do anything to fundamentally change how Israel is prosecuting this conflict?  There seems to be back-and-forth and continued defiance.  But does the President have push or pull with Bibi or any sense that what the President wants will actually happen or be taken into account?

MS. DALTON:  Look, I’m not going — I just said a moment ago that the President — you know, he’s had a dozen calls with the — with Prime Minister Netanyahu since October 7th.  They last spoke a couple of weeks ago.  Our teams are in daily touch. 

And certainly, we remain deeply and — and urgently engaged in the situation in the region to achieve our goals, which are, as the President laid out this weekend, to achieve a temporary ceasefire that allows the basis for a more durable — a durable peace; to alleviate the humanitarian suffering that we are seeing; to get our hostages home; and to make sure that this doesn’t bleed into a wider conflict.

All the while, we need to make sure that Israel continues to have what it needs to defend itself against a very real existential threat. 

So, th- — there are a lot of issues here.  The President is working on them very urgently.  I don’t think it’s productive for me to — to speak about private conversations in any more detail than he’s — he talked about over the weekend. 

But certainly, you’ve seen the actions that we’ve taken in — in recent weeks with the expansion of humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza through land, water, air corridors.  You’ve seen the President be very vocal and forthright about what we think about the situation on the ground and what needs to happen from here. 

But I’m — beyond that — beyond what the President said this weekend, I’m just not going to expand.

Q    To sort of follow up on that.  Do you — is there any consideration being given or any advocacy for tying U.S. aid to Israel to their response to this — responsiveness to what President Biden is asking?

MS. DALTON:  You know, the President has addressed th- — this himself before.  And I think you’ve heard him say, and I’ll reiterate here, that he thinks that there are other approaches, which we have taken and are taking, that are more effective in obtaining our goals.

Q    How does President Biden — or how does the United States — we’ve asked — we’re going to build this port in Gaza to bring in aid.  President Biden said on Friday that the Israelis would be in charge of protecting that port.  How can we guarantee that that’s not just going to — going to become another front for fighting instead of a place to get that aid into Gaza?

MS. DALTON:  Look, I — you know, again, I think — I would refer you to the DOD on to any of these sort of operational questions around the establishment of this pier.  It’s a process that’s going to take several weeks.  It will be complicated.  But I — I think it’s best left to DOD to discuss the manner in which they’ll construct that and provide for safe shipments of humanitarian aid through the pier.

Q    And then, in his interview with Jonathan Capehart, President Biden apologized for calling Laken Riley’s killer an “illegal.”  Does — does he feel like he needs to apologize to illegal immigrants for calling them what they are — or using the term “illegal”? 

MS. DALTON:  Well, first of all, I want to be really clear about something.  The President absolutely did not apologize.  There was no apology anywhere in that conversation.  He did not apologize. 

He used a different word. 

I think, what’s — what’s — what we should be really clear about is the facts.  So, in addition to the fact that, you know, the President did not apologize, I want to make another thing clear.  The President spoke directly to this in the State of the Union Address not four nights ago, when he spoke passionately about knowing what it means to lose a child and extended his deep grief and condolences to Laken Riley’s family in — in front of the entire country in the — in the House Chamber.

And beyond that, I think it’s unconscionable that there are some people who are playing politics with this young woman’s tragic murder — and particularly at a time when, let’s not forget, House Republicans are standing in the way of a bipartisan border security agreement that is the toughest bill we have ever seen in history.  And they’re doing so because Donald Trump feels that the American people’s safety is less important than his personal politics.  That’s the fact.

Q    Can I —

Q    President Biden said that —

Q    Can I pivot to the budget real quick?  I know that bu- — budgets are a statement of value and all of that stuff.  But is there a sense of what, if anything, in this budget is politically achievable in an election year in which, even as you pointed out, Biden is trying to draw contrast between what he wants and what Republicans want?  Is there anything he can tell the American people about what the priorities are or, you know, if anything actually will come of it?

MS. DALTON:  Well, I think the President believes there’s no reason — there’s no reason to assume we can’t get this done.  This is a statement of his values, a statement of his priorities, and — and a doubling down on an incredibly expansive set of popular proposals that he has pursued to date.

Lowering healthcare costs — we continue to hear from Americans all across the country about how important it is that they have a little bit more breathing room on their healthcare pre- — premiums, how transformational it is to have insulin capped at $35 a month, to have seniors be able to have their insulin — or their prescription drugs capped at $2,000 a year.

Today, we’re in New Hampshire talking about an expansion of what has been already an historically popular set of proposals from this president. 

So, look, we’re going to work across the aisle in good faith to try and get these things done for the American people.  We think that the President’s agenda is incredibly popular, and we encourage Republicans to join us.

Q    On — on the issue of the speech today and — and most of his speeches have been about drug costs, the economy, inflation, things like that.  But on the other hand, he talks about this election being about the last guy tried to basically end democracy, wanted to stay in power despite losing.  Is there kind of a disconnect between such a big issue like that and drug costs and — and gas prices, things like that?

MS. DALTON:  This is a both/and.  You know, the President — he took a — in his State of the Union speech, he focused on three things, right?  He talked about defending democracy here and around the world.  He talked about defending freedom here in the United States, from reproductive healthcare, to making sure that politicians aren’t choosing what books our — our kids can read. 

And then he talked, really, about an expansion of his economic agenda.  Building the — rebuilding the economy from the bottom up and the middle out is how we have achieved 15 million new jobs in the first three years of this administration, not to mention the strongest post-pandemic recovery of any major economy in the world.

And he talked about a series of new proposals, like the one we’re going to talk about in New Hampshire today, to double down on that and take it even further.

But, you know, the President, as you may know, has also given a series of speeches on the threats we face to our democracy.  He’s talked about this not being unique to the United States — certainly the threats to the democ- — democracy in Ukraine and Israel and other places in the world, front and center.

And you’ll continue to hear from him on both (inaudible) the need that we have to continue making economic progress on behalf of the American people.

Q    Can I ask you: On the trip to New Hampshire today, President Biden didn’t — thanks.  Sorry.  He didn’t go — he didn’t primary in New Hampshire, but he still did very well there.  Why is it so important for him to go back and to campaign now?

MS. DALTON:  Well, this isn’t a — an official speech that he’ll give in his official capacity.  The President frequently travels all across the country talking in — coast to coast, red and blue states and purple states — about his agenda and how he’s delivering to the American people.

I think you’ve heard me say before, he thinks communicating with people out in their communities is one of the most important things that he does as Commander-in-Chief. 

And I would add at this moment that we are incredibly proud to have a New Hampshire delegation that has been at the forefront, really leading the charge on some of these healthcare proposals that have saved Americans money and made their prescription drug costs and healthcare more affordable.

Q    Can you give us a sense of what the President wants to do in his meeting tomorrow with the Polish leader?

MS. DALTON:  I don’t have any preview to share with you that — on that today, but I’m sure that my NSC colleagues will be doing some of that a little bit later this afternoon.

Q    And one other reaction question.  President Trump — former President Trump over the weekend talked about a 10 percent tariff and wanting to have his tax cuts extended.  Does the President have a reaction to those policy pronouncements?

MS. DALTON:  I’m not sure I’m familiar with the — those particular comments.  And given that you’re speaking to the 2024 candidate, I probably should punt to the campaign on that one.

Q    And on you.  I understand this is your last gaggle today.  Can you say what your last day is at the White House?

MS. DALTON:  Wednesday is my last day, and it has been a huge honor to work with all of you.  You know, I’ve been in this town a long time — 20 years — and it has not jaded me a bit.  I’m very proud of that. 

And I think, you know, for me — I’m trying not to get emotional — but participating in this tradition of the White House press briefing, the White House gaggles, I still believe this is one of the most powerful expressions of how the world’s greatest democracy views its commitment to the American people and to a free press. 

And it’s been an enormous honor to be part of that — a bit part of that for this administration and this President.  And maybe that’s a great place to leave it.

Q    Congratulations.

Q    Can you share anything on where you’ll go next?

MS. DALTON:  I don’t have anything to share with you now, but I’ll keep you posted.  Thanks.

Q    Congratulations.  (Applause.)

12:40 P.M. EDT

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  On National Equal Pay Day, we highlight the injustice of gender wage gaps by marking how far into this year women have to work, on average, to earn what men made last year.  Over a lifetime, these inequities can amount to millions of dollars lost for women who do not receive the wages they deserve.  Equal pay is about far more than a paycheck.  It is about living up to the fundamental values that define who we are as a Nation — equality, dignity, and fairness.  Today and every day, we continue working toward the promise of equal pay, recognizing that when women thrive, we all thrive.

Women’s labor force participation is the highest it has been in decades, and the gender pay gap is the narrowest it has ever been on record.  Yet, despite this progress, the fight for equal pay continues.  Women working full-time and year-round are paid an average of 84 cents for every dollar paid to men.  In more than 90 percent of occupations, women earn less than men — and these disparities are even greater for women of color and women with disabilities.  The pay gap is a product of the systemic barriers that women have long faced when it comes to accessing good-paying jobs and opportunities.  Further, caregiving responsibilities for children, loved ones with disabilities, and aging family members disproportionately fall on women, which can mean missing work, cutting hours, and leaving jobs.

America cannot have the strongest economy in the world while leaving women — half our workforce — behind.  When I came into office, women’s labor participation rate had fallen to its lowest level in more than three decades, in part because the COVID-19 pandemic had forced women out of the workforce to juggle caregiving responsibilities.  In response, my Administration’s American Rescue Plan invested billions of dollars to support working families, powering the strongest job creation in history.  The law also helped keep the doors open to 220,000 child care centers, 90 percent of which were owned and staffed by women. 

Since I took office, nearly 15 million jobs have been created, and we are working relentlessly to ensure these jobs are accessible to women.  Across the major laws I have signed — such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is rebuilding our Nation; the CHIPS and Science Act, which is restoring our technological edge; and the Inflation Reduction Act, which is paving the way for a clean energy future — we are making sure women have a fair shot at securing the good-paying jobs being created.  For the first time, firms receiving significant Federal dollars will be required to ensure they have high-quality child care available to their workers.  I have signed a sweeping Executive Order that includes more than 50 directives to expand access to affordable, high-quality care and provide support for care workers and family caregivers.  Additionally, I signed legislation that provides new protections for pregnant and nursing workers.  This past year, the Small Business Administration delivered $5.1 billion in loans to women-owned businesses.

To advance pay equity, my Administration has committed to leading by example and making the Federal Government a model employer.  That is why we have taken action to close persistent wage gaps.  We finalized a rule ensuring that Federal agencies no longer consider an applicant’s current or past pay when determining their future salaries — eliminating pay inequities that can otherwise follow workers from job to job.  My Administration has proposed regulations to advance pay equity and pay transparency for workers on Federal contracts.

We are making tremendous progress, but there is still much more we must do.  My Administration continues to call on the Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act — commonsense legislation that would increase pay transparency and give workers more tools to fight sex-based pay discrimination. 

On National Equal Pay Day, let us redouble our efforts to ensure that women get the pay they have earned and deserve.  Let us recommit to giving our daughters the same opportunities as our sons.  Let us remember our responsibility to live up to our Nation’s fundamental values of equality, dignity, and fairness for all Americans.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 12, 2024, as National Equal Pay Day.  I call upon all Americans to recognize the full value of women’s skills and their significant contributions to the labor force, acknowledge the injustice of wage inequality, and join efforts to achieve equal pay.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
 
 

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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     By the authority vested in me as President by the laws of the United States of America, and in accordance with section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (the “Act”), as amended, 2 U.S.C. 901a, I ereby order that, on October 1, 2024, direct spending budgetary resources for fiscal year 2025 in each non-exempt budget account be reduced by the amount calculated by the Office of Management and Budget in its report to the Congress of March 11, 2024.

     All sequestrations shall be made in strict accordance with the requirements of section 251A of the Act and the specifications of the Office of Management and Budget’s report of March 11, 2024, prepared pursuant to section 251A(9) of the Act.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

THE WHITE HOUSE,
    March 11, 2024.

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Marriot Marquis
Washington, D.C.

10:56 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello, hello.  (Applause.)

Well, thank you, Mr. Mayor, although I didn’t realize that guy is PhD.  He’s a — this guy is a pretty smart guy.  (Applause.)

Please, have a seat, if you have one.  (Laughter and applause.)  It’s so great to see you all. 

The mayor mentioned I started off at the county council.  That’s where I learned early on that if you want to get something done locally, send it directly to the local officials.   (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Don’t have to go through — you don’t have to pass go.  You don’t have to go to state legislatures to compete for the money.

Folks, I only ran for the Senate because local government was too hard.  (Laughter.)  You all think I’m kidding.  (Laughter.)  They know where you live; they think you can solve every problem, even if you don’t have the authority to do it; and they hold you accountable for everything.  So, God love you, as my mother would say.  (Laughter and applause.) 

Thank you, all, for being here.  And congratulations to the National League of Cities — 100 years.  (Applause.) 

Now, I want to make it clear: I’ve been a strong supporter here, but I wasn’t — I wasn’t at the first meeting.  (Laughter.)  I wasn’t, swear to God.  (Applause.)  I’ve been around a while, but — (laughs).

You first came together on a college campus in Kansas at a time of transformation in America.  Cities and towns were growing fast, our economy was changing and was pushed to transparency and reform and efficiency — a big push.  And you helped one another deliver for — that folks — for folks ever since that time. 

Because — I mean, look, think about it.  All kidding aside.  People come to you first in your communities.  They knock on your door.  They expect you to be able to —

You know, asking, “Is my neighborhood safe?  Will — can — will the bus be on time?  Are you going to have it running so I can get to work on time?  Are my kids going to have the good fortune of being able to stay in their hometown and make a living?” 

You do what matters.  You do what matters to people. 

You know, my dad used to say, “A job is about a lot more than a paycheck.  It’s about your — it’s about your dignity.  It’s about your ability to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Everything is going to be okay.’” 

And they look to you first.

That’s why I’ve filled my administration with so many former local officials, like Councilman Tom Perez, who you just heard through — here speak in a minute.  (Applause.)  And he runs the show for me in the — in the White House.  Former Mayor Steve Benjamin.  Secretaries Buttigieg, Fudge, Vilsack.  (Applause.)

We know what you all do and what a measure of success isn’t how many partisan points you score.  It’s a basic thing we’ve all got involved in the first place for: Can you fix the problem?  Can we fix the problem?  Can we be responsive?

We’re here for one reason: to deliver to families and communities for the country.  We’ve been a — you’ve been essential partners in delivering historic results for the American people. 

When I ran — I know it sounded silly — I said I promised to be a President for all Americans, whether they voted for me or not.  And we’re making that real progress in red communities and blue communities.  In fact, there are more investments going to red communities than blue communities. 

It’s about politics in many people’s minds, but not mine.  It’s about investing in all of America and all Americans so everyone has a fair shot — (applause) — and leaving nobody behind.

When I came to office, the pandemic was raging.  Our economy was reeling.  Communities everywhere faced devastating budget cuts.  But we turned things around. 

Three years ago today, I signed the American Rescue Plan.  (Applause.)  Instead of just helping a few big cities, we — it provided $350 billion to state and local governments for you to decide how it’ll be spent — (applause) — money that went directly to every single town in America so you could decide how best to spend it without having to go through the statehouse or a governor. 

We trusted you, and that trust has been well placed because you’ve done a hell of a job.  (Applause.)

You used those funds to vaccinate your communities, to keep essential services going, put cops on the beat.  You put teachers in the classroom.  You kept small businesses on their feet and families in their homes.

Then, I proposed and signed the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in generations.  Forty-seven thousand new projects announced so far across communities, modernizing American roads, bridges, ports, airports, public transit, and more; creating jobs now and jobs for the next decade. 

We went through — remember we had “Infrastrucure Week” for four years?  (Laughter.)  And now you’re going to have “Infrastructure Week” for 10 years.  The only difference being there’s going to something every week.  (Applause.)

Look, I’ve stood with mayors out where you’re rebuilding.  The Blatnik Bridge in Wisconsin and Minnesota — a billion-dollar operation.  (Applause.)  The Brent Spence Bridge in Kentucky and Ohio.  (Applause.)  By the way, not only changing the economy for those communities and all up and down the coast — up and down the country, but it’s doing something else: It’s generating good — really good jobs, and it’s bringing communities back together.

I’m working with many of you in replacing every poisonous lead pipe in America for every child can drink clean water — (applause) — without risking brain damage.

In January, I was in Raleigh, North Carolina, where we’re investing $3 billion to connect the entire state for affordable high-speed Internet to end — by the end of the decade.  And we’re doing it in all 50 states.  It’s critical for children to be able to do their homework, small businesses to be able to sell their products, folks to have access to telemedicine when they’re driving — without driving to see their doctors if they live in the countryside.

We’ve also — we’ve already saved 23 million families $75 a month on Internet bills.  Congress needs to reauthorize that program now, by the way.  I need your help.  (Applause.)

We’re also taking the most significant action to fight climate change ever.  You know, I mentioned when we talked — well, I won’t — don’t get me started on all that.  (Laughter.)  I feel pretty passionate about it.

Look, I visited many of your towns as we work together to respond, rebuild, and increase reliance and — resilience.  But the resilience is the important part.  We can’t build back to what it was; we’ve got to build back better in everything we’re doing.  For real.  The climate is already changing things.  (Applause.)

Resilience to extreme weather.  Revitalization of fence-line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution.  We’re also promoting clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and other industries — the future — a future that’s made in America. 

You know, there used to be a — there’s a law that I didn’t even realize and my — most didn’t realize, that — back in the `30s, when they were talking about whether the unions could exist and so on and so forth.  There was a lot of legislation in the Roosevelt administration. 

One law that got passed was any money sent to the president to spend on a federal project should be spent with American products and American workers.  (Applause.)

Well, here’s what happened: A lot of folks — both parties didn’t pay much attention to that.  But not anymore.  We build American, we buy American, and we are American.  (Applause.)

Folks, thanks, in part, to the CHIPS and Science Act, the United States is investing more money in research and development than ever before. 

During the pandemic, a shortage of semiconductor chips about the size of the tip of your little finger drove prices up for everything from cell phones to automobiles.  Well, instead of having to import semiconductors — which America invented, I might add — private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America.  (Applause.) 

And we’re creating tens of thousands of jobs.  Many of them pay over $100,000 a year and do not require a college degree.  (Applause.)  

Folks, in all, my policies have attracted $650 billion in private sector investments from companies that are buil- — bringing jobs back to America, back to communities where they belong.

For the longest time, both parties sent jobs overseas because the labor was cheaper and imported the products.  Now, we’re sending product overseas and importing — and we’re bringing the jobs back here.  (Applause.)

Look, folks, in thousands of cities and towns, we’re seeing a great comeback story.  Nearly 15 million new jobs created so far.  That’s a record. 

Growth is strong.  Wages are rising.  Inflation is down.

Individuals have fi– had filed to start an additional 16 million new businesses since I took office.  Each — each application to do that is an act of hope.

And along the way, we reduced the federal deficit, I might add.  It hasn’t gone up.  It’s gone down under us.  (Applause.)  We cut it by a trillion dollars already — another trillion over the next decade.  And that’s my goal: to cut by $3 trillion by making the wealthy and big corporations finally begin to pay their fair share.  (Applause.)

Folks, look, I’m a capitalist.  If you can a billion bucks, wonderful.  Just pay your fair share, man, not 8.2 percent.  (Applause.)

If you paid 25 percent, we’d have $500 billion more over the next 10 years to cut the deficit, to provide child care, to do all the things we need to do.  But there’s more to do.

Look, for example, I know the cost of housing is critical to families nationwide.  If inflation keeps coming down, mortgage rates are going to continue to come down as well.  But I’m not waiting. 

For those seeking to buy their first home or trade up for a little more space, I’ve proposed a tax cut that will provide $400 a month for the next two years, because every family — (applause) — every family deserves a place to call home and a place to — to have your American Dreams come true.

Look, millions of renters are also out there in trouble.  We’re also cracking down on those landlords who break the antitrust laws by price-fixing those r- — rents.  (Applause.)  Landlords should be competing to give folks the best deal, not conspiring to charge them higher rent.  (Applause.) 

We also cut red tape so more builders can get federal financing, which is already helping construct a record 1.7 million new housing units nationwide — (applause) — because of you. 

And the federal budget that I’m releasing today has a plan for 2 million more affordable homes, including housing — a housing innovation fund to help communities like yours build housing, renovate housing, and convert empty office space and hotels into housing.  Housing for renters, for owners, for middle-class families, and folks — folks struggling just to get by. 

Look, and we — we realize many of you are dealing with homeless encampments in your cities and towns.  Well, we’re providing $8 billion to allow you to provide alternatives, to move unhoused people off the street, getting them into homes.  (Applause.)

The bottom line is we have to build, build, build.  That’s how we bring housing costs down for good. 

Folks, at the same time, Americans deserve the freedom to be safe from crime.  And America is safer today than when I took office.

Starting with the American Rescue Plan, I made the biggest investment in public safety effort.  And you used it well. 

You, all of you, have done a tremendous job in your communities putting those resources to work, using federal money to hire more officers for effective, accountable community policing; expanding violence intervention programs that help prevent crime.

Folks, you don’t always hear about it, but today’s violent crime rates are down nationwide in nearly every major category — (applause) — to one of the lowest levels in over 50 years.  But there’s more to do, but we’re making American progress — serious progress. 

Look, there’s another piece of unfinished business: the border — the federal border we keep talking about. 

In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators led by a serious conservative Republican senator as well as Democrats.  The result was a compromise bill with the toughest border security reforms this country has ever seen. 

That bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers; 1,000 — 100 more immigration judges to help tackle a backlog of 2 million cases that are just waiting to be heard; 4,300 more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years; 100 more high-tech drug detection machines to significantly increase our ability to stop fentanyl from being smuggled into America.  (Applause.)  And by the way, no one questions those numbers.

This bill would save lives and bring order to the border.  It has the funds that many of our cities badly need as well.  It would also give me, as President, new emergency authority — or any other president — to temporarily shut down the border when the number of immigrants is overwhelming and to g- — regain control of the border.

The Border Patrol union endorsed it.  The federal Chamber of C- — the national Chamber of Commerce endorsed it.  And I believe, given an opportunity, the House and Senate have the votes to pass it if they just bring it to the floor and vote on it.  (Applause.)  But up to now, politics has intervened.

Folks, we have to end the games.  We have to deal.  This deal is about a win for America, your cities and towns.

You all face the issue every single day.  So, it matters to you, your community, to tell your members in Congress to show up, show a little spine, and pass the bipartisan border security bill.  (Applause.)

They tell me I’m your last speaker.  I’ve already kept you too long, but here’s a go.  Let me close with this. 

Last week, I delivered my State of the Union Address, where I said — (applause) — where I stated what I believed to be the — the empirical truth: The state of the Union is strong and getting stronger.  That’s what I see. 

As I travel the country — as I travel the country, folks often tell me how, back in 2020, they were down.  They’d lost their business.  They’d lost faith in the system. 

And then, the laws we passed, the work we’ve done together got them back on their feet, creating new jobs, new businesses, a new cycle of hope.  We’ve got a long way to go in terms of re- — and by the way, public confidence in the economy is coming back. 

So, when you see shovels in the ground, people going to work, I hope you feel what we do and you feel it with a sense of pride.  Pride in your hometowns.  Pride in making a comeback.  Pride in America.  Pride in knowing we can get big things done when we work together.  (Applause.)

Folks, as I said, I’ve been around a few days — (laughter) — but I’ve never been more optimistic about our future.  I mean that sincerely.

We just have to remember who in God’s name we are.  We are the United States of America, for God’s sake.  (Applause.)  There is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity — and I mean nothing beyond our capacity when we work together, like you all do.

So, let’s work together.

God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

Really, thank you.  You’ve been great.  You know how to do the job.  (Applause.)  

11:13 A.M. EDT

The post Remarks by President Biden at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference appeared first on The White House.

Pullman Yards
Atlanta, Georgia
(March 9, 2024)

5:42 P.M. EST
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Atlanta!  (Applause.)  I’m Joe Biden.  I’m Jill Biden’s husband.  (Laughter and applause.) 
 
And, Desera, thank you for your introduction.  And when you’re President of the United States and I — they say, “Joe Biden is out in the waiting room,” don’t say “Joe who?”  Okay?  (Laughter.)
 
Mayor Andre Dickenson — Dickens — I just add another syllable to your name.  (Laughter.)  Thank you for the passport into the city, Mr. Mayor.  (Applause.)
 
And Reverend Senator Warnock, thank you for your leadership.  (Applause.)  And thank you for the honor — giving me the honor to speak at your congregation at Ebenezer Baptist Church. 
 
Look, Senator Ossoff — you’re the best, Jon.  You’re doing a hell of a job.  And he’s always, always there, and he votes his conscience, and he’s not afraid to stand up for what he believes.  (Applause.)
 
To the many members of the House of Representatives here and all other elected officials, thank you for your service. 
 
And to former Atlanta mayor and former member of my team in the White House, Keisha Lance Bottoms, thank you.  (Applause.)  Keisha — I said to her a moment ago — I said, “We miss you.”  And her husband said, “So did I.  I got her.”  (Laughter.)
 
     And, Governor Wes Moore, thank you for coming down from Maryland, man.  (Applause.)  He’s the best, man.  He can play.  (Laughter.)  
 
And all of you here today, you know, you’re the reason why we’re going to win.  (Applause.)  By the way, that’s not hyperbole.  You’re the reason we’re going to win. 
 
Donald Trump has a different constituency.  Here’s a guy who’s kicking off his general election campaign on the road up with Marjorie Taylor Greene. 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  It can tell you a lot about a person who he keeps company with.  (Laughter.)  And yesterday, he was hosting at his club, Viktor Orbán — 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  — who says he doesn’t think democracy works.  Called him a “fantastic leader.”  Seriously.  (Laughter.)  He’s been sucking up to win him — (laughs) — anyway —  (inaudible) dictators and authorian — authoritarian thugs all around the world. 
 
He said the North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un wrote him a — quote, “wrote him a beautiful letter.”  (Laughter.) 
 
He bragged about calling Xi Jinping a “king.”  He called Putin and he said, “Do whatever the hell you want to our Allies.” 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I’m not making these — I’m not making these quotes up.  When he says he wants to be a dictator, I believe him. 
 
But I don’t want to get carried away here.  (Laughs.)  Before I begin, I want to say thank you —
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  What are you going to do, Genocide Joe?  Tens of thousands of Palestinians (inaudible).
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Whoa, whoa, whoa —
 
AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
 
AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Look, thank you.  Look, I don’t resent — I don’t resent — I don’t resent his passion.  There’s a lot of Palestinians who are being unfairly victimized. 
 
But, folks, look —
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Free, free Palestine!  Free, free Palestine!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  — before I begin, I want to say thank you to all those outstanding Black, Latinos, AAPI organizations supporting Kamala and me.  (Applause.)  
 
In 2020 and 2022, especially here in Georgia, but all across the country, you called your neighbors, you texted your friends, you knocked on doors, and you never stop.  And you’re with us all the way.  (Applause.)  And we’re here to say a simple thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)
 
And here tonight, because you really want to do it again, because you are going to win this primary for us on Tuesday.  And because we’re going to win in November.  (Applause.)
 
So, I mean this: Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I really mean it. 
 
Three years ago, you helped the Democratic ticket and won Georgia a presidential election for the first time in 30 years.  (Applause.)  On Thursday, when I gave my State of the Union Address, I talked about how far we’ve come since the 2020 election.  I also talked about how much is at stake. 
 
Folks, it’s not hyperbole to suggest our freedoms are literally on the ballot this November.  Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are trying to take our freedoms away. 
 
And, by the way, not all Republicans.  This ain’t — this ain’t your father’s Republican Party.  These guys are different. 
 
But guess what?  We’re not going to let them take them away.  (Applause.)
 
Thursday night marked 59 years since hundreds of foot soldiers for justice in Selma, Alabama, marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge named after the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan to claim their fundamental right to vote.  They were beaten, they are bloodied, they were left for dead, but they were unbowed.
 
Our late friend, son of — son of Georgia, John Lewis, was there.  (Applause.)  And what happened five months later?  We passed — the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.  But nearly six decades after that, the same forces are back — led by Donald Trump — taking us back in time, suppressing the vote, subverting elections. 

That’s why we have to stand up again.  (Applause.)  We know what to do.  And my message to Georgia voters and to voters all across this country is: Send me a Congress that will pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.  (Applause.)  
 
The same forces that want to deny the right to vote try to deny other core values of American diversity as well: banning books, erasing history.  Instead of celebrating the contribution of immigrants to our country, to our economy, and our communities, Donald Trump calls them “vermin,” “poison” in the blooding of — poisoning the blood of America. 
 
No one should ever doubt where my heart is.  Unlike Donald Trump, on my first day in office as President, I introduced a comprehensive — a comprehensive plan to fix our immigration system, secure our border, provide a pathway for citizenship for DREAMers and their families — farmworkers, essential workers who helped us through the pandemic and are part of the fabric of our community. 
 
Because unlike Donald Trump, I know who we are as Americans.  (Applause.)  It’s why I promised to have an administration that looks like America.  (Applause.)  The most diverse Cabinet and administration in American history led by a [historic] Vice President. 
 
A court that represents all the people.  Sixty-five percent of the judges I’ve appointed are women.  (Applause.)  Sixty-five percent are people of color.  (Applause.)  I’ve appointed more Black women to the circuit courts than every other president in American history combined — (applause) — and the first African American woman to the Supreme Court.  (Applause.)
 
Look, in my State of the Union Address, I talked about the social worker in Alabama.  She scheduled an IVF treatment for her second child.  But the Supreme Court of Alabama shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
 THE PRESIDENT:  What her family has gone through should never have happened.  And folks — folks, you know why this happened.  Well, I tell you why: Donald Trump.  He came to office determined to see o- — Roe v. Wade overturned.  In fact, he brags about it. 
 
Well, he got his wish.  And states are passing bans that criminalize doctors, forcing rape and incest victims to leave their states to get help.  And now MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump want to pass a national ban on the right to choose.
 
Well, hear me loud and clear: not on my watch.  (Applause.)  In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court majority wrote, and I quote, “Women are not without electoral or political power.”  As I said in the State of the Union, “They ain’t seen nothing yet.”  (Applause.)
 
But they’re about to see — they’re about to see it, just like we saw it on the ballot in 2022 and 2023.  And they’ll find out again in 2024.  (Applause.)
 
I’m deadly earnest about this.  Look, I want — I want to thank Vice President Harris for leading the way on this issue and so many others.  (Applause.) 
 
And, Georgia, I have a message for you: Send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, and I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.  (Applause.)
 
Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink.  But since I took office, we’ve created 15 million new jobs in just three years.  (Applause.)  That’s a record in American history. 
 
Eight hundred new manufacturing jobs.  I said, “Where’s it written that we can’t be the manufacturing capital of the world?”  (Applause.)  

Unemployment hit a 50-year low — (applause) — so far.  And under Donald Trump, Black and Latino unemployment skyrocketed.  Under my administration, we have record low Black and Latino un- — unemployment.  (Applause.) 
    
Donald Trump, Asian American unemployment nearly doubled.  Now — now the employment rate of Asian Americans is the highest it’s been since 2008.  (Applause.)
 
Look, we’ve cut Black child poverty in half, cut Latino poverty by a record as well.  We’re seeing the fastest rate of new Latino businesses all over this decade.  And the next 30 years, it’s going to even be bigger. 
 
Look, folks, more people have health insurance than ever before.  (Applause.)  The racial wealth gap is a smallest it’s been in 20 years.  (Applause.)  Wages are back up; inflation is coming down.  Inflation has dropped from 9 to 3 percent.  (Applause.)
 
We’ve already accomplished a lot.  So, now let’s talk about the future we can build together.  (Applause.)  It’s about the future. 
 
For example, Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere else in the world.  It’s wrong.  But I’m ending it.  (Applause.)  The law I propose that we signed, no — not one Republican voted for it, I might add — we finally beat Big Pharma.  (Applause.) 
 
For example, instead of paying $400 a month for insulin that saves seniors lives, they now only pay $35.  Do you know how much it costs to make it?  It costs $10.  It costs $10 to make it.  (Applause.) 
 
But I didn’t stop there.  We capped insulin at 35 bucks a month, and I want to do it for every single American.  (Applause.) 
 
I finally beat Big Pharma and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for all prescription drugs, like the VA does.  But guess what?  It just doesn’t save seniors money; it’s saving the taxpayers $160 billion — (applause) — that one thing.  Seriously.  
 
Cutting the federal deficit — these guys talk about the de- — I don’t want to get into that.  I’ll get carried — (laughter).
 
Now it’s time to go further and no- — negotiate lower drug prices for every drug.  Look, that will save taxpayers, if we do that, another $200 billion because Medicare doesn’t have to pay the bill. 
 
Beginning in January of next year, it’s already the law we passed.  We capped prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at total $2,000 a year, no matter how much they cost.  (Applause.)  Because you — as some of you know, unfortunately, you’ve experienced it.  These cancer drugs can cost $10-, $12-, $15,000 a year.  Now let’s cap prescription drug costs to $2,000 a year for every American — (applause) — all Americans. 
 
And, folks, the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal.  (Applause.)  It used to be called “Obamacare.”  (Applause.)  Over 100 Americans — 100 million Americans can no longer be denied health insurance because of a preexisting condition because of that law.  (Applause.)  And not only that, we’ve lowered the cost of insurance by $800 a year for so many families — and on top of it. 
 
Donald Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act. 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  That would mean ripping health insurance away from 3 million Black Americans, 4 million Latinos, and a million Asian Americans. 
 
I’ve got news for Donald Trump: not on my watch.  (Laughter and applause.)  And if Trump and the Republicans try to cut Social Security again, I will stop them.  (Applause.) 
 
Look, I’m also working to bring down the cost of housing.  That’s why I want to pri- — I want to provide an annual tax credit for the next two years of $400 a month, over the next two years, as rates come down, to put toward mortgages.  If they’re pur- — buying your first home or you need to trade up a little for more space.  That’s what’s going to happen.  (Applause.)  And the interest rates will be down.
 
We’re cracking down on big landlords who break antitrust laws by price fixing and driving up rents.  Now Congress needs to pass my plan to build and renovate 2 million affordable houses and apartments — (applause) — and bring those rents down. 
 
Look, we’re also removing all poisonous lead pipes in the — millions of them in America so every child can turn on a water fountain at school or at home without risking getting brain damage, because that’s what’s happening. 
 
Look, and I’m making college more affordable.  (Applause.)  It was hard for me and my — my brothers and sisters to get through college because it was tough.  And the — and the tuitions weren’t even anywhere near what they are today. 
 
By fixing the student loan program, like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, I’ve reduced the burden of student debt for nearly 4 million Americans — (applause) — including teachers, nurses, firefighters, and other public servants. 
 
Donald Trump swears that if he gets elected, he’s going to stop it.  Well, let me tell you something: He won’t stop me.  (Applause.)
 
So, let’s continue to increase Pell Grants for working-class and middle-class families, increase our record investment in HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions.  (Applause.) 
 
We already contributed over $7 billion to HBCUs.  And you know why?  Because they’re just as bright, just as capable as — though they don’t have the endowments.  And so, they can’t — they can’t — they don’t have the laboratories to train for the new high-tech jobs.  But now they will.  And now they do.  (Applause.)
 
Look, we’re building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.  Donald Trump did just the opposite.  He — he enacted a $2 trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefited the top one half of 1 percent and the biggest corporations and exploded the federal deficit.  He added more to the national debt in the four years he was there than any presidential term in history — 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  — so — by the way.  Give me a break about reducing the debt.  Come on.
 
Folks, how many of you think the tax code is fair?  Raise your hand.
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I sure don’t.  And I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair.  Under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in federal tax.  Nobody.  Not — not one penny.  (Applause.)  But big corporations and the very wealthy will finally begin to pay their fair share.  
 
In 2020, the 55 largest corpora- — of the five — Fortune 500, 55 of those companies made $40 billion in profits, and they didn’t pay a single penny in tax.  Zero. 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo —
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Not anymore.  Thanks to the law I wrote and signed, big companies have to pay a minimum of 15 percent.  (Applause.)  But 15 percent is still less than working people pay in federal taxes.  It’s time to raise the corporate minimum tax to at least 21 percent — (applause) — so every billion-dollar corporation begins to finally begin to pay their fair share. 
 
Look, folks, there are one thousand billionaires in America — one thousand.  Look, I’m a — I’m a capitalist.  If you make a billion dollars, fine, if you do it fairly.  But guess what?  Pay your fair share of federal taxes.  (Applause.)  Do you know how much they pay?  You know what the rate is they pay in federal taxes?  8.2 percent.
 
Raise your hand if you’d trade for that?  You’d all take 8.2 percent, wouldn’t you? 
 
It’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay.  No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, a nurse.  (Applause.) 
 
That’s why I proposed a minimum tax of 25 percent for billionaires — 25 — just 25 percent.  You know how much money that would raise?  Five hundred billion dollars over the next 10 years.  (Applause.)  Imagine what that could do for America and our — for our future — from lowering the deficit to childcare, home care, paid leave so many other countries have — and still lower the deficit. 
 
Look, folks, let me close with this.  You’re all standing.  I’m keeping you too long.  I know —
 
AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  I know the American story.  It’s a con- — thank you.
 
AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Folks, look, I know the American story.  It’s a contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of this nation, between those who want to pull America backwards and those who want to move America into the future. 
 
My lifetime has taught me to embrace the future of freedom and democracy.  And Trump and I have a very different value set, if it isn’t obvious already.  Mine is based on core values that defined America.  And the rest of the world looks at us that way: decency, honesty, fairness, equality. 
 
But we all know Donald Trump sees a different America — an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.  That’s not me.  That’s not you.  (Applause.) 
 
We see a future where we define democracy and defend it, not diminish it.  We see a future where we defend the basic freedoms, not take them away.  We see a future — we see a future where we reward work, not just wealth, where the wealthy pay their fair share.  And we see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence.
 
And, folks, I mean this.  As I’ve traveled the world — I’ve been in most countries around the world.  I know the vast majority of the world leaders because I’ve been around a day or two.  (Laughter.)  I know I don’t look it.  (Laughter.)
 
But we see a future — I see a future that must remain the beacon of the world.  Above all, we see a country for all Americans, a future for all Americans, a presidency for all Americans.  So, join me.  Get out the vote.  (Applause.) 
 
Vote!  Vote!  Vote!
 
AUDIENCE:  Vote!  Vote!  Vote! 
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Vote! 
 
From the bottom of my heart, I believe in America.  I believe in you, the American people.  We just have to remember who we are, for God’s sake.  We are the United States of America.  (Applause.)  There is simply nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we act together.  So, let’s do that.  Get out to vote. 
 
And God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you. 
 
(The President picks up a pin thrown onto the stage.)  “Regulate guns, not women.”  (Applause.) 
 
6:04 P.M. EST

The post Remarks by President Biden at a Campaign Event | Atlanta, GA (March 9, 2024) appeared first on The White House.

1. Led to the Strongest Jobs Recovery on Record and the Strongest Recovery in the World: When President Biden came into office, there was tremendous economic uncertainty. Unemployment was at 6.4% when President Biden took office. Unemployment was not projected to drop below 4% until the end of 2025 in CBO’s February 2021 (Pre-ARP) Forecast. Instead, unemployment was below 4% for the past 25 months in a row – the strongest record in more than five decades. 

• ARP drove historic 3-year job growth with 15 million jobs added since President Biden took office.
• Not only recovered all the lost jobs but added an additional 5.5 million more jobs versus pre-Covid.
• Powered the strongest recovery in the world: After the American Rescue Plan passed, the U.S. saw by far the fastest recovery in the G7, with significantly higher real wage growth. US has lower apples to apples core inflation than all major European allies.

1. Powered the Most Equitable Recovery in Memory: In past recessions, persistent high long-term and youth unemployment as well as high numbers foreclosures and evictions led to long-term harms – “scarring” for millions of Americans and hard, long roads back for Black and Latino Americans. President Biden’s Rescue Plan ensured that didn’t happen this time:

• Historic drops in unemployment for Black and Latino workers: With the strong recovery powered by ARP, Black unemployment saw its largest 1-year drop since the early 1980s and reached its lowest-ever annual rate in 2023; Hispanic unemployment saw its fastest 1-year drop and reached its lowest 2-year rate ever in 2022 & 2023.  
• Least scarring in any recovery in memory: The American Rescue Plan led to the fastest drop in long-term and youth unemployment ever. It kept foreclosures historically low and evictions 20% below historic avgs.
• Led to dramatic reduction in inequality: Economists have found that the strong post-ARP labor market’s wage increases for middle-income and lower-income workers erased nearly 40% of the rise in wage inequality increases from the previous four decades.
• Lowest women’s annual unemployment rate since 1953: This recovery has seen a dramatic decline in women’s unemployment to an average of 3.5% in 2023, the lowest annual average since 1953.
• Strong recovery for Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian communities: Asian American unemployment averaged 2.9% over the last two years and AA NHPI small business formation surged. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander unemployment also fell by half from a 9% avg. in 2020 to 4% in 2022-2023.

1. Led to the Largest Federal Investments in Preventing Crime, Reducing Violence, and Investing in Public Safety in History. Since the passage of the American Rescue Plan, we’ve had the largest federal investment in advancing public safety and preventing violence in our history through ARP funding and other federal funding.

• Over $15 billion in ARP funds committed to preventing crime and reducing violence, with investments by over 1,000 state and local governments to avoid cuts to police budgets, hire more police officers for safe, effective, and accountable community policing, ensure first responders have the equipment they need to do their jobs, and expand evidence-based community violence intervention and prevention programs.
• That includes $1.2 billion for Medicaid Mobile Crisis Intervention Services – the American Rescue Plan included $1.2 billion to fund mobile crisis intervention units staffed with mental health professionals & trained peers. 
• It also includes $1 billion in Family Violence Prevention and Services Program to reduce domestic violence with immediate crisis intervention, health supports, and safety.

1. American Rescue Plan’s Expansion of the Affordable Care Act Led to Record-Breaking Health Care Enrollment and Savings: ARP substantially increased consumer subsidies, eligibility to middle-income families and provided strong incentives for states to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act. Result:

• ARP/IRA-extended ACA extension led to over 21 million Americans enrolling in coverage, an increase of 9 million from when POTUS took office.
• Thanks to the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, millions of Americans are saving an average of $800 a year on premiums. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to keeping health insurance premiums low, giving families more breathing room and the peace of mind that health insurance brings. To do that, the President is calling on Congress to make the expanded premium tax credits that the Inflation Reduction Act extended permanent.
• Provided health coverage to 3 million Americans who would have otherwise had no health insurance.
• Provided affordable health coverage to millions of middle-class Americans who were previously excluded from receiving consumer subsidies.
• Provided more than $3 billion in Medicaid funding to North Carolina, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Dakota for Medicaid expansion, covering over one million people.
• Gave states an easier pathway to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage for a full 12 months – ensuring access to critical care for nearly 700,000 women in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

1. Largest Small Business Boom in History Due to ARP-Driven Strong Recovery and Small Business Investments: The Biden-Harris Administration:

• Increased COVID EIDL to $2 million while increasing anti-fraud controls.
• Reformed PPP to more equitably distribute funds to the smallest businesses.
• Restaurant Revitalization Fund helped over 100,000 restaurants, bars, and food trucks stay open.
• Shuttered Venues Program provided relief to 13,000 venues.
• Invested a historic $10 Billion in the State Small Business Credit Initiative leveraging up to $100 billion in capital for small businesses.
• Invested in innovative Community Navigators program that delivered training to over 350,000 entrepreneurs and 1:1 counseling services to over 33,000 small business owners
• Invested $125 million through the Capital Readiness Program to 43 non-profit community-based organizations to help underserved entrepreneurs launch and scale their small businesses – winners ranged from Asian/Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce to Urban League of Greater Atlanta.
  This, and the strong recovery that ARP powered, led to:
• A record 16 million new business applications over the past 3 years; 55% higher than year before pandemic.
• Share of Black households owning a business has more than doubled, and Latino and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander small business formation surged as well.  
• Women-owned businesses formation substantially outpaced overall business formation.

1. Led to Lowest Child Poverty Rate in American History: The American Rescue Plan expanded the Child Tax Credit, made it fully refundable, and delivered it monthly in 2021. This historic expansion drove:

• Child poverty cut nearly in half to lowest rate ever.
• Black child poverty cut by over 50%, Hispanic child poverty cut by 43%, and dramatic drops in Native American, white and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander child poverty—all record lows.
• Over 9 million children in rural areas benefited from the expanded credit.
• 5 million children in Veteran and active-duty families benefited from the expanded credit.
• Child Tax Credit payments were delivered reliably with the first ever monthly payment – on the 15th of each month with 90% using direct deposit.
• Over 60 million children in 40 million working families received largest Child Tax Credit in history.
• Historic expansion to ~240,000 Puerto Rican families: For the first time, ARP permanently made Puerto Rican families eligible for the same Child Tax Credit as other American families. ARP also quadrupled funding available for Puerto Rico’s Earned Income Tax Credit.

1. Funded a Historic Vaccination Campaign: ARP provided $160 billion to support vaccination, therapeutics, testing and mitigation, PPE, and the broader COVID Response effort. This led to:

• Over 230 million Americans are fully vaccinated, up from 3.5 million when President Biden took office, while closing the racial gap in vaccine access.

1. First-Ever National Eviction Policy Called “The most important eviction prevention policy in American history.” 

• Emergency Rental Assistance and other American Rescue Plan assistance helped over 8 million hard-pressed renters stay in their homes without sacrificing other basic needs.  
• Emergency Rental Assistance and Other ARP housing policies cut eviction filings to 20% below historic averages since start of Biden-Harris Administration.
• Called the “the most important eviction prevention policy in American history” by Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize Winner author of “Evicted” – and the “deepest investment the federal government has made in low-income renters since the nation launched its public housing system.”
• HUD Emergency Housing Vouchers have already helped 47,500 households at risk of homelessness lease their own rental housing – supporting those at risk of or experiencing homelessness or housing instability, and those fleeing domestic violence.

1. Helped Keep Over 225,000 Child Care Programs Open and Provided Historic Nationwide Support for Medicaid Home-Based Care

• American Rescue Plan Stabilization Assistance has reached over 225,000 Child Care Providers – that employ 1 million child care workers – and have the capacity to serve as many as 10 million children.
• Led to lower child care costs by $1,250 per child, helped bring hundreds of thousands of women with young children into the workforce, and increased wages for child care workers by 10%, according to Council of Economic Advisors Report.
• More than 8-in-10 licensed child care centers nationwide received ARP assistance.
• Benefited 30,000 rural child care programs – in most states, 97% of rural counties or more received aid.
• Invested $37 billion to expand access to home-based care and support direct care workers: Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, President Biden delivered $37 billion that all 50 states and the District of Columbia chose to invest to expand access to home care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs.

1. Investing in ALL of America:

• For First Time in History, Direct Relief to Every Town, City, County, Tribe and State – No Matter How Big or Small, Urban or Rural – So they Could Design their Own Recovery:
• Before ARP, 70% of cities forecasted layoffs or major cuts in services and half of states were freezing or cutting jobs. Today, cities and states have funds to invest in major challenges – like public safety, housing, workforce, and rehiring, instead of making dramatic cuts.
• ARP provided direct fiscal relief to every state & territory and 30,000 cities and towns – while previous plans reached only 154 local governments or fewer. This has led to:
• Immediately reversed planned layoffs in cities and states across the country – and helped drive a recovery of 1.3 million state and local jobs, recovering all of the state and local jobs lost in roughly one-third the time it took to recover state and local jobs after the Great Recession.
• Major investments in critical areas:
  • $25 billion to jumpstart universal broadband access – including Broadband Connections for 18 million students through the Emergency Connectivity Fund so that schools and libraries could close the homework gap.
  • $12.8 billion in State & Local Funds invested in over 4,300 workforce investments by state and local governments.
  • Over $20 billion in State & Local Funds invested in water infrastructure.
  • $18.5 billion in State & Local Funds invested in housing – expanding supply, investing in homeless services, and providing 3.7 million additional households rent, mortgage, and utility relief.
    
• Largest Ever Investment in Tribal Communities
• ARP provided largest one-time investment in Tribal communities in history – providing more than $32 billion specifically allocated for Tribal communities and Native people, including $20 billion in Fiscal Recovery Funds that were quickly and directly distributed to Tribal governments in 2021 to stabilize Tribal economies devastated by the pandemic.
• Invested in first-ever Tribal Small Business Credit Initiative Awards.
• Focus on Tribal Communities in Place-Based grants including $45 million Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBB-RC) grant to the Mountain Plains Regional Native CDFI Coalition to grow the Native finance sector and expand economic opportunity.
  
• Investing in Rural America: Innovative rural-focused investments include:
• ARP provided direct fiscal recovery funding to every single rural government so that they could avoid painful layoffs and design their own recovery. Past recovery bills only sent direct fiscal relief to largest cities.
• ARP Child Care Stabilization Reached 30,000 rural child care programs – in most states, 97% of rural counties or more received aid.
• USDA invested $1 billion to expand independent meat and poultry processing capacity to give farmers more market options and fairer prices, and reduce reliance on a handful of meat and poultry corporations.
• Rural unemployment rates in 2023 were at their lowest point (3.6 percent) since before 1990.
• Full rural jobs recovery: Rural employment has returned fully to pre-COVID levels.

1. Major Investment in Workforce Training and Connecting Americans to Good Jobs:

• Tens of billions from the American Rescue Plan have gone to workforce training efforts, including $12.8 billion in State and Local Funds invested in over 4,300 workforce investments across the country, including pre-apprenticeships and other programs to prepare for new infrastructure, health care & care jobs.
• $500 million in competitive Good Jobs Challenge Awards for 32 Workforce High-Quality Training Partnerships across the country.
• $1 billion Competitive Build Back Better Regional Challenge – 21 Winners won between $25 million and $65 million to execute transformational projects and revitalize local industries. Projects include developing workforce training programs, connecting workers to jobs, and other transformational investments.
• Historic investment in expanding and supporting our health care workforce, including:
  
• $1.1 billion investment in the community health workforce, including in mental health workforce.
• Rapid deployment of 14,000+ community outreach workers (in 150+ national & local organizations). For example, the Association of Asian/Pacific Community Health Organizations used American Rescue Plan funds to establish the CHW Workforce Collaborative (the Collaborative). The Collaborative has since hired, trained, and deployed more than 250 CHWs who speak over 36 Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander languages in 12 continental U.S. states and Hawaii.
• Establishment of the first-of-its-kind public health AmeriCorps to build and train the next generation of public health leaders, already serving 82 organizations across the country and supporting more than 3,000 AmeriCorps members.
• Supporting the largest field in history (over 22,700 providers) for the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps, and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs, treating more than 23.6 million patients in underserved communities.

1. Provided recovery funding for more than 15,000 School Districts to Safely Reopen K-12 Schools, Support Academic Recovery, and Invest in Student Mental Health:

• ARP provided critical relief to more than 15,000 school districts to reopen safely, support academic recovery, and invest in student mental health.
• Data from school district plans show that schools are using these funds well, focusing on efforts to support academic recovery:
  • Nearly 60% of funds are committed to investments like staffing, tutoring, afterschool and summer learning programs, new instructional resources and materials, and mental and physical health supports.
  • Another 23% is going to keep schools operating safely, including providing PPE and updating school facilities. This includes investments in lead abatement and nearly $10 billion for HVAC.
  • Nearly half of school districts invested in summer learning programs which proven to boost math scores.

     This has led to:

• Going from 46% of schools that had safely opened to full-time in-person teaching to 100%: In January 2021, CDC data showed that just 46% of schools were open full-time in-person. Today, all schools are open.
• Led to a major increase in staffing and investments to address student mental health: Schools now employ 31% more school social workers and 31% more school nurses than pre-pandemic. School districts have added more than 600,000 local education jobs since January 2021 and recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

1. Eighteen Million College Students Have Received Direct Financial Assistance from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund that was expanded by ARP:

• Colleges reached an estimated 18 million students with direct financial assistance from the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) fund since the beginning of 2021.
• Direct financial assistance for an estimated 6 million community college students.
• 80% of Pell Grant recipients received direct financial relief in 2021.
• An estimated 450,000 students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) received direct financial assistance. In 2021, 77% of HBCUs used HEERF funds to discharge unpaid student balances.

1. Historic Investment in Pension Security for up to 3 million Union workers & retirees: ARP’s Special Financial Assistance is the most significant investment in pension security for union workers and retirees in the past 50 years.

• Over 200 multiemployer plans that were on pace to become insolvent in the near term will now have solvency and able to pay full benefits until at least 2051.
• Preventing a wave of multi-employer insolvencies for 2-3 million workers who would have seen major cuts to their earned retirement benefits.
• Pension cuts reversed for over 80,000 workers and retirees in 18 “MPRA” multiemployer plans
• Most significant effort to protect the solvency of the multiemployer pension system in almost 50 years.

1. First-Ever Summer Nutrition Benefit for Students w/ Nationwide Reach – Extended Permanently:

• ARP created the first-ever summer nutrition benefit with nationwide reach, helping children who rely on free and reduced-price school meals afford food over the summer.
• 30 million young people: Reached the families of 30 million students.
• Permanent: Congress extended this innovative program permanently in 2022’s Omnibus bill, the first major new permanent food assistance program in nearly five decades.

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A fair housing market and access to quality and affordable housing are critical to the fulfillment of the American dream, and no one understands that better than Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. When I took office, we inherited a broken housing system, with fair housing and civil rights protections badly dismantled under the prior administration. On Day One, Marcia got to work rebuilding the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and over the past three years she has been a strong voice for expanding efforts to build generational wealth through homeownership and lowering costs and promoting fairness for America’s renters. 
 
Under Marcia’s transformational leadership, we have worked hard to lower housing costs and increase supply. We’ve proposed the largest investment in affordable housing in U.S. history. We’ve taken steps to aggressively combat racial discrimination in housing by ensuring home appraisals are more fair and by strengthening programs to redress the negative impacts of redlining. Thanks to Secretary Fudge, we’ve helped first-time homebuyers, and we are working to cut the cost of renting. And there are more housing units under construction right now than at any time in the last 50 years.
 
From her time as a mayor, to her years as a fierce advocate in the U.S. House of Representatives, Marcia’s vision, passion, and focus on increasing economic opportunity have been assets to our country. I’m grateful for all of her contributions toward a housing system that works for all Americans, and I wish her well in her next chapter. 
 

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When Secretary Fudge departs, Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman will serve as Acting Secretary. 

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Since taking office, President Biden has delivered on the most ambitious climate, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in history—taking bold action to reduce climate pollution across every sector of the economy, protecting more than 26 million acres of lands and waters, and restoring the vital role of science in guiding federal decision-making. The Administration continues to implement the President’s historic Investing in America agenda—including the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—the largest investment by any country in history in in clean energy, energy security, clean air and water, environmental justice, combatting climate change, and to enhance our climate resilience.

As a result of the President’s economic and climate leadership, clean energy jobs are on the rise across the country, American manufacturing is booming, companies have announced hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy investments, and the country is on a path toward cutting climate pollution in half from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving economy-wide, net zero emissions by no later than 2050. The President also launched the Justice40 Initiative to embed environmental justice into clean energy and climate programs; this goal ensures that communities that are on the frontlines of climate change benefit from this historic investment in climate solutions.

The Budget protects and builds on this monumental progress, making pro-growth investments in clean energy across the Nation, cutting energy bills for families, creating good-paying jobs, advancing environmental justice, ensuring critical technologies are made in America, supporting locally led conservation of our lands and waters, and building climate resilience for American communities and infrastructure. The President’s Budget:

Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Advances Clean Energy While Creating Jobs and Cutting Energy Costs

Creates Jobs by Building Clean Energy Infrastructure. The Budget invests $1.6 billion through the Department of Energy (DOE), more than double from when President Biden took office, to support clean energy workforce and infrastructure projects across the Nation, including $385 million to weatherize and retrofit homes of low-income Americans, $113 million to create good jobs and ensure reliable supply chains by manufacturing clean energy components here at home, $95 million to electrify Tribal homes and transition Tribal colleges and universities to renewable energy, and $102 million to support utilities and State and local governments in building a grid that is more secure, reliable, resilient, and able to integrate electricity from clean energy sources. These investments, which complement and bolster the historic funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, will create good-paying jobs and help revitalize American manufacturing—all while driving progress toward the Administration’s climate goals, including 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035. 

Lowers Energy Costs and Catalyzes Clean Energy and Economic Growth in Rural Communities. The Budget builds on the $13 billion provided in the President’s historic Inflation Reduction Act for rural development programs at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce energy bills for families, expand clean energy, transform rural power production, and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs for people across rural America. The Budget provides $1 billion for loan guarantees for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements for farmers and rural small businesses, and $6.5 billion in authority for rural electric loans to support additional clean energy, energy storage, and transmission projects that would create good-paying jobs. In addition, the Budget includes $60 million in zero-interest loans for the Rural Energy Savings Program, which would help rural Americans implement durable cost-effective energy efficiency measures in their homes, lowering energy costs and contributing to the President’s clean energy goals. Additionally, the Budget includes over $5 billion, an increase of nearly $900 million from the FY 2023 enacted level without earmarks, for efforts across the Federal Government that support economic revitalization, job creation, and other priority needs in hard-hit coal, oil and gas, and legacy power plant communities.

Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Tackles the Climate Crisis. The Budget builds on the historic climate investments made in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and includes over $2.9 billion in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) climate-related programs to address the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, expanding upon the GHG Reporting Program and Sinks Inventory, implementing provisions in the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act to continue phasing out the production and import of hydrofluorocarbons, advancing equitable implementation of EPA authorities and directives in Indian Country, and engaging with the global community to respond to the shared challenge of building resilience in the face of climate impacts. The Budget includes $10.6 billion in the DOE climate and clean energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment programs, which advances efforts crucial for achieving the goal of a 50- to 52-percent reduction from 2005 levels of economy wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030 and economy wide net-zero emissions no later than 2050, while also cutting energy bills for American families and building U.S. leadership in the global clean energy economy.

Reduces Home Energy and Water Costs. Reducing household energy and water costs continues to be a priority for the Administration. The Budget provides $4.1 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)—building on the $7 billion in additional funding the Administration has secured for LIHEAP since 2021—to help families access home energy and weatherization assistance, which are vital tools for protecting vulnerable families’ health in response to extreme weather and climate change. In addition, since the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) expired at the end of 2023, the Budget proposes to allow States the option to use a portion of their LIHEAP funds to provide water bill assistance to low-income households.

Continues to Advance Clean Energy Development on Public Lands. The Budget includes $142 million to continue the Administration’s progress in deploying clean energy on public lands and waters, spurring economic development and creating thousands of good-paying jobs. This funding supports the leasing, planning, and permitting of solar, wind, and geothermal energy projects, and associated transmission infrastructure that would help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Strengthens and Accelerates Permitting Activities. The Budget invests in environmental permitting capacity to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of modernized infrastructure across the Nation while promoting positive environmental and community outcomes. The Budget includes over $1 billion to support environmental review and permitting processes that are effective, efficient, and transparent, guided by science and shaped by early and meaningful public engagement and input.

Invests in Climate Science and Innovation

Builds the Clean Energy Innovation Pipeline. The Budget includes $10.7 billion, an increase of $2.7 billion over FY 2021 Enacted levels, across DOE, NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense (DOD), and other agencies to support researchers and entrepreneurs transforming innovations into commercial clean energy products, including in areas such as offshore wind, industrial heat, sustainable aviation fuel, and grid infrastructure. Since the start of the Administration, the President has requested and Congress has enacted year-over-year increases in the total government-wide funding for clean energy innovation. Across DOE, the Budget provides over $325 million to support the research, development, and demonstration of technologies and processes to increase the domestic supply of sustainable critical minerals and materials essential for several clean energy technologies. The Budget provides more than $500 million for green aviation at NASA, over $500 million for clean energy research at the NSF, and $845 million for DOE efforts to accelerate the viability of commercial fusion energy. The Budget also funds eight crosscutting DOE Earthshots initiatives which could substantially reduce the cost of energy for the American consumer through innovations in clean energy generation, energy efficiency, and storage.

Advances Climate Science. The Budget includes $4.5 billion for climate research across NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NSF, and other agencies. This includes $150 million at NASA to develop the next-generation land-imaging mission (Landsat Next) and more than $600 million for NASA in research grants to enhance understanding of Earth systems, including climate and natural hazards. It includes $900 million for NSF, which supports a broad portfolio of research that includes atmospheric composition, water and carbon cycles, climate resilience technologies including for communities heavily affected by climate change, social, behavioral, and economic research on human responses to climate change, among other topics. The Budget also invests $275 million at the Department of the Interior (DOI) to continue to leverage science to better understand the impacts of climate change, and to inform and improve land management practices from the Federal to the local level. The Budget invests $407 million at DOE to support fundamental research, including modeling and scientific user facilities to enable enhanced predictability of dynamically changing climate, environmental, and Earth systems, which includes predictability of climate trends and extremes that influence the design and deployment of next generation energy systems.

Maintains World Leading Research through the CHIPS and Science Act Investments. The Budget invests $20 billion across major research agencies to boost American innovation and re-establish American leadership in research and scientific discovery. At the National Science Foundation, these investments include support for regional innovation programs, investments in emerging technologies (such as artificial intelligence and quantum information science), and STEM workforce programs. Funding for the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) National Institute for Standards and Technology will support activities responsive to the President’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence and fund construction and maintenance of research and development facilities. In the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the Budget supports artificial intelligence, high performance computing to improve climate modeling, clean energy technologies including fusion, and positions the United States to meet the demand for isotopes.

Strengthens Resilience

Strengthens Climate Resilience in Communities and Ecosystems. Across America, communities are enduring historic and catastrophic flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, drought, and more, while longer-term changes in temperature affect ecosystems and the economies that depend on them. The intensifying impacts of climate change are costing lives, disrupting livelihoods, and causing billions of dollars in damages. The Biden-Harris Administration has made historic investments in climate adaptation and resilience, including more than $50 billion from the President’s Investing in America agenda. Building on the National Climate Resilience Framework, the Budget invests $23 billion in climate adaptation and resilience across the Department of Commerce (DOC), DOI, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USDA, Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, and DOD to address the increasing severity of extreme weather events fueled by climate change. This includes resources for flood hazard mapping, including the development of new data to support future flood conditions so that communities and Americans have the most up-to-date information regarding their flood risk; investments to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat in low-income and disadvantaged communities; and $105 million for DOE to plan, design and demonstrate community-scale energy solutions to support grid resilience. The Budget also provides funding to ensure farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners meet production goals in the face of a changing climate while conserving, maintaining, and restoring natural resources on their lands.

Invests in America’s Brave Wildland Firefighters. The Budget builds on the Administration’s historic investments in the wildland firefighting workforce at USDA and DOI by supporting the implementation of permanent and comprehensive pay reform, the enhancement of health services, the hiring of additional permanent and temporary wildland firefighters to increase capacity, and the improvement of Government housing. These investments would help address long-standing recruitment and retention challenges, increase the departments’ capacity to complete critical risk mitigation work, and further the Administration’s commitment to build a more robust and resilient wildland firefighting workforce as the frequency and intensity of catastrophic wildfires continue to increase due to climate change.

Increases Drought Resilience. The Budget helps ensure communities across the West have access to a resilient and reliable water supply by investing in rural water projects, water conservation, development of desalination technologies, and water recycling and reuse projects. The Budget complements the nearly $1.7 billion provided in 2025 for western water infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as well as the nearly $4.6 billion that was provided by the Inflation Reduction Act for drought mitigation and domestic water supply projects through the Bureau of Reclamation. 

Strengthens Climate Resilience and Reduces Housing Insecurity in Rural Communities. A lack of adequate affordable housing has been a long-standing problem in rural communities—one that is exacerbated by low energy efficiency of the aging housing stock, meaning higher costs for families. To help address this, the Budget proposes additional funding for USDA multifamily and single-family housing, and again proposes to eliminate the gap that penalizes low-income rural borrowers by inequitably requiring repayment for certain USDA Direct loans.  The Budget provides strong support for USDA’s multifamily housing and housing preservation programs. Through these investments, the Administration advances equity by reducing rent burdens for low-income borrowers and preserving low-income tenant-based housing in rural America. The Budget again proposes to reduce operating costs and increase the resilience of rural housing to the impacts of climate change through a proposal to require energy and water efficiency improvements and green features in USDA’s rural housing programs that include construction, such as housing repair loans and grants.

Advances Environmental Justice

Delivers for Communities Often Left Behind. The Administration continues to take bold steps and prioritize efforts to deliver environmental justice in communities across the United States, including implementing the President’s Justice40 Initiative and keeping up the momentum of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act environmental justice investments. The Budget bolsters these efforts by supporting several key initiatives to accelerate energy equity and justice for all Americans, including communities overburdened by pollution, investing nearly $1.5 billion across EPA in support of environmental justice efforts, including investments that will support cleaner air and cleaner water in frontline communities. This includes a new $25 million grant to develop Direct Implementation Tribal Cooperative Agreements to carry out crucial EPA programs in Indian Country with an emphasis on addressing the impacts of climate change.

Reduces Health and Environmental Hazards for At-Risk Communities. The Budget provides $8.2 billion to address DOE legacy waste and contamination in communities used during the Manhattan Project and the Cold War for nuclear weapons production. The Budget includes other key investments in programs that reduce environmental hazards like EPA’s Superfund program, Brownfields program, and Toxic Substances Control Act implementation. The Administration will ensure the investments for the management of toxic chemicals, including per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, cleanup of legacy pollution, and long-term stewardship of these sites align with the Justice40 Initiative to benefit disadvantaged communities.

Invests in Clean Air. The Administration continues to support investment in EPA’s work of limiting emissions of harmful air pollutants and tackling the climate crisis. The Budget provides a total of $1.5 billion for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, an increase of $690 million since the beginning of the Administration, to continue the development of national programs, policies, and regulations that control air pollution and radiation exposure. This funding includes a historic $187 million for the Atmospheric Protection Program to support implementation and compliance with greenhouse gas emission standards and to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad. Also included is $100 million for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant program, which funds grants and rebates to reduce harmful emissions from diesel engines, and $70 million for the Targeted Airshed Grants (TAG), which helps reduce air pollution in the most polluted nonattainment areas.

Advances Climate Justice and Ensures Compliance with the Nation’s Environmental Laws. At DOJ, the Budget renews its investment in the Office of Environmental Justice to protect overburdened and disadvantaged communities from the harms caused by environmental crimes, pollution, and climate change. The Administration continues investments at EPA to ensure compliance with environmental laws, including $172 million for compliance monitoring efforts including funds to conduct inspections in underserved, disadvantaged, and overburdened communities, and funds to rebuild the inspector corps.

Trains the Next Generation of Leaders in Emerging Fields

Supports and Expands the American Climate Corps. Last year, the Administration announced the launch of the American Climate Corps (ACC) to mobilize a new, diverse generation of more than 20,000 clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience workers and leaders, and this year, the first cohort of ACC members will begin their service. The ACC will provide job training and service opportunities on a wide range of projects that tackle climate change in communities around the country. The Budget provides $15 million to support and expand AmeriCorps’ ACC hub and $23 million to support over 1,700 additional ACC members, as well as $8 billion in mandatory funding to support an additional 50,000 ACC members annually by 2031. This builds on additional investments to support climate-related workforce development and service initiatives across all seven ACC agencies.

Promotes Equity in STEM Education and Workforce Training. In support of the CHIPS and Science Act’s priority of building a diverse, STEM-capable workforce, the Budget provides $1.4 billion for STEM education and workforce development programs at NSF that have an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The Budget also includes funding for programs focused on increasing the participation of groups historically underrepresented in science and engineering fields by supporting curriculum program design, research on successful recruitment and retention methods, development of outreach or mentorship programs, fellowships, and $256 million in funding to build capacity for advancing energy research and developing a new energy workforce, as well as an additional $100 million for enhancing general research capacity at HCBUs, TCCUs, and MSIs through the Department of Education. The Budget also provides $46 million to NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project, to increase competitive awards to minority-serving institutions to recruit and retain underrepresented and underserved students in STEM fields.

Broadens Access to Registered Apprenticeships in Clean Energy and the Industries of the Future. The Budget increases support for Registered Apprenticeships, an evidence-based earn-as-you-learn model that is a critical tool for training future workforces for good jobs that don’t require a college degree in the clean energy, construction, semiconductor, transportation and logistics, education, health, and other growing and in-demand industries. The Budget invests $335 million, a $50 million increase above the 2023 enacted level, and supports expanding existing Registered Apprenticeship programs in clean energy-related occupations.  This investment would also be used to reduce barriers and expand access, training, and opportunities that can increase the number of workers from historically underrepresented groups, including people of color, women, and people with disabilities, who participate in Registered Apprenticeships.

Doubles Down on America’s Global Climate Leadership

Achieves the Administration’s Historic Climate Finance Pledge. The Budget provides a path to achieving the President’s $11 billion commitment for international climate finance, including $3 billion for the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE). A signature initiative, PREPARE supports more than half a billion people in developing countries to adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change, including through private sector mobilization. In 2023, PREPARE brought 21 new companies and partners on board, with commitments to accelerate adaptation action in vulnerable developing countries that have mobilized more than $2 billion. The Budget also supports a $500 million FY 2025 contribution through mandatory funding to finance the Green Climate Fund (GCF), as part of the $3 billion multi-year pledge to expand climate adaptation and mitigation projects in developing countries, and $100 million for the Amazon Fund to combat deforestation and preserve the world’s largest tropical rainforest. The Budget builds on historic international climate finance progress made over the course of this Administration, in which estimated 2023 levels of $9.5 billion represent a near-sixfold increase from 2021.

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To build on the historic progress made under President Biden’s leadership, the American people need a modern and effective government. A high-performing Federal government—staffed by expert civil servants—plays a critical role in ensuring Americans can easily access reliable services and resources, from helping the American people file taxes and apply for benefits, to confronting the risks and opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Budget funds the expertise and tools necessary to ensure excellent service delivery and customer experience across the Federal government. The President’s Budget:

Modernizes Service Delivery

Provides More Passport Services Online. The Budget increases investments for the Department of State to improve on and expand online passport renewal, delivering on the commitment outlined in the Customer Experience Executive Order to enable Americans to renew their passport without having to go in-person and mail original documents.

Improves Social Security Administration (SSA) Services. The Budget builds the capacity of SSA’s Customer Experience team to fulfill commitments outlined in the Customer Experience Executive Order. The Budget also supports SSA’s efforts to take a customer-focused approach to service delivery, such as by improving how people access SSA services online, on mobile devices, by phone, and in-person. SSA will also work with states to enable online replacement of social security cards and name changes due to marriage nationwide.

Modernizes Taxpayer Services. By protecting annual funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and restoring and extending Inflation Reduction Act investments, the Budget continues initiatives that are already expanding digital, phone, and in-person taxpayer assistance options. Improved data analytics are helping the IRS work smarter by staffing customer service functions to meet projected demand. With ongoing investment, taxpayers can expect easier, secure access to their data, as well as the tools to help them use it, to meet their tax obligations and receive the incentives for which they are eligible.

Improves Traveler Experience. The Budget includes $3 million for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to continue piloting the Customer Experience Manager model at four airports focused on streamlining passenger screening, easy-to-understand signage, and better collection and analysis of customer feedback to take improvement actions.

Modernizes Federal Retirement Services. The Budget invests in the Office of Personnel Management to reduce processing times for Federal retirement and improve customer satisfaction, including hiring additional employees to process cases and $3 million to continue to develop a digital file system and online retirement application.

Brings America’s Great Outdoors Online. The Budget makes investments to better connect Americans with public lands through updates, added features, and performance improvements to the National Park Service app, NPS.gov, Recreation.gov, and Volunteer.gov. Funds will also support the expanded use of digital activity passes to access the more than 560 national wildlife refuges managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service and digital special use permits issued by the Forest Service.

Improves Service Access for Rural Communities. The Budget includes $3 million for the Farm Service Agency to modernize its information technology systems and pilot a technical assistance program to better support farmers and ranchers applying for farm loans. The Budget also includes $1 million for the development of digital tools and customer feedback activities at Rural Development within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Supports Services for Senior Homeowners and Low-Income Renters. The Budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) supports an expansion of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) digital self-service portal that would streamline customer support for seniors with FHA-held reverse mortgages. HUD will also pilot a customer-centered approach for individuals and families seeking affordable housing that aims to increase their understanding of available housing options and reduce the time spent on waiting lists for HUD-assisted rental housing.

Builds Shared Products and Platforms to Enable Simple, Seamless, and Secure Services Across the Federal Government. The Budget provides funding for continued maintenance of the Federal Website Standards, U.S. Web Design System, Digital Analytics Program, Site Scanning Program, Digital.gov, Search.gov, Touchpoints, and Feedback Analytics. The Budget also supports design exploration for creating government-wide web content standards and search engine optimization practices, including the potential of using Search.gov to better structure and connect information across agency websites.

Builds On Lessons from Life Experience Pilot Projects

Supports Parents Following the Birth of a Child. The Budget increases funding for the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Healthy Start program to improve health outcomes for parents and infants, including by building on lessons learned through the Benefits Bundle pilot to connect families welcoming a baby to a bundle of supportive services. The Budget additionally directs the Veterans Health Administration to develop a maternal supply kit pilot for veteran mothers.

Improves Efficiency, Program Integrity, and Accessibility of Safety Net Benefits. The Budget provides $11 million for HHS to work with cross-agency partners to improve benefits-related income verification services and determinations for benefits programs. In doing so, multiple agencies will simplify access to supports for families facing a financial shock and improve administrative efficiency.

Supports Underserved Seniors Making Retirement Decisions. The Budget continues efforts by the Administration for Community Living to develop a new model of community outreach to connect older adults with resources to inform their retirement and healthcare decisions, building on lessons learned from a community stakeholder-centered design process pilot.

Invests In Customer Experience Capacity Across Government

Increases Customer Experience Teams, Digital Service Capabilities. The Budget invests in the retention and hiring of more than 170 full-time employees with customer experience and digital service delivery experience across Federal agencies. These customer experience strategists and digital service experts will conduct customer research, analyze quantitative and qualitative feedback, and lead iterative design sprints to power the Federal government’s service improvements.The Budget also makes investments to support more than fifteen customer experience teams across government.

Helps Improves Service Accessibility for Tribal Communities. In keeping with Executive Order 14112 on Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations, the Budget makes investments in dedicated and coordinated work, in partnership with the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services, that will make it easier for Tribal Nations and members to navigate federal services provided by the Bureaus of Indian Affairs and Trust Funds Administration. Additionally, the designation of the Indian Health Service (IHS) as a High Impact Service Provider supports IHS collecting feedback and implementing targeted reforms that will improve the quality and accessibility of health services for Native communities.

Builds Digital Service Capacity, Helps Agencies Listen to Their Customers. The Budget addresses long-standing challenges in accessing digital service expertise across the Federal government by investing $55 million across 11 eleven agencies to more effectively deliver critical government services through priority projects with the U.S. Digital Service (USDS). The Budget also includes $30 million for USDS to further integrated, efficient, secure, and effective uses of information technology in the Federal government, as well as an additional $30 million in agency contribution to USDS for digital service expertise and assistance to attract and hire top technical talent.

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President Biden believes that investing in America, growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up, lowering costs for families, and reforming our tax code to reward work and not wealth are economic and fiscal imperatives. Strong and shared growth that benefits all Americans isn’t just good for working families and the economy; it will also lead to better fiscal outcomes. At the same time, President Biden believes that long-term investments in our Nation and its people should be paid for. And his Budgets have consistently paid for all of his investments and improved the Nation’s fiscal outlook.

The President took office after his predecessor signed into law a reckless and unpaid for tax cut that was skewed to the wealthy and large corporations, adding nearly $2 trillion to the deficit. Compared to when the President took office, the deficit is over $1 trillion lower, thanks in large part to a strong economic recovery and a historic vaccination program that allowed the responsible wind-down of emergency measures. In addition, the President has enacted another roughly $1 trillion in savings over the next decade through the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and through the Inflation Reduction Act provisions that empower Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, cap insulin at $35 per month for seniors and people with disabilities, and make the wealthy and large corporations pay more of their fair share.

President Biden will fight to stop Republican plans to add trillions to the deficit with tax cuts skewed to big corporations and the wealthy—doubling down on their failed trickle-down tax cuts that already increased the nation’s debt by trillions of dollars. Republicans have proposed making all of President Trump’s tax cuts permanent, while refusing to pay for them by increasing taxes on big corporations or the wealthy. Instead, they would rather add trillions to the national debt than take back even one dollar of the $150 billion annual rate cut corporations received under President Trump. Their plan would add more than $3 trillion to deficits over 10 years, while providing tax cuts worth $175,000 per year to the top 0.1 percent of Americans that have incomes over $4.5 million.

In contrast to Republicans’ plans to increase the deficit, the President’s Budget improves the fiscal outlook by reducing the deficit by roughly $3 trillion over the next 10 years by making the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share, closing tax loopholes, cutting wasteful spending on Big Pharma, Big Oil, and other special interests, and following the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The President’s Budget:

Improves the Nation’s Fiscal Outlook

The President’s Budget improves the Nation’s fiscal outlook and reduces long-term fiscal risks by reducing the deficit, stabilizing deficits and debt as a share of the economy over the long-run, and keeping the economic burden of debt within historical norms. Specifically, the Budget reduces the deficit by around $3 trillion over the next decade, compared to deficits without the President’s policies. The deficit reduction in the Budget increases over time, with over $500 billion of deficit reduction in 2034.

The Budget also reduces the deficit, as a share of the economy, from current levels. Under the Budget policies, the deficit would decline over the next several years, stabilizing below five percent of the economy throughout the remainder of the 10-year window. And the Budget stabilizes debt as a share of the economy over the long-run as well.

Finally, under the President’s Budget, the economic burden of debt would remain in line with historical norms over the next decade. Real net interest as a share of the economy directly measures the cost of servicing the debt: resources that must go towards paying off old debt rather than investing in the future or providing services to Americans now. The Budget forecast takes into account recent increases in interest rates and projects future interest rates in line with private-sector forecasters. Nonetheless, the Budget keeps real net interest payments as a share of the economy at or below the average for the last several decades, around 1 percent of GDP, and well below the 2 percent level of the 1990s.

Reduces the Deficit by Making the Tax System Fairer and Ending Special Interest Giveaways

The President believes that the best way to reduce the deficit is to reform our tax code to reward work and not wealth, ensure that the largest corporations pay their fair share, and end giveaways to special interests. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act he signed into law cracked down on wealthy tax cheats and took critical steps forward in ensuring that large corporations pay their fair share, including a 15% minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations and a surcharge on large, publicly-traded corporations that buy back their own stock.

The Budget builds on this progress and reflects the President’s ironclad belief that the wealthy and big corporations should pay their fair share—and that they shouldn’t pay lower tax rates than teachers or firefighters.

To date, Republicans in Congress have put forward a much different approach, calling for more than $3 trillion in tax giveaways skewed to the rich and large corporations and handouts to special interests. The budget proposed by the Republican Study Committee (RSC), representing nearly 80 percent of House Republicans, shows how they would pay for those tax cuts: by slashing Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and other programs that drive economic growth and that seniors, people with disabilities, and families count on. The RSC budget would raise the Social Security retirement age, restrict eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance, slash disability benefits for low-income adults and children with disabilities, and increase healthcare costs for millions of seniors. It also makes drastic cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which could result in tens of millions of children and families losing their health insurance.

Instead of making reckless cuts to programs that millions of Americans count on, the President’s Budget takes the following steps to reduce the deficit. The President’s Budget:

Makes the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share

Requires Billionaires to Pay at Least 25 Percent of Income in Taxes. Billionaires make their money in ways that are often taxed at lower rates than ordinary wage income, or sometimes not taxed at all, thanks to giant loopholes and tax preferences that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest taxpayers. As a result, many of these wealthy Americans are able pay an average income tax rate of just 8 percent on their full incomes — a lower rate than many firefighters or teachers. To finally address this glaring inequity, the President’s Budget includes a 25 percent minimum tax on the wealthiest 0.01 percent, those with wealth of more than $100 million.

Requires Wealthy People to Pay their Fair Share Toward Medicare to Extend Medicare Solvency Indefinitely. The President’s Budget extends the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund indefinitely by modestly increasing the Medicare tax rate on incomes above $400,000, closing loopholes in existing Medicare taxes, and directing revenue from the Net Investment Income Tax into the HI trust fund as was originally intended, along with savings from Medicare prescription drug reforms. Current law lets certain wealthy business owners avoid Medicare taxes on some of the profits they get from passthrough businesses. The President’s Budget closes this loophole and raises Medicare tax rates on earned and unearned income from 3.8 percent to 5 percent for those with incomes over $400,000.

Repeals Trump Tax Cuts for the Wealthy and Reforms Capital Gains Tax to Ensure the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share. The 2017 tax law lowered tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, delivering an average total tax cut of more than $50,000 for the top 1% and more than $190,000 for the top 0.1% in 2018. The Budget repeals tax cuts for the highest-income Americans, restoring the top tax rate of 39.6 percent for those making more than $400,000 a year. It also proposes taxing capital gains at the same rate as wage income for those with more than $1 million in income, closing the capital gains loophole that allows the wealthy to avoid ever paying tax on their appreciated investments, and finally closing the carried interest loophole that allows some wealthy investment fund managers to pay tax at lower rates than their secretaries.

Ensures That the IRS Can Continue to Collect Taxes Owed by Wealthy Tax Cheats. The Inflation Reduction Act addressed long-standing IRS funding deficiencies by providing stable, multi-year funding to improve tax compliance by finally cracking down on high-income individuals and corporations who too often avoided paying their lawfully owed taxes, and to improve service for the millions of Americans that do pay their taxes. Already, the IRS is using these resources to crack down on tax evasion by the wealthy and big businesses. It has collected more than $500 million in unpaid taxes from fewer than 2,000 delinquent millionaires, is recouping taxes from thousands of millionaires who did not fulfill their basic civic duty by filing a tax return, and is cracking down on high-end tax evasion like deducting personal use of corporate jets as a business expense. At the same time, it is improving customer service and modernizing IT infrastructure. The President’s Budget would restore the full Inflation Reduction Act investment and provide new funding over the long-term to continue cutting the deficit by making sure that wealthy Americans and big corporations pay the taxes they owe through tax compliance initiatives and to continue improving service for taxpayers who are just trying to pay what they owe.

Makes Large Corporations Pay Their Fair Share

Raises Tax Rates for Large Corporations. Corporations received an enormous tax break in 2017. While their profits soared, their investment in their workers and the economy did not. Their shareholders and top executives reaped the benefits, without the promised trickle down to workers, consumers, or communities. The President’s Budget would set the corporate tax rate at 28 percent, still well below the 35 percent rate that prevailed prior to the 2017 tax law. In addition, the Budget would raise the Inflation Reduction Act’s corporate minimum tax rate on billion-dollar corporations that the President signed into law from 15 percent to 21 percent, ensuring the biggest corporations pay more of their fair share. These policies are complemented by other proposals to incentivize job creation and investment in the United States to help ensure broadly shared prosperity.

Cracks Down on Tax Avoidance by Large Multinationals, including Big Pharma. For decades, countries have competed for multinational business by slashing tax rates, at the expense of having adequate revenues to finance core services. Thanks in part to the Administration’s leadership, more than 130 nations signed on to a global tax framework to finally address this race to the bottom in 2021. Many of our international partners, including many of the world’s largest economies, have implemented or will soon implement this transformational agreement. The President’s Budget proposes to do the same by reforming the international tax system to reduce the incentives to book profits in low-tax jurisdictions, stopping corporate inversions to tax havens, and raising the tax rate on U.S. multinationals’ foreign earnings from 10.5 percent to 21 percent. These reforms would ensure that profitable multinational corporations, including Big Pharma, pay their fair share.

Denies Corporate Tax Breaks for Million Dollar Executive Compensation. Executive pay has skyrocketed in recent decades, with CEO pay averaging more than 300 times that of a typical worker in 2022. The 2017 tax law’s corporate tax cuts only made this problem worse, producing massive boosts to executive compensation while doing nothing for low- and middle-income workers. While corporations can choose to give huge pay packages to their executives, President Biden believes that they don’t deserve a tax break when they do. His Budget proposes new policy to deny deductions for all compensation over $1 million paid to any employee of a C corporation, which would discourage companies from giving their executives massive pay packages and help level the playing field across C corporations.

Ends Wasteful Spending to Special Interests

Negotiates Lower Drug Prices and Expands Access to Prescription Drugs. Thanks to action taken by this Administration, millions of seniors and people with disabilities are saving money on their drug costs – including $35 insulin, free vaccines, and out-of-pocket costs capped at about $3,500 starting in 2024. Medicare is also negotiating lower drug prices for the first time ever, starting with ten of the costliest, most widely used drugs used to treat blood clots, cancers, arthritis, diabetes, and more. The Budget builds on this success by significantly increasing the pace of negotiation, bringing more drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch, expanding the Inflation Reduction Act’s inflation rebates and $2,000 out-of-pocket prescription drug cost cap beyond Medicare and into the commercial market, and by taking other steps to build on the Inflation Reduction Act drug provisions. In addition, the Budget extends the $35 cost-sharing cap for a month’s supply of a covered insulin product to the commercial market. For Medicaid, the Budget includes proposals to ensure Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are prudent purchasers of prescription drugs, such as authorizing HHS to negotiate supplemental drug rebates on behalf of interested States in order to pool purchasing power. The Budget also limits Medicare Part D cost-sharing for high-value generic drugs, such as those used to treat hypertension and high-blood pressure, to no more than $2 for Medicare beneficiaries. These reforms will not only cut costs for the Federal government by $200 billion; they will also save billions of dollars for seniors and people with disabilities.

Eliminates Tax Subsidies for Oil and Gas. The President is committed to ending tens of billions of dollars of federal tax subsidies for oil and gas companies. Even as they benefit from billions of dollars in special tax breaks, oil companies have failed to invest in production. For the last two years, they have realized record profits, but instead of lowering prices for consumers or investing these funds, they have undertaken record stock buybacks, mergers, and acquisitions that benefited executives and wealthy shareholders. The Budget eliminates special tax treatment for oil and gas company investments, as well as other fossil fuel tax preferences.

Lowers Medicaid Spending by Addressing Excessive Payments to Medicaid Managed Care Organizations. The Budget will lower Medicaid costs by over $10 billion by requiring that insurance companies pay Medicaid back when they charge it far more than they actually spend on patient care. Currently, only about half of states require private insurance companies that provide Medicaid coverage to pay money back when they realize outsize profits. Without this requirement, insurance companies are keeping  millions of dollars each year in excessive payments. The Budget would apply this requirement nationwide, consistent with similar requirements in Medicare Advantage and Affordable Care Act plans. With it, insurance companies will no longer be able to charge for unnecessary administrative expenses or sacrifice quality patient care to increase their profit margins, and if they charge too much, they will have to pay it back to the Medicaid program rather than keeping the profits and, in some cases, making larger payments to shareholders.

Eliminates Tax Subsidies for Real Estate. The Budget closes the “like-kind exchange” loophole, a special tax subsidy for real estate. This loophole lets real estate investors – but not investors in any other asset – put off paying tax on profits from deals indefinitely as long as they keep investing in real estate. This amounts to an indefinite interest free loan from the government. Real estate is the only asset that gets this sweetheart deal.

Eliminates Tax Subsidies for Cryptocurrency Transactions. The Budget eliminates a special tax subsidy for crypto currency and certain other transactions. Right now, crypto investors aren’t subject to the same rules of the road that investors in stocks or other securities have to follow, allowing them to report excessive losses. For example, a crypto investor – unlike an investor in stocks or bonds – can sell a cryptocurrency at a loss, take a substantial tax loss to reduce their tax burden, and then buy back that same cryptocurrency the very next day. The Budget eliminates this tax subsidy for crypto currencies by modernizing the tax code’s anti-abuse rules to apply to crypto assets just like they apply to stocks and other securities.

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From his first day in office, President Biden has called on Congress to act to address our broken immigration system. Over the past three years, while waiting for Congress to act, the Administration has taken important steps to secure our border. The President has secured more resources for border security than any President before him, and in October he requested even more funding to secure the border, build capacity to enforce immigration law, and counter illicit fentanyl. The Administration has deployed the most agents and officers ever to address the situation at the southwest border, seized record levels of illicit fentanyl at our ports of entry, and brought together world leaders on a framework to deal with changing migration patterns that are impacting the entire Western Hemisphere.

Just recently, the President led the way on achieving a bipartisan agreement for the toughest, fairest border reform legislation in decades. The President and his team reached a historic bipartisan agreement with Senate Democrats and Republicans on border policy reforms and funding in February that would provide a fairer and more efficient process for asylum claims. The agreement also provides for emergency authority for the President to shut down the border when the system is overwhelmed, additional immigrant visas for families and workers, expedited work permits for those already here, and significant funding for more immigration judges, asylum officers, and Border Patrol agents and officers to secure the border and combat illicit fentanyl. Congressional Republicans should stop stonewalling this historic deal and work to send the legislation to the President’s desk.

The President’s Budget builds on these measures by ensuring adequate base resources for border enforcement, while continuing to reiterate the need for Congress to pass legislation and provide meaningful reforms and supplemental funding to secure the border. The Budget includes a $1.9 billion (7 percent) base budget increase for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as funds to expand and improve the immigration courts, address the root causes of migration, and combat illicit fentanyl trafficking. The President’s FY25 Budget:

Reiterates the Administration’s Request for Immediate Funding to Secure the Border, Build Capacity to Enforce Immigration Law, and Counter Illicit Fentanyl. In October 2023, the Administration transmitted an emergency supplemental request to Congress for the southwest border and migration issues totaling $13.6 billion. The Budget includes, and therefore reiterates the need for, the unmet needs from the October supplemental request. In addition to urgent requirements, the request includes investments to build longer-term capacity in the areas of border security, immigration enforcement, and countering illicit fentanyl, totaling $4.3 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). This amount includes $405 million to hire 1,300 additional Border Patrol Agents to secure the border, $239 million to hire 1,000 additional CBP Officers to stop illicit fentanyl and other contraband from entering the U.S., $755 million to hire an additional 1,600 Asylum Officers and support staff to facilitate timely immigration dispositions, $100 million for Homeland Security Investigations to investigate and disrupt transnational criminal organizations and drug traffickers, $1.3 billion for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to fund the hiring of 375 new immigration judge teams to help reduce the immigration case backlog, and $849 million for cutting-edge detection technology at ports of entry. Taken together, these long-term capacity building investments equip the Nation’s border security and immigration system to more effectively respond to challenges present along the border. In addition, the Administration appreciates the Senate’s bipartisan border legislation that would make additional investments in DHS and provide authorities to bolster the Department’s efforts to secure and manage the border.

Continues to Invest in Critical Capabilities Needed for Border and Immigration Enforcement.  Strengthening border security and providing safe, lawful pathways for migration remain top priorities for the Administration. The Budget builds on the Administration’s October supplemental request to include an additional $25.9 billion for CBP and ICE, an increase of $1.9 billion over the 2023 enacted level when controlling for border management amounts. The Budget includes funds for CBP to hire an additional 350 Border Patrol Agents and 310 processing coordinators, $127 million for border security technology between ports of entry, and $86 million in air and maritime operational support that is central to efforts to secure the border. The Budget also includes funds to support 34,000 ICE immigration detention beds; $225 million to address increased transportation and removal costs; and $34 million to combat child exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking.

Enables Access to Resources to Scale Border Enforcement Capacity for Conditions on the Southwest Border. Given the uncertainty surrounding border conditions in any given year, the Budget proposes a $4.7 billion contingency fund to aid the Department and its components when responding to migration surges along the Southwest border. Modeled on a contingency fund provided for unaccompanied children, each fiscal year, the fund would receive appropriations incrementally and above the base appropriation as Southwest border encounters reach pre-identified levels. DHS could use these funds for surge-related functions only, and would transfer funds to CBP, ICE, and FEMA accounts when appropriate conditions are met.

Supports America’s Promise to Resettle Refugees and Care for Unaccompanied Children. The Budget builds on the Administration’s October supplemental request and provides an additional $9.3 billion for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to help rebuild the Nation’s refugee resettlement infrastructure and support the resettling of up to 125,000 refugees in 2025. The Budget also helps ensure that unaccompanied immigrant children receive appropriate support and services while they are in ORR’s care and are unified with relatives and sponsors as safely and quickly as possible. This funding would allow ORR to continue the programmatic improvements the Administration has made, including expanding access to counsel to help children navigate complex immigration court proceedings and enhancing case management and post-release services. In addition, the Budget includes an emergency contingency fund that would provide additional resources, beyond the $9.3 billion, when there are unanticipated increases in the number of unaccompanied children.

Improves Immigration Courts. The Budget builds on the Administration’s October supplemental request and invests $981 million, an increase of $121 million above the 2023 enacted level, in the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to enhance America’s immigration courts and help address the backlog of over 2.4 million currently pending cases. This funding supports 25 new immigration judge teams, which includes the support personnel necessary to ensure efficient case processing. The Budget also invests $30 million for EOIR to partner to with the U.S. Digital Service to develop and implement digital court operations strategies that will maximize each judge’s adjudicatory capacity and help reduce the case backlog.

Addresses the Root Causes of Migration. The Budget provides approximately $1 billion for Central American programming to meet the President’s commitment to invest $4 billion in Central America over four years to address the root causes of migration. The Budget also supports hemispheric programs to advance economic prosperity and regional security through key initiatives such as the America’s Partnership for Economic Prosperity, including $75 million for a capital increase to the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB Invest) to advance clean energy projects, modernize agriculture, strengthen transportation systems, and expand access to financing. The Budget further reserves $35 million in additional targeted funding for regional migration management, including $25 million for the IDB’s Migration Grant Facility to support integration efforts for migrants and host communities and address the root causes of irregular migration.

Combats Narcotics Trafficking Networks and Secures the Border and Our Communities. The Budget allocates $6.6 billion for DHS to invest in its counternarcotics efforts, including $4.5 billion for drug-related resources associated with border security, immigration enforcement, and countering illicit fentanyl. Additionally, the Administration remains committed to providing law enforcement with the resources and necessary personnel to defend our borders from illicit drug trade by reiterating the October 2023 emergency supplemental request for an additional $849 million for cutting edge drug detection technology at the border, $239 million for 1,000 additional CBP officers, $100 million to expand Homeland Security Investigations’ capacity for counter-fentanyl investigations and enforcement, and $14 million for additional research and development of narcotics detection and forensics, for a total supplemental request for DHS of $1.2 billion. These resources are critical to the fight against illicit opioids.

The Budget also provides $2.3 billion to the Department of Justice to combat opioid trafficking and reduce the supply and demand of deadly illicit fentanyl in American communities, including $1.2 billion for the Drug Enforcement Administration, $367 million for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, and $61 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This also includes an additional $18 million in Counter-Fentanyl Threat Targeting Teams at the DEA to enhance America’s fight against the transnational criminal networks pushing deadly illicit fentanyl. These interdisciplinary teams of special agents, intelligence analysts, and data experts will map criminal organizations and build cases that lead to the dismantlement of entire drug trafficking networks and the deprivation of hundreds of millions of dollars to the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. This also includes $494 million in grants supporting efforts to address opioid use and trafficking, including $190 million for the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program, $95 million to support Drug Courts, and $51 million for anti-drug task forces.The Budget further invests $290 million in the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program to provide state and local law enforcement with resources to combat the most dangerous illicit drug threats in their communities. The Budget further includes $1.1 billion for the Department of Defense to support security cooperation efforts with partner nations; counterdrug operations, detection and monitoring efforts in support of drug interdiction operations; and treatment, recovery, and education efforts.

Disrupts the International Synthetic Drug Trade. The Budget includes $169 million across State and USAID to counter illicit fentanyl and other synthetic drug production and trafficking, 58 percent above 2023 estimated levels. These resources would counter the worldwide flow of fentanyl and other synthetics that endanger public safety and health, and contribute to tens of thousands of drug-overdose deaths in the United States annually.

Combats Corruption and Increases Corporate Transparency. Treasury plays a leading role in monitoring and disrupting corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, the use of the financial system by malicious actors domestically and abroad, and combatting the trafficking of illicit substances such as fentanyl in American communities. The Budget provides $216 million for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, $26 million above the 2023 level, to support Beneficial Ownership Information reporting which will be required for existing covered companies beginning in 2025. This reporting will provide investigative tools making it harder for bad actors—including major narcotics traffickers—to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures.

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Since taking office, the President has fought to create opportunity and advance equity—not as a one-year project, but as part of a sustained commitment to make the promise of America real for every American, including communities of color, rural communities, women and girls, Tribal communities, LGBTQI+ individuals, people with disabilities, and communities impacted by persistent poverty.

Over the last three years, the Administration made significant progress advancing equity across the Federal government, including by reinvigorating Federal civil rights enforcements, increasing procurement opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses, prioritizing the advancement of gender equity and equality, expanding access to economic opportunities in underserved communities, expanding community engagement, increasing food security, advancing efforts to end homelessness, improving children’s education, robustly supporting Tribal sovereignty, and honoring the Nation’s sacred obligation to America’s veterans and servicemembers.

The President’s Budget builds on this progress by making historic investments to support the advancement of all Americans—especially in underserved communities—and combat racial and gender disparities across the Nation. The President’s Budget:

Addresses Inequity in Health Care

Expands Access to Quality, Affordable Health Care. The Budget allows states to extend continuous eligibility for children in the Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from 12 to 36 months and provide continuous eligibility for children from birth until they turn age 6. The Budget also prohibits enrollment fees and waiting periods in CHIP. The Budget also provides Medicaid-like coverage to individuals in States that have not adopted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act to expand coverage and advance health equity.

Advances Maternal Health and Health Equity. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, and rates are disproportionately high for Black and American Indian and Alaska Native women. The Budget includes $376 million to support maternal mortality initiatives across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Budget provides $172 million to the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for the Healthy Start Initiative, a program designed to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy and reduce disparities in rates of infant death and adverse perinatal outcomes. The Budget expands Medicaid maternal health support services during the pregnancy and postpartum period by incentivizing States to reimburse a broad range of providers including doulas, community health workers, peer support initiatives, and nurse home visiting programs. In addition, the Budget builds on the success of the more than 40 States, Washington D.C., and the U.S. British Virgin Islands, that extended Medicaid postpartum coverage by requiring all States to provide continuous Medicaid coverage for 12 months postpartum, eliminating gaps in health insurance at a critical time for all women. In addition, the Budget includes resources for HHS to launch a new initiative focused on maternal health and hypertension and directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a pilot to provide maternal health care kits for veteran mothers.

Promotes Mental and Behavioral Health Equity. The Budget proposes investments to expand access to mental health and substance use care, including for underserved communities. The Budget provides resources for behavioral health, including a nearly $200 million increase for the Substance use And Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to reduce suicide, improve women’s and children’s mental health, and support the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics that serve anyone who needs care, regardless of ability to pay. Further, the Budget provides $17.1 billion to the VA for mental health, which includes resources for treatment and healthcare costs, in addition to initiatives that improve suicide prevention and address post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for the Nation’s veterans.

Invests in the Treatment and Prevention of Infectious Diseases. A critical component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to addressing health equity is addressing the disproportionate impact of infectious diseases, including HIV, on racial and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ communities. The Budget invests in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, including Hepatitis C, HIV, and vaccine-preventable diseases. The Budget proposes a national program to significantly expand screening, testing, treatment, prevention, and monitoring of Hepatitis C infections in the United States, with a specific focus on populations with high infection levels. The Budget also includes proposals to expand access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to end the HIV epidemic and to vaccines for adults and children.

Closes Research Gaps in Women’s Health. The President and the First Lady launched the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, recognizing that women have been understudied and underrepresented in health research for far too long. The Initiative is working across government to better integrate women’s health within the Federal research portfolio and catalyze significant private and philanthropic commitments to increase funding for women’s health research. The Administration proposes to transform the way the government funds women’s health research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including by creating a new nationwide network of centers of excellence and innovation in women’s health—and the Budget would double current funding for the Office of Research on Women’s Health at NIH.

Expands Housing Access, Builds Thriving Communities

Increases Access to Safe and Affordable Housing. The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) currently provides 2.3 million low-income families with rental assistance to obtain housing in the private market. The Budget includes $32.8 billion, and assumes Public Housing Agencies will draw from HCV program reserves to maintain services for all currently assisted families. The Budget also expands assistance to an additional 20,000 households, particularly those who are experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence. Additionally, the Budget provides up to $100 million through HUD for Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing), a competitive program that rewards State, local, and regional jurisdictions that make progress in removing barriers to affordable housing developments, such as restrictive zoning. Finally, the Budget provides $18 million for the Tribal Housing program at the Department of the Interior (DOI) to support critical housing needs in Tribal communities.

Bolsters Efforts to End Homelessness. The Budget provides more than $4 billion, an increase of $427 million over 2023 levels, for HUD Homeless Assistance Grants. This funding level enables HUD to continue supporting approximately 1.2 million people experiencing homelessness each year and includes $134 million to expand assistance to 25,000 additional households, specifically homeless youth and survivors of domestic violence. The Budget also provides $8 billion for competitive grants to rapidly expand temporary and permanent housing strategies for people experiences or at risk of homelessness. It also provides $505 million for Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program, serving a population with a disproportionately high rate of homelessness and providing a critical link to services.  In addition, the Administration plans to use approximately $100 million in program recaptures to fund coordinated interventions to support nearly 11,000 additional homeless individuals and families. These new resources support the Administration’s commitment to the goals laid out in the All In: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness and build on efforts that have expanded assistance to roughly 140,000 additional households experiencing homelessness since the President took office.

Prevents and Redresses Housing Discrimination. The Budget provides $86 million to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support State and local fair housing enforcement organizations and to further education, outreach, and training on rights and responsibilities under Federal fair housing laws. This investment continues the Administration’s efforts to fight discrimination in housing and real estate related transactions. The Budget also preserves robust funding for HUD staffing and technical assistance to affirmatively further fair housing and improve access to affordable housing.

Prevents Evictions. The Administration stood up a historic national eviction prevention infrastructure during the pandemic, helping keep eviction filings 20% below historical averages in 2021. The Budget provides $3 billion in mandatory funding for competitive grants to promote and solidify State and local efforts to reform eviction policies by providing access to legal counsel, emergency rental assistance, and other forms of rent relief. The Budget also includes $10 million for HUD’s Eviction Protection Grant program, which provides legal assistance at no cost to low-income renters at risk of or subject to eviction.

Increases National and Global Food Security. The Budget includes $7.7 billion to support nearly seven million individuals expected to participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The Budget also includes funding to increase food security among children in low-income households during the summer through the new Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program and the rural non-congregate Summer Food Service Program. In addition, the Budget provides $1.1 billion, an increase of $83 million above the 2023 enacted level, for senior nutrition programs that work to reduce food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition among older Americans. Lastly, the Budget provides more than $1 billion to support the President’s pledge to alleviate global food insecurity, including $100 million for the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) initiative to foster more resilient food systems and nutritious food crops in underserved regions.

Helps Underserved Communities Navigate Infrastructure Funding. The Budget includes $25 million for the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Thriving Communities Program, which provides planning, technical assistance, and capacity building support to underserved and under-resourced communities, enabling them to successfully compete for Federal funding and deliver transformative infrastructure projects that support community-driven economic development, health, environment, mobility, and access goals.

Advances Education, Access to Opportunity

Invests in High-Poverty Schools. To help ensure that every student receives a high-quality education, the Budget includes $8 billion in mandatory funding to provide Academic Acceleration and Achievement Grants to close opportunity and achievement gaps and speed the pace of learning recovery. These grants to school districts would support evidence-based strategies to increase school attendance, provide high-quality tutoring, and expand learning time, including both in the summer and in extended day or afterschool programs. The Budget also provides $18.6 billion for Title I, which would continue historic progress for a program that has increased by over $2 billion since the start of the Administration. Title I delivers critical funding to 90 percent of school districts across the Nation, helping them to provide students in low-income communities the academic opportunities and support they need to succeed. This funding works to narrow the chronic funding gaps between high-poverty schools—which disproportionately serve students of color—and their wealthier counterparts. In addition, the Budget includes $200 million, to support Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) that provide comprehensive academic, social, and health services for students, students’ family members, and community members that will result in improved educational outcomes for children.

Bolsters Support for Children with Disabilities. Every child with a disability should have access to the high-quality early intervention, special education services, and personnel needed to thrive in school and graduate ready for college or a career. The Budget invests over $14 billion, $1.5 billion higher than when the President took office, in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants through the Department of Education (ED) to support special education and related services for more than seven million students with disabilities in grades Pre-K through 12. The Budget also invests $545 million in IDEA Grants for Infants and Families to support early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

Builds a Strong Foundation for Families with Universal Pre-K and Head Start. The Budget funds voluntary, universal, free preschool for all four million of the Nation’s four-year-olds and charts a path to expand preschool to three-year-olds. High-quality preschool would be offered in the setting of the parent’s choice—from public schools to child care providers to Head Start. In addition, the Budget increases Head Start funding by $544 million to support the Administration’s goal to reach pay parity between Head Start staff and public elementary school teachers with similar qualifications over time. Together these proposals would support healthy child development, help children enter kindergarten ready to learn, and support families by reducing their costs prior to school entry and allowing parents to work.

Improves Postsecondary Access and Success and Increases Equitable Funding for Low-Resourced Institutions. The Budget proposes to increase the discretionary maximum Pell Grant by $100—helping more than seven million students pay for college, building on successful bipartisan efforts to increase the maximum Pell Grant award, and maintaining a path to double the maximum award by 2029. In addition, the Budget expands free community college across the Nation through a new Federal-State partnership and provides two years of subsidized tuition for students from families earning less than $125,000 enrolled in a four-year Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Tribally Controlled College and University (TCCU), or Minority-Serving Institution (MSI). The Budget also increases institutional capacity at HCBUs, TCCUs, MSIs—including HSIs—and under-resourced institutions, including community colleges and provides $100 million to expand research infrastructure at four-year HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs. The Budget also invests $100 million to increase completion and retention rates among underserved students.

Expands Pathways for Economic Mobility

Increases Workforce Training and Career-Connected Learning that Provide Pathways to Good Jobs. The Budget proposes investments to help ensure all students and workers—including women, workers of color, and workers in rural areas—have the skills they need for the good jobs being created by the President’s historic legislative accomplishments. The Budget doubles funding for Career and Technical Education National Programs to better connect high schools to employers and community colleges through dual enrollment, work-based learning, and career advising. Further, the Budget proposes a new $8 billion Career Training Fund that would provide approximately 750,000 workers with training and wrap-around supports to ensure that workers from all backgrounds have access to high-quality training that leads to good jobs. The Budget also provides $50 million for the Sectoral Employment through Career Training for Occupational Readiness program, which supports the development and expansion of public-private partnerships to equitably deliver high-quality training in growing industries, and invests $70 million to help community colleges partner with industry to develop and expand high-quality training programs in communities across the Nation.

Supports Minority-Owned Business to Narrow Racial Wealth Gaps. The Budget increases the capacity of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) by providing $80 million to bolster services provided to minority-owned, including women of color-owned, enterprises by expanding the Business Center program, funding Rural Business Centers, and supporting innovative initiatives to foster economic resiliency.

Helps Historically Marginalized Communities Catalyze Economic Development. The Budget builds on a more than 40 percent increase for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration and proposes $41 million for the Good Jobs Challenge to make equity-driven investments in high-quality, locally led workforce systems that provide good job opportunities for American workers and promote economic mobility and security. Further, the Budget proposes $41 million for the Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program, which provides flexible investments that reduce prime-age (25-54 years) employment gaps in communities experiencing significant disinvestment and neglect. The Budget also provides $5 million for the Assistance to Indigenous Communities program, with a focus on increasing outreach and support for Indigenous communities, particularly through technical assistance.

Promotes Access to Credit. The Budget provides $325 million for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, a 20 percent increase since the President took office. This provides underserved and often low-income communities access to credit, capital, and financial support to grow businesses, increase affordable housing, and reinforce healthy neighborhood development. Research continually demonstrates that low-income communities, communities of color, and women have a harder time accessing capital from traditional financial institutions overall. Nearly 70% of CDFI customers are low-income persons, 59% are racial minorities, and 52% are women. To better address the shortage of long-term affordable credit for development projects in disadvantaged communities, the Budget also includes a $10 million subsidy for the CDFI Fund’s Bond Guarantee Program. 

Supports Economic Opportunity in Rural and Tribal Communities. The Budget provides resources for the Rural Partners Network (RPN), an all-of-government program led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that partners with rural and Tribal communities to access resources and funding to create and preserve good jobs, build infrastructure, and support long-term economic stability on their own terms.

Delivers Environmental Justice

Advances Equity and Environmental Justice. The Administration continues to prioritize efforts to deliver environmental justice in communities across the United States, such as by meeting the President’s Justice40 commitment to ensure at least 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments – including in climate and clean energy – flow to disadvantaged communities, including rural, urban, and Tribal communities. A total of 518 programs across 19 Federal agencies are being reimagined and transformed through the Justice40 Initiative to maximize benefits to disadvantaged communities such as cleaner air, good-paying jobs, and affordable clean energy. The Budget bolsters these efforts by investing nearly $1.5 billion through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support creating high-quality jobs, cleaning up pollution, and securing environmental justice for communities that bear the brunt of toxic pollution and impacts of climate change, including increased health risks.

Accelerates the Replacement of All Lead Pipes and Upgrades the Nation’s Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure. The Budget includes $101 million to remediate lead contamination in water, nearly doubling previous levels of funding. The Budget also provides EPA with $2.6 billion for the water infrastructure State Revolving Funds that upgrade drinking water and wastewater infrastructure nationwide, with a focus on decreasing health disparities in disadvantaged and rural communities that have historically been overlooked.

Reduces Health and Environmental Hazards for At-Risk Communities. The Budget provides $661 million for EPA’s Superfund program to continue cleaning up some of the Nation’s most contaminated land and respond to environmental emergencies and natural disasters. This is in addition to an estimated $2.2 billion in Superfund tax revenue estimated to be available in FY 2025 by the Department of the Treasury. Further, the Budget includes investments for the Department of Energy (DOE) to address legacy waste and contamination in communities used during the Manhattan Project and the Cold War for nuclear weapons production, and resources for grants to reduce emissions in the most polluted areas of the country. The Budget continues to build on core capacity under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and modernize Information Technology and data software for the Chemical Risk Review and Reduction program with an investment of $132 million.

Supports Tribal Conservation Through Co-Stewardship of Public Lands and Waters. The Administration is committed to improving Federal stewardship of public lands, waters, and wildlife by strengthening the role of Tribal governments in Federal land management. The Budget provides resources to facilitate and support agreements with Tribes to collaborate in the co-stewardship of Federal lands and water across the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service. The Budget also proposes a new $25 million grant to facilitate direct implementation of EPA programs in Indian Country.

Bolsters Climate Resilience. Building on the National Climate Resilience Framework, the Budget makes significant investments in climate adaptation and resilience across the Federal government to address the increasing severity of flood, wildfire, drought, and other extreme weather events fueled by climate change. This includes expanding conservation and ecosystem management, strengthening America’s natural disaster response capabilities, increasing the resilience of rural housing to the impacts of climate change, and ensuring the resilience of our nation’s defense to climate change. The Budget provides $4.1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help vulnerable families access home energy and weatherization assistance, and proposes to allow States the option to use a portion of their LIHEAP funds to provide water bill assistance to low-income households. The Budget also includes specific investments to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat in low-income and disadvantaged communities, including $105 million for DOE to plan, design and demonstrate community-scale energy solutions.

Strengthens Working Families and the Economy by Investing in Care Infrastructure

Advances Equitable Access to Home and Community-Based Care. The President recognizes thatmore than three-quarters of home and community-based care service providers are not accepting new clients, leaving hundreds of thousands of older Americans and Americans with disabilities on waiting lists for home and community-based services or struggling to afford the care they need.The Administration invested $25 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to help states strengthen their Medicaid home and community-based care programs, including over $9 billion in spending to boost wages for home care workers as well as improve overall job quality.The President’s Budget invests $150 billion over 10 years to improve and expand Medicaid home and community-based services, which would allow older Americans and individuals with disabilities to remain in their homes and stay active in their communities as well as improve the quality of jobs for home care workers.

Provides National, Comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave. The vast majority of America’s workers do not have access to employer-provided paid family leave, including 73 percent of private sector workers. Among the lowest-paid workers, who are disproportionately women and workers of color, 94 percent lack access to paid family leave through their employers. The Budget proposes to establish a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to ensure that all workers can take the time they need to bond with a new child; care for a seriously ill loved one; heal from their own serious illness; address circumstances arising from a loved one’s military deployment; find safety from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or grieve the death of a loved one. The Budget also provides funding to the Department of Labor (DOL) for grants and technical assistance to support the development, improvement, and implementation of paid family and medical leave programs in States and localities.

Advances Equity in the Child Welfare System. Improving the child welfare system will benefit all Americans, including the Black and Native American families who are overrepresented in, and too often failed by, the current system. The Budget includes $4.9 billion over ten years for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to expand access to evidence-based and culturally appropriate foster care prevention services while also improving child and family well-being in the child welfare system. The Budget also doubles flexible funding through the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. Together, these reforms are aimed at achieving better outcomes for children, enabling children to remain safely with their families, and ensuring permanency for children in foster care. In addition, the Budget provides States with resources to reduce the number of children entering foster care, decrease the over-representation of children of color in the system, ensure that more children in foster care are placed with family members or other kin caregivers and not in group homes, and increase supports to youth aging out of foster care. At DOI, the Budget provides $26 million, a nearly 50 percent increase over 2023 enacted levels, for implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Lowers Child Care Costs for Hard-Working Families. The President is committed to providing relief to hard-working families. His Budget creates a historic new program under which working families with incomes up to $200,000 per year would be guaranteed affordable, high-quality child care from birth until kindergarten, with most families paying no more than $10 a day, and the lowest-income families paying nothing—providing a lifeline to the parents of more than 16 million children. The Budget also includes $8.5 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) which will help states expand child care assistance to serve over 2 million low-income children.

Invests in Caregiving for Military Families and Veterans. Caregivers play an important role in supporting the health and wellness of servicemembers, veterans, and their families. The Budget invests nearly $3 billion in stipend payments and support services to help empower family caregivers of eligible veterans. The Budget also includes resources for the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Exceptional Family Member Program, which provides a comprehensive, coordinated, multi-agency approach for community support, housing, medical, educational, and personnel services to military families with disabilities.

Makes Communities Safer, Invests in Civil Rights

Invests in Federal Law Enforcement, Public Safety, Community Violence Interventions, and Prevention to Combat Gun Violence and Other Violent Crime. The Budget makes robust investments to bolster Federal law enforcement capacity and reduce gun violence. The Budget includes $17.7 billion for Department of Justice (DOJ) law enforcement, including a total of nearly $2 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to increase regulation of the firearms industry, an increase of over 30 percent since the start of the Administration, and $100 million for DOJ community violence intervention and prevention initiatives. And the Budget provides $51 million to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to support the continued implementation of enhanced background checks required by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The Budget also includes $100 million for CDC to fund evidence-informed, community-based programs that reduce gun violence. Lastly, the Budget proposes $60 million for CDC and the NIH to fund research into the causes of and solutions for gun violence. In addition to these amounts, the Budget requests $1.5 billion over 10 years in mandatory funding at both DOJ and CDC to supplement funding for community violence intervention programs.

Reinvigorates Federal Civil Rights Enforcement. In order to address longstanding inequities and strengthen civil rights protections, the Budget invests $201 million in the DOJ Civil Rights Division. These resources would continue supporting vigorous prosecution of hate crimes, enforcement of voting rights laws, and ending gender-based violence and discrimination. Additionally, the Budget proposes a new $10 million DOJ grant program supporting the modernization of HIV criminal statutes.

Promotes Equity Across Government Services

Improves Language Access. The Budget includes funding for multiple agencies, including DOL, USDA, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and DOE to strengthen language access services to promote meaningful access to government programs, services, and benefits for individuals with limited English proficiency.

Enables Policymakers to Understand the Needs of the American People and Economy. The Budget provides resources at the Census Bureau to support a Puerto Rico economic statistics program and to bolster the Survey of Income and Program Participation, which is a leading source of information on the economic wellbeing of Americans, including low income and historically disadvantaged populations.

Supports Public Participation and Community Engagement in Government Decision Making. The Administration is committed to ensuring that the voices of all Americans, including underserved communities, inform and shape the design and delivery of Federal programs, policies, and services. The Budget includes resources for multiple agencies, including DOE, DHS, SSA, HHS, and the VA, to strengthen their public participation and community engagement activities across the country, with a focus on hard-to-reach populations.

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The post FACT SHEET: The President’s Budget Creates Opportunity, Advances Equity appeared first on The White House.

The President and the Vice President believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. The Administration’s actions to protect and expand Americans’ access to quality, affordable healthcare have made a positive difference for Americans’ well-being and wallets. The Administration continues to build on, strengthen, and protect Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—and now more Americans have health insurance than under any other President.

Since taking office, the President has delivered the resources necessary to end the COVID emergency; built on the success of the ACA to further close the uninsured gap; reduced Americans’ healthcare premiums and prescription drug costs; finally allowed Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices and taken on Big Pharma; acted to protect millions of consumers from surprise medical bills and junk fees; made progress on bold new goals as part of the Biden Cancer Moonshot; released a national strategy to tackle the mental health crisis; and created new efforts dedicated to closing gaps in women’s health research and preventing, detecting, and treating devastating diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. The President signed into law the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which is helping millions of Americans save an average $800 per year on health insurance by extending the ACA enhanced premium tax credit. The historic legislation reduced the burden of high upfront out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors and people with disabilities with Medicare—including by capping the cost of a month’s supply of insulin at $35 per insulin prescription—made certain recommended vaccines free, and is requiring drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare if they raise prices faster than inflation.

But Congressional Republicans have a different vision. Despite this progress and the overwhelming popularity of these advancements, extreme Republicans in Congress have blocked efforts to lower health care costs, and they’re still trying to end the Affordable Care Act. If the extreme Republicans in Congress get their way, millions of families would face skyrocketing healthcare and prescriptions costs, and potentially lose their health care altogether. And in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn nearly 50 years of precedent in Roe v. Wade, Republican elected officials are advancing and enforcing dangerous, extreme abortion bans that eliminate women’s ability to make their own decisions about their health, force women to travel hundreds of miles for care, and deny access to vital, evidence-based medical care. And Congressional Republicans have proposed three national abortion bans that would limit access to reproductive health care in every state in the country.

The Administration recognizes that by investing in the health and well-being of the American people, we can create healthier, safer, and more productive communities. The Budget protects the progress this Administration has made while proposing additional investments to address the challenges that remain, including further expanding access to high-quality healthcare and lowering costs, responding to mental health needs, advancing health equity, honoring our sacred commitment to our veterans, and strengthening America’s public health infrastructure. The President’s Budget:

Expands Access to High-Quality Healthcare and Lowers Costs

Lowers Drug Prices and Expands Access to Prescription Drugs. Thanks to action taken by the Administration, millions of seniors and people with disabilities are saving money on their drug costs, and the Administration announced the first ten drugs for which prices will be negotiated as it continues implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Budget builds on this success by significantly increasing the pace of negotiation, bringing more drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch, expanding the Inflation Reduction Act’s inflation rebates and $2,000 out-of-pocket prescription drug cost cap beyond Medicare and into the commercial market, and by taking other steps to build on the Inflation Reduction Act drug provisions. In addition, the Budget extends the $35 cost-sharing cap for a month’s supply of a covered insulin product to the commercial market. The Budget also includes proposals to ensure Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are prudent purchasers of prescription drugs and limits Medicare Part D cost-sharing for high-value generic drugs, such as those used to treat hypertension and hyperlipidemia, to no more than $2 per month for Medicare beneficiaries. These reforms will not only cut costs for the Federal government by $200 billion; they will also save billions of dollars for seniors and people with disabilities.

Expands Access to Quality, Affordable Healthcare. With enrollment in Marketplace coverage at an all-time high, the Budget builds on the incredible success of the ACA by making permanent the expanded premium tax credits that the Inflation Reduction Act extended and providing Medicaid-like coverage to individuals in States that have not adopted Medicaid expansion, paired with financial incentives to ensure States maintain their existing expansions. For Medicaid and CHIP, the Budget allows States to extend the existing 12-month continuous eligibility for all children to 36 months, and allows States to provide continuous eligibility for children from birth until they turn age 6. Further, the Budget prohibits enrollment fees and premiums in CHIP. The President also supports eliminating Medicaid funding caps for Puerto Rico and other Territories while aligning their matching rate with States—and moving toward parity for other critical Federal programs including Supplemental Security Income and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The Budget is also including an allowance to ban unwarranted “facility fees” for telehealth and certain other outpatient services in commercial insurance. In addition, the Budget includes funding for continued implementation of the No Surprises Act, which protects Americans across the Nation from surprise medical bills.

Protects and Strengthens Medicare and Medicaid. The Budget extends HI trust fund solvency indefinitely by modestly increasing the Medicare tax rate on incomes above $400,000, closing loopholes in existing Medicare taxes, and directing revenue from the Net Investment Income Tax into the HI Trust Fund as was originally intended. Current law lets certain wealthy business owners avoid Medicare taxes on some of the profits they get from passthrough businesses. The Budget closes this loophole and raises Medicare tax rates on earned and unearned income from 3.8 percent to 5 percent for those with incomes over $400,000. In addition, the Budget directs an amount equivalent to the savings from its proposed Medicare drug reforms into the HI trust fund. The Budget also proposes to limit the portion of Medicaid and CHIP managed care dollars spent on administration and incentivize more investments in quality healthcare services by requiring managed care plans to pay Medicaid back when they charge the program far more than they actually spend on patient care.

Advances Equitable Access to Home and Community-Based Care. The President recognizes thatmore than three-quarters of home and community-based care service providers are not accepting new clients, leaving hundreds of thousands of older Americans and Americans with disabilities on waiting lists for home and community-based services or struggling to afford the care they need.The Administration invested $25 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to help states strengthen their Medicaid home and community-based care programs, including over $9 billion in spending to boost wages for home care workers as well as improve overall job quality.The President’s Budget invests $150 billion over 10 years to improve and expand Medicaid home and community-based services, which would allow older Americans and people with disabilities to remain in their homes and stay active in their communities as well as improve the quality of jobs for home care workers.

Protects Seniors’ Health and Dignity. The Budget increases funding for senior nutrition services to ensure seniors continue to receive healthy meals by 8 percent above 2023 level, and 21 percent over 2021 levels. In addition, the Budget proposes to shift funding for nursing home surveys from discretionary to mandatory beginning in 2026, and increase funding to cover 100 percent of statutorily-mandated surveys, which will guard against negligent care and ensure that Americans receive high quality, safe services within these facilities. The Budget also continues to build on the President’s commitment to protect the Nation’s seniors and people with disabilities through a comprehensive agenda that improves the safety and quality of nursing home care, addresses the backlog of complaint surveys from nursing home residents, expands financial penalties for underperforming facilities, requires greater transparency of nursing facility ownership, and increases the inspection of facilities with serious safety deficiencies.

Transforms Behavioral Healthcare

Expands Coverage and Invests in Behavioral Healthcare Services. In 2022, almost a quarter of adults suffered from mental illness, 13 percent of adolescents had serious thoughts of suicide, and overdose deaths continued near record highs. As a core pillar of his Unity Agenda, the President released a national strategy to transform how we understand and address mental health in America—and the Budget makes progress on this agenda by improving access to care for individuals and communities. The Budget makes significant investments in expanding the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that is projected to respond to 7.5 million contacts from individuals in distress in 2025 alone. The Budget expands mental health care and support services in schools; expands CDC’s suicide prevention program to additional States, as well as Tribal and territorial jurisdictions; and invests in strengthening the behavioral health workforce – including through the integration of behavioral health services into primary care settings. The Budget also expands access to behavioral health services through significant investments in Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics and Community Mental Health Centers. In addition, the Budget provides $1 billion to advance Health IT adoption and engagement in interoperability for certain behavioral health providers.

Strengthens Mental Health Parity Protections. The Budget requires all commercial market health plans to cover mental health and substance use disorder benefits, ensures that plans have an adequate network of behavioral health providers, and improves the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ability to enforce the law. In addition, the Budget includes $275 million over 10 years to increase the Department’s capacity to ensure that large group market health plans and issuers comply with mental health and substance use disorder requirements, and to take action against plans and issuers that do not comply.

Bolsters Mental Health Supports for All Students. The mental health of students, teachers, and school staff is essential to their overall well-being and continued academic recovery, and continues to be a high priority of the Administration, which has delivered an additional $2.1 billion to mental health programs for students since 2021. Research shows that students who receive social, emotional, and mental and behavioral supports have better outcomes, including faring better academically. The Budget provides a combined total of $216 million for mental health programs, including $200 million from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), a 900 percent increase in program funding since 2021. The funds will help to increase the number of school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals in K-12 schools.

Expands Access to Treatment for Substance Use Disorder and Invests in Overdose Prevention. The Administration has made historic advances in expanding access to treatment for opioid use disorder, including signing into law a bipartisan provision to expand the number of medical providers who can initiate treatment for opioid use disorder from 129,000 to nearly 2 million. The Budget increases funding for the State Opioid Response grant program, which has provided treatment services to over 1.2 million people and enabled States to reverse more than 500,000 overdoses with over 9 million purchased overdose reversal medication kits. The Budget also invests $713 million toward opioid use disorder prevention and treatment programs for veterans, as well as funding for a new technical assistance center to strengthen health providers’ understanding and treatment of women’s mental health and substance use.

Advances Health Equity

Closes Research Gaps in Women’s Health. The President and the First Lady launched the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, recognizing that women have been understudied and underrepresented in health research for far too long. The Initiative is working across Government to better integrate women’s health within the Federal research portfolio and catalyze significant private and philanthropic commitments to increase funding for women’s health research. The Budget would also double existing funding for the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These additional funds will allow NIH to support new and existing initiatives that emphasize women’s health research, such as research in menopause, heart health, and brain health. The Administration proposes to transform the way the Government funds women’s health research at NIH, including by creating a new nationwide network of centers of excellence and innovation in women’s health.

Supports Family Planning Services, Maternal Health, and Health Equity. Americans deserve access to the healthcare they need, including maternal healthcare, contraception, and family planning services, which are essential to ensuring control over personal decisions about their own health, lives, and families. The Budget includes $390 million, a 36 percent increase, for the Title X Family Planning program to increase the number of patients served to 3.6 million. The Budget builds on success securing a nearly 200 percent funding increase for key maternal health programs across HHS over the course of the Administration by including $376 million to support the ongoing implementation of the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates, and address the highest rates of perinatal health disparities.

Provides National, Comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave and Calls for Paid Sick Days. The vast majority of America’s workers do not have access to employer-provided paid family leave, including 73 percent of private sector workers. Among the lowest-paid workers, who are disproportionately women and people of color, 94 percent lack access to paid family leave through their employers. The Budget proposes to establish a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program administered by the Social Security Administration to ensure that all eligible workers can take up to 12 weeks to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one, heal from their own serious illness, address circumstances arising from a loved one’s military deployment, find safety from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking—otherwise known as safe leave, or up to three days to grieve the death of a loved one. Further, the President continues to call on the Congress to require employers to provide seven job-protected paid sick days each year to all workers, and ensure that employers cannot penalize workers for taking time off to address their health needs, or the health needs of their families, or for safe leave.

Guarantees Adequate and Stable Funding for the Indian Health Service (IHS). The Administration is committed to upholding the United States’ trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations, including by addressing the historic chronic underfunding of IHS and fighting for IHS to be funded like the essential service that it is. The enactment of an advance appropriation for 2024 for IHS was a historic and welcome step toward the goal of eventually securing adequate and stable funding for IHS. This funding will provide needed improvements in access to care and the overall health status of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Administration continues to prioritize this fight for adequate and stable funding at IHS by including in this Budget an $8 billion request in discretionary resources in 2025, an almost 28-percent increase over the 2021 enacted level. This funding would improve clinical services, expand preventative health, support constructing or updating facilities, cover contract support costs, and support Tribal leases. Beginning in 2026, the Budget proposes all resources as mandatory. Mandatory funding would close longstanding service and facility shortfalls over time; improve access to high-quality healthcare; and fund key Administration priorities, such as the Biden Cancer Moonshot.

Advances Rural Health. With over 60 million Americans living in rural areas, the Budget invests in direct primary care and mental healthcare services, expanded infrastructure, and assistance for rural hospitals to remain open and provide high-quality services in rural communities.

Honors Our Sacred Commitment to American Veterans and Their Health

Expands Healthcare, Benefits, and Services for Environmental Exposures. The PACT Act represented the most significant expansion of VA healthcare and disability compensation benefits for veterans exposed to military related environmental exposures, including burn pits and Agent Orange, in 30 years. As part of the PACT Act, the Congress authorized the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) to fund increased costs above 2021 funding levels for healthcare and benefits delivery for veterans exposed to certain environmental hazards—and ensure there is sufficient funding available to cover these costs without shortchanging other elements of veteran medical care and benefits delivery. The Budget continues this commitment and includes $24.5 billion for the TEF in 2025, through funds appropriated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which is $19.5 billion above the 2023 enacted level.

Strengthens VA Medical Care. The Budget provides a total of $112.6 billion in discretionary medical care funding in 2025, equal to the 2025 advance appropriation request. In addition, the Budget, through funds appropriated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, includes $21.5 billion in the TEF for medical care, bringing the medical care total to $134.0 billion in 2025, an $11.5 billion increase over the 2023 enacted level. In addition to fully funding inpatient, outpatient, mental health, and long-term care services, the Budget supports programs that enhance VA healthcare quality and delivery, including a $2.0 billion investment for non-recurring maintenance to improve medical facility infrastructure, and continued efforts to address the opioid and drug overdose epidemic.

Prioritizes Veterans’ Mental Health Services and Suicide Prevention for Military Servicemembers and Veterans. The Budget invests $135 million within VA research programs, together with $17.1 billion within the VA Medical Care program, to increase access to quality mental healthcare, with the goal of helping veterans take charge of their treatment and live full, meaningful lives. In addition, the Budget provides funding to further advance the Administration’s veteran suicide prevention initiatives and to support the Department of Defense’s efforts on Suicide Prevention and Response.

Supports Women Veterans’ Healthcare. The Budget invests $13.7 billion for women veterans’ healthcare, including $1.1 billion toward women’s gender-specific care. More women are choosing VA healthcare than ever before, with women accounting for over 30 percent of the increase in enrolled veterans over the past five years. Investments support comprehensive specialty medical and surgical services for women veterans, improve maternal health outcomes, increase access to infertility counseling and assisted reproductive technology, and eliminate copayments for contraceptive coverage. The Budget also improves the safety of women veterans seeking healthcare at VA facilities by supporting implementation of the zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment and assault.

Protects and Strengthens Public Health and Health Infrastructure

Advances Progress toward Biden Cancer Moonshot Goals. The President and First Lady reignited the Biden Cancer Moonshot to mobilize a national effort to end cancer as we know it—spurring tremendous action across the Federal Government and from the public and private sectors, securing billions in new funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to support transformative research, and building a strong foundation for the work ahead. The Budget makes significant investments to work toward the President and First Lady’s signature Cancer Moonshot goal of reducing the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improving the experience of people who are living with or who have survived cancer. These investments include an increase of more than $2 billion across the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cancer projects at ARPA-H, and mandatory funds for the Indian Health Service beginning in 2026.

Enhances Biodefense and Public Health Infrastructure. Over the past three years, substantial progress has been made toward developing and implementing transformational capabilities to increase the Nation’s ability to respond to and prepare for emerging health threats. Building upon this progress, the Budget invests $9.8 billion in discretionary and Prevention and Public Health Fund funding, an increase of $499 million over the 2023 enacted level, to bolster public health capacity that will enable the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to better serve and protect the American public. In addition, the Budget includes $20 billion in mandatory funding for HHS public health agencies in support of the Administration’s biodefense priorities as outlined in the 2022 National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan for Countering Biological Threats, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness, and Achieving Global Health Security.

Invests in the Treatment and Prevention of Infectious Diseases. The Budget invests in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, including Hepatitis C, HIV, and vaccine-preventable diseases, like HPV which causes some cancers. The Budget proposes a national program to significantly expand screening, testing, treatment, prevention, and monitoring of Hepatitis C infections in the United States, with a specific focus on populations with high infection levels. To help end the HIV epidemic, the Budget eliminates barriers to accessing PrEP for Medicaid beneficiaries and proposes a new mandatory program to guarantee PrEP at no cost for all uninsured and underinsured individuals and provide essential wrap-around services. In addition, the Budget proposes a new Vaccines for Adults program to provide uninsured adults with access to routine and outbreak vaccines at no cost. The Budget also expands the Vaccines for Children program to include all children under age 19 enrolled in CHIP and covers the vaccine administration fee for all VFC-eligible uninsured children.

Strengthens Health Systems Globally. The Budget provides nearly $10 billion for Global Health Programs through the Department of State and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which will increase support for global health programs, strengthening health systems, and pandemic preparedness. The Budget fulfills the President’s commitment to the Seventh Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria by providing $1.2 billion to match $1 for every $2 contributed by other donors. The Budget also provides more than $900 million for global health security, including $250 million for the Pandemic Fund. The Budget invests $30 million in new resources for the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents, a contribution anticipated to leverage at least $210 million to strengthen health systems, and $20 million for the Administration’s Global Health Worker Initiative to better train, equip, and protect the health workforce. The Budget also provides $594 million, an increase of $37 million above 2023 levels, for USAID-directed high-impact and lifesaving voluntary family planning and reproductive health programs and America’s voluntary contribution to the United Nations Population Fund. Additionally, the Budget includes loan guarantees to the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support investments in global challenges, including pandemic preparedness, which will bolster the impact of these global health activities.

Accelerates Innovation through ARPA-H. The Budget provides $1.5 billion for ARPA-H to supercharge high-impact research and development to improve American health outcomes and deliver health breakthroughs. ARPA-H, an agency created under the Biden-Harris Administration, conducts health research that cannot be readily accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity.

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President Biden and Vice President Harris believe everyone deserves to live in a safe and affordable home. Whether you rent or own, having a place to live that you can afford in a neighborhood with opportunities is the foundation for so much else in life. The Administration has made progress toward delivering this reality for the American people. The homeownership rate is higher now than before the pandemic, and there are more housing units under construction right now than at any time in the last 50 years, thanks in part to actions taken under this Administration. This increase in construction is contributing to a flattening rental market after years of increases.

But President Biden believes that housing costs are still too high for too many families and bold investments are needed to address the large deficit in accessible and affordable homes this Administration inherited. In his State of the Union Address, President Biden called on Congressional Republicans to end years of inaction and pass legislation to lower costs by providing a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and people who sell their starter homes. The Budget includes that proposal as part of a historic investment of more than $258 billion that would build or preserve over 2 million housing units, support millions of first-time homebuyers, guarantee affordable housing for hundreds of thousands of extremely low-income veterans and youth aging out of foster care, and advance efforts to end homelessness.

Together, the Budget proposes investments and actions that will lower costs for renters and homebuyers, address the shortage of housing, make our economy stronger and more resilient, and advance equity, economic opportunity, and fair housing principles that are central to the President’s economic agenda.

Builds and Preserves More Than Two Million Housing Units

America faces a longstanding and nationwide shortfall in affordable housing that has been growing for decades. In May 2022, the Administration released a Housing Supply Action Plan that included administrative and legislative actions to close the housing supply shortfall in five years. The Administration has already delivered on many of those commitments, added new areas of focus including commercial-to-residential conversions, and will continue to build on the historic number of multifamily units under construction through additional administrative actions that: make it easier to build and preserve affordable, multifamily housing; advance the production and preservation of homes like accessory dwelling units and manufactured housing; and incentivize state and local governments to reduce barriers to affordable housing development. The President’s Budget:

Expands the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). LIHTC is the largest Federal incentive for affordable housing construction and rehabilitation. The Budget invests $37 billion in expanding this tax credit in order to boost the supply of housing that is affordable for low-income renters. Specifically, the Budget permanently increases the allocation of tax credit states receive. It also reduces the private activity bond financing requirement from 50 percent to 25 percent in order to leverage more private capital into LIHTC deals and build more units of affordable housing. And it repeals the qualified contract provision and right of first refusal provision – both of which allowed some owners of LIHTC units to exit requirements to keep rents at affordable levels. These proposals would build or preserve 1.2 million affordable rental units.

Creates a New Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit. The Budget proposes a new Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit, which would be the first tax provision to directly support building or renovating affordable homes for homeownership. At a cost of $19 billion over ten years, the credit would cover the gap between the cost of construction and the sale price for rehabilitated or newly constructed single-family homes in low-income communities, encouraging investment in homes that would otherwise be too costly or difficult to develop or rehabilitate – and spurring investment and economic activity in communities that have long suffered from disinvestment. The tax credit would be provided on the condition that the home is occupied by low- or middle-income homeowners. This proposal would lead to the construction or preservation of over 400,000 starter homes in communities throughout the country. 

Incentivizes More Housing Supply through Housing Innovation. The Budget includes $20 billion for competitive grants to incentivize State and local jurisdictions and tribes to expand supply. The grants will fund multifamily developments, including commercial-to-residential conversions and projects near transit and other community amenities; support planning and implementation grants to help jurisdictions identify and remove barriers to building more housing; launch or expand innovative housing models that increase the stock of permanently affordable rental and for-sale housing, including community land trusts, mixed-income public development, and accessory dwelling units; and construct and rehabilitate starter homes. This Budget also requests up to $100 million—$15 million over the FY23 enacted level—to continue the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program, which helps local governments to remove barriers to building more affordable housing.

Increases Banks’ Contributions Towards Building Affordable Housing. The President is proposing that each Federal Home Loan Bank double its annual contribution to the Affordable Housing Program, which will raise an additional $3.79 billion for affordable housing over the next decade and assist nearly 380,0000 households. These funds will support the financing, acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of affordable rental and for-sale homes, as well as help low- and moderate-income homeowners to purchase or rehabilitate homes.

Preserves Public Housing through Rehabilitation and Redevelopment. Over 1.7 million Americans live in public housing, and over half of those households are led by seniors or people with disabilities. The Budget proposes a one-time a one-time $7.5 billion investment to address the capital needs of more than a hundred thousand distressed public housing properties nationwide, which is on top of the recurring annual investments of $8.5 billion to enable public housing agencies to operate, maintain, and make capital improvements to the approximately 900,000 public housing units. Providing additional funds for public housing rehabilitation and modernization is critical to providing safe and sustainable living conditions for all – and to ensuring housing shortages aren’t exacerbated.

Provides New Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) for Extremely Low-Income households. Eleven million of the 44 million renter households in the U.S. have extremely low incomes—incomes at or below the Federal poverty level or 30% of the area median income. Producing and preserving housing that is affordable for those households—and ensuring rents remain affordable for those households—is a critical component of tackling the Nation’s housing challenges that often requires additional subsidy. The Budget includes $7.5 billion in funding for new HUD Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) contracts, which are long-term contracts with private for-profit or non-profit owners to rent new affordable housing units. These new contracts, in combination with other low-income housing programs and incentives, will attract development capital for the creation of new affordable homes for America’s most vulnerable families.

Increases the Supply of Affordable Housing Financed by Existing HUD programs. During the Biden-Harris Administration, HUD has allocated $4.35 billion in funding to build and preserve affordable rental homes and make homeownership a reality for thousands of families. In collaboration with states, cities, local elected officials, stakeholder organizations, and local community development partners, HOME has assisted over 45,000 households since 2021. The Budget provides $1.25 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to construct and rehabilitate affordable rental housing and provide homeownership opportunities. This investment would help create or preserve 12,000 units of housing and provide more than 6,000 households with tenant based rental assistance. In addition, the Budget provides $931 million to support housing for older adults and $257 million to support housing for persons with disabilities.

Supports Affordable Housing in Rural Areas. The Budget provides $2.1 billion for USDA’s housing programs, an increase of $191 million over the 2023 enacted level, and continues the proposal to eliminate the low-income borrower penalty that requires individuals to repay subsidy costs for Single-Family Direct loans. Housing funding reflects the Administration’s priority to preserve low-income multifamily (MF) housing in rural areas by increasing the MF Housing Preservation and Revitalization program to $90 million, $54 million over the 2023 enacted level, while maintaining the rest of the MF loan portfolio at the 2023 levels. The Budget also continues the proposal, known as decoupling, that incentivizes property owners to maintain property for low-income tenants in exchange for the continued federal rental assistance after the USDA loan is paid off.

The Administration also plans to explore updating the statutory definition of manufactured housing—for example, through amending the chassis requirement—with the goal of identifying options that could provide manufactured homebuilders with more design flexibility and consumers with more options beyond local site-built homes for single-family homes and accessory dwelling units.

Makes Homeownership a Reality for Millions of First-Time and First-Generation Homebuyers

Achieving and maintaining homeownership is the primary way that American families build wealth and create economic security. That’s why the Administration implemented a series of measures that protected homeowners from foreclosure during the pandemic, including enhanced loan modifications to resolve delinquencies. In addition, the American Rescue Plan’s Homeowner Assistance Fund has helped over 400,000 homeowners catch up on their mortgage payments and utility costs and avoid foreclosures. These actions have not just helped keep foreclosures below pre-pandemic levels, but have led there to be fewer foreclosures under President Biden than any President in recent history. In 2023, the Administration also lowered Federal Housing Administration annual mortgage insurance premiums by about one-third, saving more than 680,000 Americans—including many first-time homebuyers—an average of nearly $900 over the first year of their mortgages with continued savings in subsequent years.

But limited inventory and high interest rates continue to make it difficult to become a homeowner for the first time and prevent existing homeowners from right-sizing their house to fit their households’ evolving needs. That’s why the Budget calls on Congress to:  

Provide Mortgage Payment Relief for First-time Homeowners. President Biden is calling on Congress to pass a Mortgage Relief Credit that would provide middle-class first-time homebuyers with a tax credit of up to $10,000, paid over two years. This is the equivalent of reducing the mortgage rate by 1.5 percentage points for two years on the median home, to help more than 3.5 million middle-class families purchase their first home over the next two years.

Provide Incentives to Unlock Starter Home Supply. Many existing homeowners have lower rates on their mortgages than current rates, making homeowners more reluctant to sell, even in circumstances where their current homes no longer fit their household needs. To unlock starter home inventory and allow middle-class families to move up the housing ladder and empty nesters to right size, the President is calling on Congress to provide a one-year tax credit of up to $10,000 to middle-class families who sell their starter home, defined as homes below the area median home price in the county, to another owner-occupant. This proposal is estimated to help nearly 3 million families.

Launch a First-Generation Down Payment Assistance Program. The Budget provides $10 billion for a program to target down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers whose parents do not own a home and are at or below 120% of the area median income or 140% of the area median income in high-cost areas. This would help an estimated 400,000 homebuyers. Eligible activities would include costs in connection with acquisition such as down payment costs, closing costs, and costs to reduce the rates of interest on eligible mortgage payments. The Budget also includes up to $50 million for a HOME Down Payment Assistance Pilot that would reduce mortgage down payments for first-generation as well as low-wealth first-time homebuyers.

Promotes Rental Affordability and Fairness, and Makes Progress Toward Universal Housing Vouchers for Extremely Low-Income Households

While around 2.3 million low-income households receive rental assistance through the HUD Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, another roughly 10 million are eligible and do not receive assistance due to funding limitations and wait lists. The Administration has secured rental assistance for more than 100,000 additional households through the American Rescue Plan and the 2022 and 2023 appropriations bills. And in January 2023, the Administration announced a Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, which enumerated principles to shape Federal, state, and local action, and announced agency commitments to strengthen tenant protections and encourage rental affordability.

But there is more work to do. The Budget includes a voucher guarantee for two population groups that are acutely vulnerable to homelessness: youth aging out of foster care and extremely low-income veterans. Between discretionary funding, program reserves, and these mandatory proposals, these vouchers would serve hundreds of thousands of additional households. The President’s Budget:

Creates a Housing Voucher Guarantee for Extremely Low-Income Veterans. An estimated 398,000 veteran renter households with extremely low incomes currently do not receive rental assistance and have what HUD terms “worst-case housing needs.” These veterans: 1) have incomes that do not exceed the higher of the Federal Poverty Line or 30 percent of the Area Median Income; 2) either pay more than half of their income for rental costs or live in housing with severe problems such as faulty heating or plumbing; and 3) receive no housing assistance. Over a ten-year period, HUD would expand rental assistance to extremely low-income veteran families, starting with an allocation of 50,000 targeted vouchers in 2026 and paving a path to guaranteed assistance for all veterans in need by 2034.

Creates a Housing Voucher Guarantee for Youth Aging out of Foster Care. Approximately 20,000 youth exit foster care annually, typically between the ages of 18 and 21, and these young people face greater obstacles to maintaining housing and experience higher rates of homelessness and housing instability compared to the general population. To ensure these young people are stably housed and better able to focus on their education or building a career during this difficult transition, HUD would provide guaranteed housing voucher assistance for all youth aging out of foster care beginning in 2026.

Supports the HCV Program. The Budget provides $32.8 billion, an increase of $2.5 billion (including emergency funding) over the 2023 enacted level, and an increase of $7.0 billion, or 27 percent, since the start of the Administration.

Continues to Invest in Fair Housing Programs. The Budget includes $86 million for targeted and coordinated fair housing enforcement, education, and outreach to prevent and redress housing-related discrimination.

Advances Efforts to Prevent Evictions and End Homelessness

During the pandemic, the Administration stood up a first-of-its-kind national eviction prevention infrastructure, which helped 8 million renter households at risk of eviction and kept evictions below pre-pandemic levels. In late 2022, President Biden released All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Administration’s roadmap is not only about getting people into housing, but also ensuring that they have access to the support, services, and income that allow them to thrive. The plan focuses attention on homelessness prevention and actions to ensure an adequate and diverse stock of affordable housing, renter protections, and social service supports. The plan also seeks to promote and expand eviction-prevention reforms, including those advocated as part of the Biden Administration’s implementation of the Emergency Rental Assistance program. The Budget seeks to continue the policies that are most effective in preventing avoidable evictions and help hard pressed American families stay in their homes, even during hard times. The President’s Budget:

Bolsters Efforts to Prevent and End Homelessness. To prevent and reduce homelessness, the Budget provides $8 billion for a grant program to rapidly expand temporary and permanent housing strategies for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Funds from this proposal would support non-congregate emergency shelter solutions, interim housing, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and rental housing for extremely low-income households experiencing housing instability or homelessness. The budget also provides over $4 billion in Homeless Assistance Grants, a $427 million increase from the 2023 enacted level and $1.1 billion, or 35 percent, above the 2021 enacted level. In addition, the Administration plans to use approximately $100 million in program recaptures to fund coordinated interventions to support nearly 11,000 additional homeless individuals and families. The Budget also provides $505 million for Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, serving a population with a disproportionately high rate of homelessness and providing a critical link to services.

Supports, Solidifies, and Encourages State and Local Reforms to Avoid Evictions. The Administration stood up a historic national eviction prevention infrastructure during the pandemic, helping keep eviction filings 20% below historical averages, even after the eviction moratorium ended. The Budget provides $3 billion to build on these efforts, with a focus on upstream prevention and eviction diversion, improving renters’ access to resources, and making the legal process for renters fairer. This funding can be used to develop or implement policy reforms and program improvements such as providing emergency rental assistance or other forms and new models of rent relief, and expanding access to legal counsel, housing counselors, and court navigators. The Budget also includes an additional $10 million for HUD’s Eviction Protection Grant Program, which provides legal assistance to low-income tenants at risk of or subject to eviction and has served over 25,000 households.

Creates More Housing Stability for Older Adults. To counteract the growing numbers of older adults who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, the Budget includes a $3 billion grant program to help communities provide targeted support for older adults in unstable housing situations and support those currently experiencing homelessness. Eligible uses include short- or longer-term cash assistance to cover rental arrears or other housing costs to prevent eviction, emergency home modification or emergency relocations, provide resources to help cover unexpected financial shocks (e.g., medical/health costs), and other legitimate needs determined by the grantee.

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From the day he was sworn in, President Biden has taken bold action to reduce crime and make America’s communities safer. He has worked to fund effective, accountable policing; invest in intervention and prevention strategies; and keep especially dangerous guns off our streets and out of dangerous hands. From combatting hate in America’s communities to tackling gun violence, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked tirelessly to keep Americans safe. The President’s American Rescue Plan—which every Republican in Congress opposed—helped states and over one thousand cities, towns, and counties across the country invest over $15 billion in public safety and violence prevention. Communities have invested those funds to support additional police officers, expand community violence intervention, add crisis responders, and more. The President signed and is continuing to implement a historic Executive Order to advance police reform. The President took on the gun lobby and signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, the first significant gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years, which includes enhanced background checks for buyers under 21 who pose a danger to themselves and others, expanded mental health programs, and support for implementation of red flag laws that keep guns away from dangerous people. The President also created the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention in American history, overseen by the Vice President, and has announced nearly 40 executive actions to keep guns out of dangerous hands. Working with Congress, the Administration secured the greatest increase in funding in the Nation’s history for the physical security of non-profits—including churches, gurdwaras, mosques, synagogues, temples, and other places of worship. The Administration has also delivered the most funding ever for the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to combat gender-based violence, in addition to issuing our nation’s first-ever National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

The President and Vice President continue to take other action to combat hate which undermines democracy, including by releasing the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, announcing the development of a National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination, signing legislation to enhance State and local law enforcement’s ability to respond to hate crimes, and signing legislation to make lynching a federal crime. The President and Vice President have continued to speak out against discrimination, racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQI+ hate, and more—so that all Americans can live freely and without fear of attack or harassment. 

The President and Vice President continue to call on Republicans in Congress to listen to the majority of Americans—and the majority of gunowners—who want to see more commonsense gun safety measures, such as universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, an end to the gun industry’s immunity from liability, and the passing of a national red flag law, and to support additional lifesaving law enforcement actions, rather than standing in the way. In order to keep Americans safe, the President’s Budget: 

Tackles Crime, Protects Victims

Pursues New Mandatory Investments to Combat Violent Crime and Support Victims. The Budget builds upon the Safer America Plan by investing an additional $1.2 billion over five years to launch a new Violent Crime Reduction and Prevention Fund to give federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement the dedicated, seasoned support they need to focus on violent crime. This includes hiring new Federal law enforcement agents, prosecutors, and forensic specialists to address violent crime; expand Federal operations to combat fentanyl and apprehend dangerous fugitives; and support the hiring of 4,700 detectives at the State and local level to drive down the high rate of unsolved homicides, non-fatal shootings, and other violent crimes and the lengthy delays that undermine public trust and public safety. The Budget also includes $1.9 billion for the U.S. Marshals Service to support efforts to reduce violent crime, including through fugitive apprehension and enforcement operations, as well as $7.3 billion to replenish the Crime Victims Fund and ensure a stable and predictable source of funding is available to support critical victim service and compensation programs over the next decade.

Supports Effective and Accountable State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement and Public Safety. The Budget supports the President’s Safer America Plan which aims to protect U.S. communities and promote public safety with evidence-informed strategies that promote effective and accountable crime prevention. Specifically, the Budget provides $3.7 billion in discretionary resources at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for State and local grants to enhance public safety, as well as $31.8 billion in mandatory resources to support programs associated with the President’s Safer America Plan. This includes $1.5 billion in mandatory funding to support Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs at DOJ over the next 10 years and $10.9 billion in support of the President’s goal to recruit, train, support, and hire 100,000 additional police officers for effective, accountable community policing consistent with the standards of the President’s Executive Order on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety. The Budget, through the Safer America Plan, further supports the evidence-informed training and technical assistance of law enforcement on topics including crime control and deterrence tactics, community engagement, use of force, interacting with people with disabilities, and responding to persons in mental health crisis and to domestic violence calls, while providing funds to support the purchase and operation of body-worn cameras, modernize police academies and training, comprehensively reform public safety systems, and combat crime to keep the Nation’s streets safe. Through FEMA, the Budget invests $385 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, an increase of $80 million above the 2023 enacted level, to support the physical security of community institutions and non-profits—including churches, gurdwaras, mosques, synagogues, temples, and other places of worship, as well as minority-serving institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. At the Department of the Interior, the Budget invests $703 million in Tribal Public Safety and Justice programs and related construction, supporting critical law enforcement needs in Indian Country and the vital work of Tribal courts.

Prioritizes Efforts to End Gender-Based Violence. The Administration has prioritized funding for programs under VAWA, which was reauthorized and strengthened in 2022. Since 2021, DOJ’s funding for VAWA programs has increased by over 36 percent, and the President’s Budget proposes further expanding this funding to $800 million. This increase includes key investments in sexual assault services, transitional housing, and legal assistance for survivors. Moreover, the Budget strongly supports underserved and Tribal communities by providing $15 million for culturally-specific services, $5 million for underserved populations, $25 million to assist enforcement of Tribal special domestic violence jurisdiction, $3 million to support Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and $10 million for a new special initiative to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).  The Budget also provides $10 million in innovative funding to address technology-facilitated abuse through VAWA programs that address cybercrimes against individuals, including the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. In addition, the Budget provides $55 million to the Office of Justice Programs for the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative to address the rape kit backlog.

Addresses the Gun Violence Epidemic

Invests in Federal Law Enforcement to Combat Gun Violence. The Budget makes significant investments to bolster Federal law enforcement capacity to strengthen public safety. The Budget includes $17.7 billion for DOJ law enforcement, including $2.0 billion, an increase of over 30 percent since 2021, for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This increase reflects the President’s commitment to reducing gun violence by arresting and prosecuting illegal firearm traffickers and preventing guns from falling into dangerous hands. These investments support the full implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in closing legal loopholes that allowed illegal firearms traffickers to evade justice. The Budget also includes an additional $51 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to support the continued implementation of enhanced background checks, a key provision of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. 

Helps Communities Respond to and Recover from Gun Violence. Gun violence is a significant public health problem in the United States and is the leading cause of death for children and teens. The effects of gun violence extend beyond victims and their families. Gun violence can overwhelm communities and leads to short- and long-term needs. The Budget invests a total of $2.5 billion in discretionary and mandatory funds over 10 years in the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to support an evidence-informed community violence initiative, and an additional $2.5 billion in discretionary and mandatory funds over 10 years for DOJ grants to support state and local community violence intervention programs to support the President’s commitment to provide $5 billion over 10 years for CVI programs. The initiative would address the causes of violence in communities and help reduce the health inequities that characterize such violence across the United States. The Budget also includes $60 million for gun violence research across CDC and National Institute of Health (NIH).

Makes Communities Safer

Combats Narcotics Trafficking Networks. The Budget provides $3.3 billion to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to combat drug trafficking, including $1.2 billion to combat opioid trafficking, save lives, and make our communities safer. The Budget invests an additional $18 million in Domestic Counter-Fentanyl Threat Targeting Teams at the DEA to enhance America’s fight against the transnational criminal networks pushing deadly illicit fentanyl in America’s communities. These interdisciplinary teams of special agents, intelligence analysts, and data experts will map criminal organizations and build cases that lead to the dismantlement of entire drug trafficking networks and the deprivation of hundreds of millions of dollars to the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. In addition, the Budget provides $494 million in grants supporting efforts to address substance use, including $190 million for the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program, $95 million to support Drug Courts, and $51 million for anti-drug task forces.

Disrupts the International Synthetic Drug Trade.The Budget includes $169 million to State for countering fentanyl and other synthetic drug production and trafficking. These resources would counter the worldwide flow of fentanyl and other synthetics that endanger public safety and health, and contribute to tens of thousands of drug-overdose deaths in the United States annually. The Budget also reiterates the Administration’s October 2023 request for $1.2 billion at DHS and DOJ to counter fentanyl trafficking and prevent the movement of dangerous drugs into the United States.

Counters Cyber Threats. In line with the National Cybersecurity Strategy that emphasizes a whole-of-Nation approach to addressing ongoing cyber threats, the Budget makes critical investments across the Federal government to protect and defend sensitive agency systems and information, including those designated as high-value assets, and to safeguard the American public’s sensitive data housed within these systems against future attacks. This includes investments to expand DHS and DOJ’s ability to pursue threats through investments in FBI’s cyber and counterintelligence investigative capabilities, and in CISA’s internal cybersecurity and analytical capabilities. Cyber attacks on the healthcare system disrupt patient care and put patient safety at risk, and the healthcare system continues to be a target for cyber criminals. Through proposed changes to Medicare, funding is available to bolster HHS’s cybersecurity efforts, including $800 million to help high-need, low-resourced hospitals cover the upfront costs associated with implementing essential cybersecurity practices, and $500 million for an incentive program to encourage all hospitals to invest in advanced cybersecurity practices.  The Budget also provides $141 million to continue strengthening HHS’s ability to protect and defend HHS systems and information while supporting the Healthcare and Public Health Sector.

Improves the Fairness and Effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System

Promotes Equity Across the Justice System. The Budget invests over $10 million in the Office of the Access to Justice to support its work to increase the availability of legal assistance and eliminate barriers to legal access based on economic, demographic, and geographic factors. In addition, the Budget renews its investment in the Office of Environmental Justice to protect overburdened and disadvantaged communities from the harms caused by environmental crimes, pollution, and climate change. The Budget further invests in State and local efforts to promote equity and protect civil rights, including $10 million for a new initiative to modernize outdated criminal statutes with a discriminatory impact on HIV-positive individuals, $50 million in VAWA programs specifically focused on delivering equitable services, and $50 million for programs to combat hate crimes.

Combats Hate Crimes and Reinvigorates Federal Civil Rights Enforcement. In order to address longstanding inequities and strengthen civil rights protections, the Budget invests $201 million in the DOJ Civil Rights Division. These resources would support police reform via pattern-or-practice investigations, prosecuting hate crimes, enforcing voting rights, and ensuring access to justice. In addition, the Budget provides a total of $2.8 billion for the U.S. Attorneys, which includes funding for 50 new attorneys to prosecute violent crimes. The Budget also requests $15 million for the Khalid Jabara-Heather Heyer NO HATE Acts, to provide grants for states and local governments to improve data collection and hate crime prevention methods.

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