US Budget FY2022: Infrastructure, Healthcare Get Top Priority

Summary

• The spending plan is focused on two broad initiatives: American Job Plan and American Family Plan.
• The budget also allocates a significant amount for building or modernizing energy-efficient and affordable housing for schools, childcare facilities etc.
• The budget for climate mitigation programs has been increased to US$14 billion, compared to the outlays in 2021.

President Joe Biden on Friday, May 28, unveiled his maiden budget for the fiscal year 2022, giving top priority to infrastructure, healthcare, and climate change, as he gets ready for a major overhaul of the US economy.

The spending plan is focused on two broad initiatives: American Job Plan and American Family Plan.

The Job Plan aims at creating more employment opportunities by launching new infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, ports, and airports. A significant amount will also be spent on research.

The American Family Plan aims at guaranteeing social protection to Americans by revamping the health facilities, free or affordable education, cheap housing for the economically weaker sections, and ending gun violence. People from ethnic and racial backgrounds like Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Blacks will get special attention.

What is the American Job Plan?

The Biden administration plans to modernize 20,000 miles of interstate highways, rural roads, and the streets under municipalities.

It will fix ten significant bridges, repair 10,0000 small bridges, and replace thousands of buses and rail cars. It will also rebuild some airports and ports. 

The plan seeks to replace lead pipes for the drinking water supply to improve children's health and people of colour. Hundreds of people will lay transmission lines and seal thousands of deserted oil and gas fields and mines. It also seeks to provide an affordable broadband network to all, including 35% of the population that live in rural areas.

The budget also allocates a significant amount for building or modernizing energy-efficient and affordable housing for schools, childcare facilities etc. These activities are also expected to create jobs for Americans.

Source: Pixabay.

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The plan seeks to strengthen America's "Care Economy" by raising the wages and benefits of workers and essential care-home employees. A major focus would also be on revitalizing the manufacturing sector to secure the supply chains. The budget also has provisions for investments in R&D and training activities for future jobs.

What is the American Family Plan?

To extend the economic benefits to all, the plan seeks to invest heavily in social security programs like health insurance and preschool facilities.

The administration also plans to make policy changes to reduce insurance premiums for healthcare. It also seeks to offer free preschool care and two years of free community college.

University education will be cheap for blacks, Hispanic and other minority groups. More investments will be made for teachers' training.

It also has provisions for direct support to low- and middle-class families for better childcare. Nutritional assistance will be provided to families who need meal supplements to reduce malnutrition in children.

Tax cuts were also planned for low- and middle-income families. The health insurance tax credit to be expanded so that families spend less on insurance.

Also read: How climate change policies are impacting oil giants: opportunity vs risk

The budget proposes a US$36.5 billion investment in Title I schools to deliver quality education to students. Investment of US$6.5 billion for research and development in health will focus on cancer and diabetes.

About US$8.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US$10.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to be allocated.

The budget for climate mitigation programs has been increased to US$14 billion, compared to the expenditures in 2021. The plan also includes US$2.1 billion to address gun violence plaguing the communities across the nation.

It also seeks to provide US$30.4 billion for housing assistance to 200,000 more families, with a focus on the homeless or survivors of domestic violence. A total of US$1 billion will be spent on projects to end gender violence and upgrade the rickety refugee and immigration system.

Also read: What’s Inside Joe Biden’s US$1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Rescue Package?