President Barack Obama on Monday
proposed a $3.99 trillion budget for fiscal year 2016 that sets up a battle
with Republicans over programs to boost the middle class that are funded by
higher taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans.The budget foresees a $474 billion
deficit, which is 2.5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. It projects
deficits stabilizing at that rate over a 10-year period, senior administration
officials said.
Obama's budget fleshes out proposals
from his State of the Union address and helps highlight Democratic priorities
for the last quarter of his presidency and the beginning of the 2016
presidential campaign.But it is as much a political
document as a fiscal road map and would require approval from the
Republican-controlled Congress to go into effect.
"Our hope is that by laying out
... a clear economic vision centered around the middle class and economic
growth, that we’ll be able to have a productive conversation (with Republicans)
and make progress over the course of the year," an administration official
said on Sunday, previewing the budget's release.
Republicans have said they see room
for compromise in areas such as tax reform and infrastructure, but many of
Obama's programs, which were rolled out in the weeks before the budget's
release, have landed with a thud."When ... he devotes his time and
energy to talking about the new tax-and-spend policies that progressives like
and Republicans universally oppose, he signals to Congress that he is once
again looking to argue rather than to legislate," said Keith Hennessey, a
former economic adviser to Republican President George W. Bush. Democrats, however, viewed the
budget as a statement of their priorities and a chance to demonstrate they
represent the party that champions middle-income Americans.
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