The Biden Administration released its budget request to Congress earlier today, seeking $5.8 trillion in spending in the 2023 fiscal year. While it does not specifically include the Build Back Better (BBB) plan as it had in last year’s budget, it does include a “deficit-neutral reserve fund” intended to act as a placeholder for these priorities.
The BBB has been stalled since late December, after Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) indicated his opposition to the legislation that was passed by the House in November. Critical to advancing elements of the BBB will be identifying budgetary offsets to ensure any proposal remains deficit neutral. The budget itself heavily focuses on deficit reduction, projecting an annual deficit of $1.4 trillion, or roughly half of the $3.1 trillion deficit of 2020. Among the levers to increase revenue are a new 20% minimum tax on households with more than $100 million in assets and raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.
The budget does not make specific reference to investments in long-term care, as last year’s budget had with $400 billion specifically to expand access to long-term services and supports for older Americans and strengthen the care workforce. Those funds were part of the broader $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan and the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, which formed the basis of the BBB.
While long-term care is not specified in this year’s budget request, Argentum is continuing to press lawmakers on the need to invest in aging services, particularly as several key lawmakers have recently indicated they are willing to reopen negotiations over the BBB.
Argentum has led these efforts with the recent introduction of the SENIOR Act (H.R. 6530), which would provide $10 billion in relief through a new caregiver sustainability fund and $1.25 billion in new grants to bolster the nation’s caregiving workforce. Our message to lawmakers was amplified earlier this month during the Public Policy Institute, when Argentum members met with lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill to raise awareness of the financial and workforce challenges facing senior living.
Argentum is meeting with the White House this afternoon to relay our priorities to the Administration, which we shared in a letter sent last week. That letter stresses that the pandemic is far from over for seniors and caregivers, even as the nation looks to turn the page from the crisis stage. We specifically asked for the administration’s help through targeted relief, renewing a vaccine/booster clinic partnership, and supporting workforce training programs.
