President Joe Biden in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday pledged to cut the deficit by $2 trillion, without touching Social Security or Medicare.
Biden’s next budget proposal is due to be released next month, amid intensifying fiscal fights with Republicans.
“Next month when I offer my fiscal plan, I ask my Republican friends to offer their plan,” Biden said in remarks prepared for delivery on Tuesday night.
“We can sit down together and discuss both plans together. My plan will lower the deficit by $2 trillion,” he said.
Biden during his speech suggested Republicans want to make cuts to Medicare and Social Security in the debate over raising the U.S. debt limit, prompting cries from GOP lawmakers like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who yelled “Liar!”
Presidential budgets are considered opening salvos in negotiations with Congress, and are statements of priorities that aren’t automatically enacted.
Biden has talked up deficit reduction in the past, but at least one organization flagged his claims as misleading due to certain programs’ expirations.
Washington Watch: Biden talks up deficit reduction, as watchdog says it’s ‘highly misleading’
Credit: marketwatch.com