By contrast, Biden says his administration's plans will cut U.S. debt by another $2 trillion on top of $1.7 trillion in reductions already made. Since taking control of the House in January, Republicans have passed measures to reverse or pare back Biden-backed laws, including the Inflation Reduction Act that includes green tax credits and reforms aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. Republicans argue that U.S. federal spending is too high and will fuel inflation while raising the U.S. debt level. The president on Tuesday chose new allies to help lead the fight, naming Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard to head the National Economic Council and nominating Jared Bernstein to head the Council of Economic Advisers. He also gave new authority to deputy National Economic Council director Bharat Ramamurti, former adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren and vocal critic of oil and gas companies' windfall profits, and named Labor Department chief economist Joelle Gamble as one of Brainard's deputies. Biden's speech to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 26 in Lanham, Maryland, will build on his State of the Union address last week in which he assailed oil companies for making high profits and doubled down on pledges to rout "trickle down" economics from policymaking. He will tout his call to quadruple a 1% tax on corporate stock buybacks and enact a minimum tax on billionaires, in part to lower the deficit, but neither measure has much chance of passing the Republican-control House. Republican have discussed repealing the stock buyback tax entirely, which the White House says would add $74 billion to the federal debt. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden,
armed with a new team of economic advisers, will take aim on
Wednesday at Republican plans to cut U.S. spending as his
administration gears up for a huge fight to preserve the outlays
he credits with fueling a U.S. recovery.
At issue is Republicans' refusal to raise the statutory
$31.4 trillion U.S. debt limit unless Biden agrees to spending
cuts, while the White House has said such measures will only be
discussed after the debt ceiling is lifted.
With his own approval ratings now at 36%, despite 53-year
low unemployment and rising consumer sentiment, Biden will seek
to flip the script and point the finger at a Republican agenda
that he says will amount to "a massive giveaway to the
super-rich, big corporations and Big Pharma," the White House
said.
In a speech at a union hall in suburban Maryland, Biden will
accuse Republicans, who now control the House of
Representatives, of pushing him to agree to spending cuts, while
their own plans would add more than $3 trillion to the debt.
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