President Biden revealed an aspect of his administration’s March 9 budget proposal to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, saying there will be tax jumps for the rich.
Biden gave a speech in Virginia, saying his budget plan is to protect the Affordable Care Act and raise taxes on those earning $400,000 or more, saying that the number of American billionnaires has increased over the years.
“On March the 9th, I’m going to lay down in detail every single thing, every tax that’s out there that I’m proposing, and no one making less than $400,000 is going to pay a penny more in taxes,” Biden told an audience in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“I want to make it clear. I’m gonna raise some taxes,” the Democratic president added, before saying that “billionaires” would be called upon to pay more.
The event focused on government health insurance programs under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which is also known as Obamacare. Biden has vowed to strengthen support for those and other federal programs.
Biden, under pressure from Republicans who are threatening not to raise the U.S. debt limit unless he agrees to sharp spending cuts, has vowed to cut the spending deficit by $2 trillion over 10 years in the upcoming budget proposal.
Biden also called on Republicans to outline their tax plan, saying that a good one would support Obamacare.
He said he wanted to discuss taxation with Republicans and reach a solution. “We can agree, disagree, we can fight it out,” he said.
“When we work together, we can do anything,” he said in his closing remarks.
Biden also criticized Republicans for not wanting to raise the country’s debt ceiling again, saying a default on debt could jeopardize the country’s economy.
Biden’s remarks came in a state that Democrats regard as politically competitive. It was the latest in a series of campaign-style events in the weeks before Biden is expected to announce his 2024 re-election bid.
Republicans control the House of Representatives while Democrats control the Senate.
Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin criticized Biden in a statement on Tuesday for visiting Virginia but not Ohio, the site of a recent train derailment and toxic chemical spill.
Youngkin, who has worked to raise his political profile outside of Virginia, is sometimes mentioned as a possible candidate for his party’s 2024 presidential nomination but has not launched a campaign.
Democrats were disappointed by Youngkin’s 2021 victory over former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial race as well successes by other Republican office-seekers in a state that Biden won in 2020 by 10 percentage points.
