Competing Visions 2016

March 21, 2016 - Download PDF Version

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National Priorities Project examines how new budget proposals stack up to Americans’ priorities.

By Jasmine Tucker

Domestic Spending

(Total Non-Defense Discretionary)
Americans want to invest in our future. And they're willing to pay for it.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Invests $519 billion in domestic spending in 2017
  • Calls for an increase of $194 billion in domestic spending programs over 10 years
  • Keeps to spending levels under the budget deal (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015) for 2017 and then eliminates all spending caps
  • Invests $519 billion in domestic spending in 2017
  • Calls for $887 billion in domestic spending cuts over 10 years
  • Calls for $30 billion in cuts to mandatory spending, and $140 billion over 10 years
  • Keeps to spending levels under the budget deal (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015) for 2017
  • Invests $599 billion in domestic spending in 2017
  • Calls for an increase of nearly $2.4 trillion in domestic spending programs over 10 years
  • Eliminates all spending caps

Jobs and Economy

75 percent say the economy is a top priority.
64 percent say jobs are top priority.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Invests $32 billion per year over 10 years in a clean transportation package to create hundreds of thousands of jobs
  • Expands Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits for childless workers
  • Reforms unemployment insurance so more workers are covered and for longer periods of time
  • No new funding for job creation
  • Invests $1 trillion over 11 years in infrastructure spending
  • Expands Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
  • Reforms unemployment insurance so workers are covered for longer periods of time

Education

66 percent say it's a top priority.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Invests $61 billion over 10 years to provide two years of free community college
  • Invests $66 billion over 10 years for Preschool for All
  • Increases Pell grant funding by $2 billion over 2016 levels
  • Increases funding for Head Start by $434 million over 2016 levels
  • Makes substantial cuts to domestic spending, including education
  • Invests in Debt Free College program for every student
  • Invests $66 billion over 10 years for Preschool for All
  • Invests $412 billion over 10 years to allow students to refinance loans at lower rates

Social Security

62 percent say it’s a top priority.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Raises $10 billion per year by 2025 by closing loopholes available to some high-income earners
  • Prevents individuals from collecting Social Security Disability Insurance and Unemployment Insurance benefits at the same time
  • Calls for $30 billion in cuts to mandatory spending programs ($140 billion over 10 years), which could mean cuts to Social Security
  • Raises $10 billion per year by 2025 by closing loopholes available to some high-income earners

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

54 percent want Congress to keep it, or scale it up or down, rather than repeal it.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Maintains the Affordable Care Act with small tweaks
  • Extends Affordable Care Act’s three years of federal support for Medicaid expansion in states
  • Repeals the Affordable Care Act, including the law's Medicaid expansion, currently implemented in 32 states
  • Maintains the Affordable Care Act with small tweaks
  • Repeals the excise tax on high-priced plans and introduces a new “public option” for insurance

Medicare & Medicaid

77 percent say Medicare is a very important government program.
63 percent say Medicaid is a very important government program.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Extends Medicare Part A (hospital care) by an additional 15 years
  • Lowers prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D
  • Raises premiums on wealthy retirees
  • Converts Medicaid into a block grant administered at the state level and cuts about $1 trillion from the program over 10 years
  • Allows Medicare beneficiaries the option to switch to private insurance beginning in 2024
  • Lowers prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D to save $157 billion over 10 years
  • Raises $10 billion per year by 2025 by closing loopholes available to some high-income earners

Safety Net

54 percent say dealing with problems of the poor and needy is a top priority.
71 percent say the government has a responsibility to deal with hunger.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Invests $12 billion over 10 years to provide low-income kids with food benefits during the summer months
  • Prevents Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients from receiving work requirement waivers
  • Converts the food stamp program into a block grant administered at the state level
  • Calls for $30 billion in cuts to mandatory spending programs ($140 billion over 10 years)
  • Targets $799 billion in safety net programs for potential cuts
  • Invests $10 billion over 10 years for child nutrition programs, including improvements to summer meals
  • Expands food stamp benefits to enhanced levels under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Pentagon and Military Funding

59 percent say we spend enough or too much on the military.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Calls for $551 billion for the Pentagon’s base budget and related spending in 2017
  • Increases Pentagon funding by $285 billion over 10 years
  • Calls for $551 billion for the Pentagon’s base budget and related spending in 2017
  • Increases Pentagon funding by $267 billion over 10 year
  • Calls for $551 billion for the Pentagon’s base budget and related spending in 2017
  • Increases Pentagon funding by $82 billion over 10 years, and does away with slush fund
  • Audits the Pentagon for the first time ever

Pentagon Slush Fund (“Overseas Contingency Operations”)

58 percent say the U.S. campaign against ISIS is not going well.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Calls for $59 billion in Pentagon slush fund for 2017 in addition to Pentagon base budget, continues reduced slush fund until 2021
  • Calls for $59 billion in Pentagon slush fund for 2017 in addition to Pentagon base budget, continues reduced slush fund until 2021
  • Funds complete withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2016 and ends slush fund thereafter

Corporate Taxes

69 percent say corporations pay too little in taxes.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Raises $111 billion over 10 years by implementing a new fee on large financial institutions
  • Requires companies to pay tax on income earned abroad
  • Calls for lower tax rates for corporations and small businesses
  • Closes some special interest loopholes but does not specify which ones
  • Raises $114 billion over 10 years by implementing a Financial Institution Excise Tax
  • Closes a variety of corporate tax loopholes to raise $1.4 trillion over 10 years
  • Requires companies to pay tax on income earned abroad
  • Introduces a Financial Transactions Tax

Individual Taxes

62 percent say the wealthy pay too little in taxes.

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Raises $955 billion over 10 years by closing certain loopholes for the wealthy, such as implementing the Buffett Rule, which ensures the wealthiest Americans pay at least 30% in income taxes
  • Calls for lower tax rates for individuals and families
  • Closes some special interest loopholes but does not specify which ones
  • Eliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax that sets a minimum tax for the wealthy
  • Raises $1.5 trillion over 10 years by closing certain loopholes for the wealthy
  • Increases tax rates for top earners to raise more than $1.5 trillion over 10 years
  • Implements the Hard Work Tax Credit

Deficit Reduction

56 percent of Americans say it’s a top priority

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Calls for $2.9 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, primarily through health, immigration, and tax reforms
  • Calls for $7 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, primarily through spending cuts
  • Calls for $5.4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, primarily through health and tax reforms

Topline Spending

President Obama

House Budget Committee

People's Budget (Congressional Progressive Caucus)

  • Proposes $4.2 trillion in total spending for 2017
  • Proposes $3.9 trillion in total spending for 2017
  • Proposes $4.4 trillion in total spending for 2017