Biden’s budget essentially maps out the president’s already released $2.3 trillion infrastructure-plus proposal, his $1.8 trillion social welfare package, and his $1.5 trillion discretionary spending outline, which together form his vision of a larger, far-reaching federal government.

However, liberal activists eager for Biden to take the lead on the Democrats’ healthcare platform will be disappointed. Instead, Biden’s budget calls for Congress to enact reforms aimed at lowering prescription drug prices and improving and expanding insurance coverage.

Acting White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young defended the delegation of responsibility on Friday by contending Biden’s framework includes provisions to make the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credit permanent. It also suggests $400 billion be spent on community-based aged and disabilities care services, she told reporters.

Biden’s budget, although aspirational and nonbinding, may cause consternation among deficit hawks over the administration’s plan to keep pace with national debt interest payments for the next decade rather than attempting to eliminate it. The 10-year document distills an intention to increase federal spending to $8.2 trillion by 2031, notching a projected deficit of $1.6 trillion. Those calculations were based on economic presumptions made in February, before many coronavirus-related restrictions were lifted with the rising COVID-19 vaccination rate.

The White House believes “the most important test of our physical health is real interest payments on the debt,” according to Young. That is because that indicates “whether debt is burdening our economy and crowding out other investments,” she said.

“This president’s paying for this historic, staggering agenda that changes the long-term view of how this country invests in infrastructure, brings its competitiveness with those like China back to where we should be, which is first in the world, while ensuring that he not only offsets his policies but improves the deficit picture starting in 2030 and by cutting deficits by over $2 trillion in 10 years after that,” she added.

When pressed on how net interest on the national debt forecast to be due in 2031 will be $914 billion, yet the primary interest that year is anticipated to be $654 billion, Young countered that the real interest payments would still “remain low by historical standards.”

Biden’s budget accounts for floated changes to the tax code, such as extending more generous child, earned income, and child and dependent care benefits. The American Jobs Plan, too, pitches raising the corporate tax rate to 28% and nixing breaks for fossil fuel companies. The American Families Plan incorporates hiking the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6% and levying capital gains earned by households making more than $1 million as ordinary income.

With former President Donald Trump’s tax cuts set to expire in 2025, Young recommitted to Biden’s campaign promise that he would not raise taxes on individuals earning less than $400,000 a year.

“The president will use the time between now and that expiration in 2025 to work with Congress to continue reforming our tax code, so that it asks the wealthy to pay their fair share, raising the right amount of revenue, and protects the low and middle-income families,” she said.

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Biden described what he sees as a more inclusive economic vision during a Thursday visit to Cleveland, insisting “everyone is going to be in on the deal this time.”

“We have to start investing,” he said, “in ourselves again.”