President Biden’s domestic policy plan
President Biden recently announced in a speech at the White House the plan for his scaled-back, but still historic, domestic policy plan.
The new plan, which leaves out key items like paid family leave and lower prescription drug pricing, is still considered “robust” with $1.75 trillion of social services and climate change programs.
However, it’s not in the clear yet. Biden still needs to secure votes from key colleagues and the issues that were left out angered many. So, it’s not going to be easy getting this domestic policy passed with the narrowly divided Congress.
Biden is hoping it’ll pass the 50-50 Senate. But Republicans aren’t about to make it easy, as they overwhelmingly oppose the plan. This leaves no wiggle room when it comes to Democratic votes in the Senate and few in the House.
Key components of the plan
What was left in the mix may affect Benefits pros so you’ll want to keep an eye on it. Some of what’s still in the plan includes:
- Expanded healthcare program, which includes a new $35 billion hearing aid benefit for people with Medicare
- Free prekindergarten for all children
- $555 billion to tackle climate change
- A one-year extension of a child-care tax credit put in place during the COVID-19 rescue and new childcare subsidies, and
- An additional $100 billion to bolster the immigration and border processing system.
Biden touted that this plan “will fundamentally change the lives of millions of people for the better.” And along with a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, “would be a domestic achievement modeled on those of Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson.”
The White House agrees calling the plan “the largest-ever investment in climate change and the biggest improvement to the nation’s healthcare system in more than a decade.”
Financing the plan
The financing for the program would come from:
- a new 5% surtax on income over $10 million a year
- a new 15% corporate minimum tax
- dialing down Trump administration’s 2017 tax cuts, and
- increased IRS focus on prosecuting tax dodgers.
We’ll let you know when the domestic policy plan is finalized, and how it impacts health care and your benefits.
Free Training & Resources
Resources
The Cost of Noncompliance
The Cost of Noncompliance
The Cost of Noncompliance
Further Reading
Imagine working a full day at your job, coming home to care for your children, and then just when you’re ready to collapse into bed for th...
The doctors who see your people would rather proactively treat disease than wait for symptoms to cause an ER visit. The term for it is upstr...
The workforce is constantly evolving and companies across all industries are adapting to ever-changing employee desires. Smart employers are...
To effectively support employee health and well-being, business leaders and benefits professionals must think beyond the walls of the workpl...
Most firms want to lower healthcare costs. A new report offered advice on just how to do that. Focus on employees in a specific group when d...
If you have some lingering questions about what’s required of employers for mental health benefits under the Mental Health Parity and Addi...