April 4 Federal Update: President Biden Releases Budget Blueprint for FY 2023

Last Monday, President Biden released his administration’s $5.8 trillion budget request for fiscal year 2023. Though Congress traditionally takes the lead in crafting the federal budget and will inevitably alter many aspects of the president’s proposal, the request paints a picture of the administration’s priorities heading into the budgetary process. The president included budget details for his “Unity Agenda” announced at the State of the Union in February, which aims to tackle the opioid crisis, bolster the mental health system, and fund research for his Cancer Moonshot program. However, the administration declined to outline the costs of elements from the president’s signature Build Back Better bill, possibly to give leeway to Congress, especially holdouts like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), to negotiate details on provisions like universal pre-K, the Child Tax Credit, and climate funding.

Major highlights from the budget request include:

• $33.3 billion for the Administration for Children and Families
  • $12 billion for Head Start
  • $7.5 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant
  • $257 million for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
• $10.7 billion for the Substance Use And Mental Health Services Administration
  • $1.6 billion for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant
  • $553 million for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
• $88.3 billion for the Department of Education
  • $3.3 billion increase to IDEA Grants to states, the largest two-year increase ever
  • $438 million for Full Service Community Schools
  • $2,175 increase to Pell Grants
• $28.5 billion for the Department of Agriculture
  • $111.2 billion in mandatory funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
  • $6.7 billion for Food and Nutrition Service, largely for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC)

The administration included new pay fors, including a 20% minimum tax on unrealized capital gains for households worth more than $100 million, as well as a boost to the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and a new top income tax rate of 39.6% on high-income earners. These new tax increases would help fund $1 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, a new priority that would help woo more moderate voters. Social Current will continue to advocate for our sector’s policy priorities and keep you up to date on developments as the budget for FY 2023 comes together.

Social Current in the News

Last week, the Chronicle of Philanthropy featured an article by Social Current President and CEO Jody Levison-Johnson and Senior Director of Government Relations Ilana Levinson about staff shortages and workforce challenges facing the social sector. You can read the full article online.

Republican Senators Introduce Child Care Bill

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) introduced legislation to reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG ) until FY2025. CCDBG aims to fund child care subsidies for low-income families with children under the age of 13, though prior to the pandemic, only 20% of eligible children participated in the program. The proposed legislation would expand eligibility to families earning 150% of the State Median Income (SMI), from 85%. Moreover, families making less than 75% SMI would pay a $0 copay, and no eligible family would pay more than 7% of their income in copays. President Biden’s child care plan, which lost traction along with the Build Back Better bill at the end of last year, also requires no copays for families earning less than 75% SMI, but requires no more than 7% of income in copays for families up to 250% SMI.

New Report on Impact of the American Rescue Plan

The Treasury Department released a report on the impact of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) one year after passage. The $1.9 trillion bill invested in COVID-19 vaccines and testing, state and local governments, economic supports for children and families, and housing and small business assistance, among other things. The report states that the ARP made significant progress is addressing child poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment in low-income communities and doubled GDP growth. The expanded child tax credit, for example, benefitted 36 million families with more than 61 million children, and over $400 billion in Economic Impact Payments, or stimulus checks, were distributed. The state and local dollars provided 740,000 essential workers with premium pay and funded 1,460 projects to increase affordable housing, improve education, and address public health issues across the country. Finally, the Emergency Rental Assistance programs provided over 5 million rent, mortgage, and utility assistance payments as of January 2022.

New Ratings from the Prevention Services Clearinghouse

The IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse announced ratings for 15 new programs. Two were found to be “well-supported,” one was found to be “supported,” three were found to be “promising,” and the remainder “does not currently meet criteria.” See the ratings and links to each program below:

GenerationPMTO – Individual – Promising
GenerationPMTO – Group – Well-supported
Strengthening Families Program – Birth to Three – Does not currently meet criteria
Strengthening Families Program – 3-5 – Does not currently meet criteria
Strengthening Families Program – 6-11 – Does not currently meet criteria
Strengthening Families Program – 12-16 – Does not currently meet criteria
Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 – Supported
Familias Fuertes – Does not currently meet criteria
Families and Schools Together® – Early Childhood Education Level – Does not currently meet criteria
Families and Schools Together® – Elementary School Level – Promising
Families and Schools Together® – Middle School Level – Does not currently meet criteria
Families and Schools Together® – High School Level – Does not currently meet criteria
Community Reinforcement Approach + Vouchers – Promising
Mindfulness–Based Cognitive Therapy – Well-supported
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Anxious Children – Does not currently meet criteria