US President unveils framework for $1.75tn social spending package

Washington, Oct 29 (IANS) US President Joe Biden has unveiled a framework for a $1.75 trillion social spending package following weeks of intensive negotiations with Congressional Democrats.

The so-called Build Back Better Framework includes $555 billion in clean energy and climate investments; $400 billion in funding for child care and free preschool; $200 billion in child tax and earned income tax credits; and $150 billion in investments for affordable housing, according to a fact sheet released by the White House on Thursday.

The framework seeks to impose new taxes on the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans to raise revenue of around $2 trillion over a decade to fully pay for the social spending plan, reports Xinhua news agency citing the fact sheet.

If passed, the framework will impose a 15 per cent minimum tax on corporate profits for firms with earnings over $1 billion reported to shareholders, and a 1 per cent surcharge on corporate stock buybacks, according to the fact sheet.

The framework would also apply a 5 per cent surtax rate on individual incomes above $10 million and an additional 3 per cent surtax on incomes above $25 million.

The framework is far smaller than Biden's original $3.5 trillion proposal, and it has not been written into legislative language yet.

"No one got everything they wanted, including me, but that's what compromise is. That's consensus," Biden said in remarks at the White House on Thursday before departing for a week of summits in Europe.

"Given half a chance, the American people have never ever, ever, ever left the country down, so let's get this done," the President said, urging Congress to pass both the social spending package and the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

It's not clear whether the framework would pave the way for the House of Representatives to approve the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that was passed by the Senate earlier this year.

Progressive House Democrats have held up the Senate-passed bill for months, demanding a vote on the larger social spending plan.