President Joe Biden unveiled his proposed budget for the 2023 fiscal year on March 28. Totaling $5.8 trillion in spending, the proposed budget comes in slightly lower than the projected outlay for the 2022 fiscal year.
Here are a few of the proposals of interest to state, local and tribal policymakers (as quoted or paraphrased from the Office of Management and Budget proposal).
Department of Agriculture
- $6.8 billion for nutrition programs, including $6 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
- $4.9 billion for Forest Service Wildland Fire Management, including $2.2 billion for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund
- $1.8 billion for multifamily housing programs (a $259 million increase) to address housing insecurity, rent burdens and the impacts of climate change in rural America
- $600 million for the ReConnect program, which provides grants and loans to deploy broadband to unserved areas, especially tribal areas
- $300 million in new funding for grants, loans, and debt forgiveness for rural electric providers for clean energy transition
Department of Commerce
- $6.9 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ($1.4 billion increase) to support programs that accelerate wind energy, restore habitats, protect the oceans and coasts, and improve NOAA’s ability to predict extreme weather
Department of Education
- $36.5 billion for Title I (including $20.5 billion in discretionary funding and $16 billion in mandatory funding)
- $16.3 billion to support special education and related services for students in grades Pre-K through 12
- $1.1 billion for the English Language Acquisition (ELA) program ($278 million increase)
- $1 billion to increase the number of counselors, nurses, school psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals in schools
- $932 million for Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Part C grants, which support early intervention services for infants and families with disabilities
- $752 million increase in funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Community Colleges
- $250 million for IDEA Part D Personnel Preparation grants to support a pipeline of special educators
- $100 million for a grant program to help communities develop and implement strategies to promote racial and socioeconomic diversity in schools
- $2,175 increase in the maximum Pell Grant
Department of Energy
- $7.6 billion for the Environmental Management program to support cleanup of communities used during the Manhattan Project and Cold War for nuclear weapons production
- $2.1 billion to support clean energy workforce and infrastructure projects, including:
- $502 million to weatherize and retrofit low-income homes
- $150 million to electrify tribal homes and transition tribal colleges and universities to renewable energy
- $90 million for a new Grid Deployment Office
Department of Health and Human Services
- $20.2 billion for early care and education programs ($3.3 billion increase), including
- $12.2 billion for Head Start ($1.5 billion increase)
- $7.6 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant ($1.7 billion increase)
- $450 million for Preschool Development Grants program ($175 million increase)
- $9.9 billion in discretionary funding to build healthcare system capacity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and at the state and local levels ($2.8 billion increase)
- $225 million increase from the 2021 enacted level, for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- $215 million for states and community-based organizations to respond to and prevent child abuse
- $100 million in competitive grants for states and localities to advance reforms to reduce the overrepresentation of children and families of color in the child welfare system and address the disparate experiences and outcomes of these families
Department of Homeland Security
- $507 million ($93 million increase) for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) flood hazard mapping program
Department of Housing and Urban Development
- $35 billion in funding for state and local housing finance agencies and partners to provide grants, revolving loan funds, and other streamlined financing tools
- $3.8 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program to help communities modernize infrastructure, invest in economic development, create parks and other public amenities
- $3.6 billion ($580 million increase) for Homeless Assistance Grants
- $2 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program ($600 million increase) to construct and rehabilitate affordable rental housing and provide homeownership opportunities
- $1 billion to fund tribal efforts to expand affordable housing, improve housing conditions and infrastructure and increase economic opportunities for low-income families
- $400 million ($40 million increase) for state and local governments and nonprofit organizations to reduce lead-based paint and other hazards in homes of low-income families with young children
- $180 million to support 2,000 units of new permanently affordable housing specifically for the elderly and people with disabilities
Department of the Interior
- $4.5 billion ($1 billion increase) for tribal programs that support public safety and justice, social services, climate resilience, and educational needs
- $325 million in Hazardous Fuels Management and Burned Area Rehabilitation programs to help reduce the risk and severity of wildfires and restore lands devastated by catastrophic fire over the last several years
Department of Justice
- $3.2 billion in discretionary resources for state and local grants to support law enforcement, crime prevention, and community violence intervention
Department of Transportation
- $68.9 billion for the Federal-aid Highway program ($19.8 billion increase), including $9.4 billion provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for 2023:
- $8 billion for new competitive and formula grant programs to rebuild bridges
- $1.7 billion for a new resiliency grant program to enhance surface transportation infrastructure against hazards and climate change
- $1.4 billion to deploy a nationwide, publicly-accessible network of electric vehicle chargers and other alternative fueling infrastructure
- $1.3 billion for a new carbon reduction grant program
- $4.5 billion for the Capital Investment Grant program to advance construction of new, high-quality transit corridors
- $4 billion ($3 billion increase) for National Infrastructure Investments grant programs to support transportation projects with significant benefits across multiple modes
- $1.64 billion ($640 million increase) for the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grants program
Corps of Engineers
- $100 million in grants to states and tribes to support implementation of on-the-ground efforts, such as reducing methane emissions
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