BREAKING: White House Unveils Election Year Budget

To set the policy agenda for the rest of the year, and to draw an election year contrast with the GOP — and, of course, in accordance with the law — the White House has unveiled its fiscal year 2013 budget. As outlined here, the budget is meant to serve as the completion of the 2011 debt limit fight. That fight locked in $1 trillion in spending cuts to federal programs. President Obama’s budget includes billions of dollars in further cuts, but it also includes a crucial missing piece: tax revenues. To achieve a total of about $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the coming decade, Obama’s calling for $1.5 trillion in new taxes over 10 years, taken from wealthy individuals and corporations. The reforms he’s proposing would conform to the so-called Buffett Rule — one of the key flanks of Obama’s agenda, heading into an election against Republican party calling for further tax cuts for wealthy Americans. We’ll break out key figures from the plan in a forthcoming post. For now, you can view the full document here.