U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) has publicly supported President Joe Biden's $6.8 trillion budget proposal, calling it "an investment in people and families" from all parts of the United States.
“President Biden’s budget is an investment in people and families in Hawaii and across the country," Hirono wrote in her March 9 tweet. "It will lower costs for working families, strengthen crucial safety net programs including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and help ensure the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations pay their fair share."
Opponents of the budget's price tag have argued there's little chance the budget, as is, would be approved by Congress. A Politico report noted the proposed budget includes tax increases on rich Americans and corporations, record investment in the military budget and a plan that would cut the nation's deficit by $3 trillion over the next ten years.
Republican members of the House of Representatives want to see government spending slashed in exchange for increasing the debt ceiling down the road in 2023, Politico noted.
The House Freedom Caucus recently came up with its own 10-point plan. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also tossed around the idea of "sunsetting" Social Security and Medicare programs, a notion that raised the ire of White House officials and Democratic lawmakers.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) is among the most vocal critics of Biden's budget proposal.
According to Politico, Kennedy told FOX News, “The president says that his budget will solve our financial problems in Medicare and Social Security. That is not true. Anything seems possible when you don’t know what you are talking about.”