President seeks $4T budget

DOD, civilian spending would rise

Lifted by a rising economy, President Obama asked Congress for $3.99 trillion for fiscal 2016 to restore some of the federal agency funding that was deeply cut during the recession.

Obama proposed to add roughly $74 billion in discretionary spending--about a 7% increase--which would be split about evenly between defense and domestic programs. The increase would partially make up for funding lost through sequestration, including $85 billion cut in fiscal 2013 alone.

The budget aims to reduce the deficit by $1.8 billion over 10 years, through a series of tax changes and savings programs, including tax increases for some corporations and wealthy individuals.

Obama’s budget blueprint marks a starting point for negotiations with the Republican-controlled Congress,which is unlikely to support many of his ideas.

Here is how major federal agencies fare in Obama’s request:

Defense Department

The White House requested a $534 billion base budget for defense, which is about $38 billion higher than the caps set under the Budget Control Act of 2011.

Officials said the funding is needed to prevent further deterioration of readiness at a time of increasing global instability, after several years of austerity.

The budget would rise by 7.7%, from $496 billion this year.

Much of that rise is in weapons procurement, which would go up by 14% under the White House budget, according to an analysis by Forbes. Overseas contingency operations would receive another $51 billion.

Health & Human Services

The president's fiscal 2016 budget request proposes $83.8 billion in discretionary funding for the Health and Human Services Department, which is 6% more than this year’s enacted level.

That includes $4.9 billion for the Food and Drug Administration — a 9% increase. About $1.4 billion of that is for food safety.

There’s also a $32 million increase for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, to $92 million.

Veterans Affairs

The White House has asked for $168.8 billion for the VA, which includes $70 billion in discretionary funds and $95 billion in mandatory funding. The discretionary request reflects an increase of 7.5%, or $5 billion, over the fiscal 2015 enacted level.

The president also asked for $63.3 billion in advanced appropriations for fiscal 2017.

Housing & Urban Development

The White House provided $49.3 billion for HUD programs in fiscal 2016, which is $4 billion above the 2015 enacted level. That is an 8.8% increase.

“Funding is prioritized to protect vulnerable families and to revitalize neighborhoods with distressed HUD assisted housing and concentrated poverty,” the budget document states.

State Department

The president’s fiscal 2016 budget proposal includes $50.3 billion in discretionary funding for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, including $7 billion in overseas contingency operations.

That represents a 6% increase over the fiscal 2015 enacted level, officials said at a press briefing.

Homeland Security Department

The Homeland Security would get a 9% increase in fiscal 2016, rising to $41.2 billion, under the president’s budget request.

There is $1 billion to replace aging Coast Guard cutters, aircraft, electronic systems and shore infrastructure.

The budget also includes $3.7 billion for the Transportation Security Administration screening operations, and $132 million for Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler Programs, including Global Entry, SENTRI, NEXUS and FAST, which are growing in enrollment.

There is $373.5 million for border security infrastructure and technology and $692 million to help unaccompanied children and families at the border, along with an additional $162 million in contingency funding for that purpose.

Transportation Department

The budget asks for record amounts of funding for transportation infrastructure under a six-year plan with tax proposals to pay for it, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (http://goo.gl/nzMplP) .

The DOT budget would increase by almost 33% in fiscal 2016, while the Federal Highway Administration would get a 25% increase, rising from $41 billion to $51.3 billion, the AGC says. Transit formula spending would grow by almost 70%, from $8.6 billion to $13.9 billion, and the Federal Railroad Administration budget would nearly triple, to about $5 billion, the analysis shows.

Commerce Department

The White House provided $9.8 billion for the Commerce Department, up from $8.5 billion this year. That is a 15% increase.

Interior Department

The budget request is for $13.2 billion, which is an 8% increase over the current enacted level.

NASA

The space agency would get $18.5 billion in discretionary funding in fiscal 2016, up from $18 billion this year. That is a 3% increase.

Justice Department

Obama is seeking $28.7 billion for DOJ in 2016, which is a $1.3 billion increase over the enacted level of fiscal 2015. That is a 4.7% increase.

USDA

The discretionary budget request is for $25 billion, up from $24 billion enacted in fiscal 2015. That amounts to a 3% increase.

Education Dept.

The discretionary portion would rise from $44.7 million to $48.3 million, which is a 3.6% increase.

More information: White House Budget http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget
Agency Fact Sheets http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/agency-fact-sheets

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