Rep. Dingell talks Biden budget, elder care

President Joe Biden recently unveiled his $5.8 trillion budget proposal. It would increase taxes on billionaires, increase funding for police and gun violence prevention, and implement parts of his Build Back Better agenda which is stalled in Congress. It would also increase defense spending, a request that divides his own allies in Congress.

“Build Back Better got caught up in a lot of politics and a lot of labels…And it’s not going to be as big of a bill as was talked about last fall.” — Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI)

The budget is one of many priorities members of Congress will need to juggle when they get back to Washington from their Spring recess.

Listen: Rep. Debbie Dingell talks about the latest news from Washington.

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Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is a Democrat representing Michigan’s 12th Congressional District. She says physical infrastructure and social supports are still high on Democrats’ priority list.

“We’ve got to upgrade our power grid and build up the infrastructure,” she says. She adds that we need childcare and eldercare. “Too many seniors in this country don’t have the option of staying in their own home” as they age.

Related: Rep. Debbie Dingell Discusses Leaving Dearborn, Build Back Better and the Future of Our Democracy

Dingell says the Build Back Better package is not dead, but its final form will probably look different than the one that has been stalled for months.

“Build Back Better got caught up in a lot of politics and a lot of labels,” she says. “And it’s not going to be as big of a bill as was talked about last fall.”