Biden calls on Speaker McCarthy to release his budget plan, says he is ‘ready to meet’

President Biden called on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to release the Republican spending plan after unveiling his own on Thursday, saying he is ready to meet with McCarthy “anytime” to begin hashing out the details of the national spending bill.

The White House revealed its own plan on Thursday, saying it is designed to shrink the national deficit by over $3 trillion over the next decade. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s unveiling of the full plan, “The President’s budget, which we will release tomorrow, will cut the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next 10 years.  That’s nearly a $6 trillion difference between the President’s budget and congressional Republicans’ agenda, which would add $3 trillion to the debt.”

On Thursday, President Biden gave a televised speech at the Finishing Trades Institute in Philadelphia detailing his budget plan. “My budget reflects what we can do to lift the burden and hard working Americans,” Biden said. The new budget plan would rely heavily on increased corporate taxes and higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans to pay for the new spending proposals. 

During the speech he called on McCarthy to release his own spending plan so the two can meet and begin negotiations. “I’m ready to meet with the speaker anytime,” the president said, to go over the plans “line by line” together. McCarthy has not said when his spending plan will be ready.