In Joe’s world, money does grow on trees
The $3.5 trillion spending bill being pushed by President Biden and congressional Democratic leaders includes $3 billion for planting tree saplings and $25 million on “anti-discrimination and bias training” in the health-care industry — as well as nearly $79 billion for the Internal Revenue Service to step up its enforcement of tax laws.
While the measure has made headlines over its authorization of huge new spending on a broad array of social issues pushed by the left — including social safety net programs, and components of the Green New Deal — a close look at the bill reveals less-discussed measures likely to stir similar controversy.
The $3 billion earmarked by the House Agriculture Committee would be doled out to state, local or tribal governments for “tree planting . . . with a priority for projects that increase tree equity.”
According to the conservation nonprofit American Forests, “tree equity” refers to the idea that there should be “enough trees in specific neighborhoods or municipalities for everyone to experience the health, economic and climate benefits that trees provide.”
The bill also sets aside at least $7.5 billion for the creation of a New Dealstyle “Civilian Climate Corps” across multiple agencies. The corps is tasked in the bill with carrying out vague “conservation projects” on public land.
The green spending increases when it comes to electric vehicles. The United States Postal Service alone would get $7 billion to purchase “electric delivery vehicles” and related infrastructure, while another $5 billion would go toward e-cars for the rest of the federal government.
One of the biggest outlays in the proposal is for the IRS, which would get $78.9 billion over the next 10 years to “for strengthening tax-enforcement activities and increasing voluntary compliance, expanding audits and other enforcement activities.” The bill text notes that “no use of these funds is intended to increase taxes on any taxpayer with taxable income below $400,000,” although critics have warned that the increased enforcement would disproportionately affect small businesses rather than the large corporations it is meant to target.
Union members would get a break from that enhanced IRS enforcement, as the proposed spending plan would let them deduct union dues of up to $250 beginning next year.
In addition, the bill calls for the Treasury to hand out $25 million to nonprofit groups “to develop, disseminate, review, research, and evaluate training for health professionals and all staff who interact with patients to reduce discrimination and bias in the provision of health care, with a focus on maternal health care.”
The measure also allocates some $2.8 million to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to “efficiently adjudicate applications . . . and to reduce case-processing backlogs.”