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The preliminary FY 2022 budget proposal from President Biden is a strong statement about the need to invest in federal agencies and their employees as they tackle the nation’s most challenging problems.
Clearly this administration believes that with the proper tools and resources, the federal government can be a force for progress when it comes to public health, economic recovery, national security and many other pressing issues. For example, the more than 10.4 percent proposed increase in the IRS budget – with a special focus on customer service and enforcement – helps reverse 10 years of staffing and funding cuts and is a smart way to make sure the agency is equipped to enforce the nation’s tax code fully and fairly. Investments in customer service and enforcement are long overdue and will provide for additional staffing, improvements in the agency’s outdated technology and support for our nation’s taxpayers who routinely turn to the IRS for assistance at tax time and throughout the year.
The budget proposal also provides more than $1 billion for border and port infrastructure, including the modernization of land ports of entry that would ensure strong and effective security screening to guard against human trafficking, the smuggling of illicit drugs, weapons or other unlawful goods, the entry of undocumented migrants and to ensure more efficient processing of legal trade, travel, and commerce.
While the preliminary budget makes no mention of a federal pay raise in 2022, it is common for the raise issue to be included in the full budget request from the White House that is expected later this spring and in appropriation bills. NTEU has endorsed legislation providing an average 3.2 percent raise for federal workers next year.
After four years of White House budgets that tried to starve agencies and attack federal employees, this is a refreshing start to the FY 2022 appropriations process, and we look forward to supporting adequate agency funding levels in Congress.