Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Don’t Even Think of Passing Biden’s Budget Bill Now

The delta variant is no excuse for authorizing $3.5 trillion in spending on top of $550 billion for infrastructure.

July 29, 2021 at 1:30 PM UTC

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

Showing faith in the economy, delta variant or not.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

As the delta variant continues to sweep through the U.S., officials are reimposing mask mandates and taking other measures to try to slow the spread. Will the renewed threat to public health stall U.S. economic growth?

I don’t think it will. But the possibility that it could is another reason for Congress not to ram through President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget proposal, which includes spending on social programs, education, health care, families, and the environment. This plan would be on top of the $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure package that the Senate agreed to advance on Wednesday night.