In the last three years, the US government has faced many challenges, such as job loss and shortages, market volatility, and inflation, with two pivotal impacts on the economy—the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine conflict. The government has established three priorities for the next fiscal year to respond to external and internal influences affecting the US.
To start, President Joe Biden is in discussion with Republicans to increase the US debt ceiling. In addition, the national economic and financial landscape needs to improve, and the President has enacted three laws to better the lifestyles of citizens. The public has also brought the issue of combating the availability of illicit drugs to light.
This article will cover what the US government intends to focus on in 2023, the factors driving these solutions, and what this means to citizens.
Lifting the Debt Ceiling
The government recently proposed a bill to increase the national debt limit, as Congress will fail to meet its debt repayment deadline in 2023. The debt limit sets the amount of funds the US government can legally borrow, and President Joe Biden has initiated discussions with Republican lawmakers to request an increase.
Exacerbating this concern, the Treasury Department projects the government will run out of the money it needs within as few as four weeks. As a result, the US will be at risk of recession while influencing the financial markets of several countries.
Despite a $31 trillion legal limit, the government’s debt is six times what it was in 2021. However, Republicans have suggested that they will not grant an extended deadline or increased borrowing limit unless President Biden is willing to implement steep budget cuts—a tactic behind many standoffs between the House and Congress.
In addition, economists, investors, and organizations are concerned about the impact of another economic standstill. As confirmed by previous government shutdowns, this unavoidably causes damage to the economy.
Adding to the need to increase the debt ceiling, the Treasury Department does not have a defined deadline date—this depends on the inflow of federal tax funds. With California facing tax filing delays from residents affected by the storms, the estimated debt deadline is between early June to Fall. In other words, lawmakers cannot spend much time planning. They must address and solve this concern with urgency.
Economy and Finance
The economic and financial state of the nation remains a concern for Congress in 2023. According to research by Pew Research Center, 57% of lawmakers point to minimizing the budget deficit as a priority to maintain a balanced economic landscape. While recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic had been among the top financial priorities in 2021 and 2022, only 26% of lawmakers regard it as pivotal in 2023.
The report also indicates that 59% of Congress believes the government needs to prioritize reducing money in politics. 58% of respondents plan to make Medicare costs more affordable, while 60% want to focus on reducing the expense of healthcare.
With all these aspects of the economy and finance, the government must implement strategic solutions to address these challenges. Amid all the challenges Americans highlighted, 75% strongly agree that the economy must be a priority in 2023.
In response to the negative sentiment around the US economy, President Biden has established three strategies to solve this financial unrest, which include:
- The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: This act was an investment into national infrastructure, including bridges, roads, and railroads—“You cannot be the number one economy in the world unless you have the best infrastructure in the world,” Biden explained. The Bipartisan Infrastructure law will also implement access to water and high-speed internet for more American communities.
- The CHIPS and Science Act: President Biden employed this law to ensure America leads the market in designing, developing, and manufacturing semiconductors. The CHIPS and Science Act also encourages the production of US-manufactured chips, so the economy will never rely on foreign chipmakers again. Private companies have also invested over $300 billion in developing and manufacturing semiconductors on American soil.
- The Inflation Reduction Act: The US government describes this law as “the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation’s history”. President Biden implemented this motion to lower living costs for working families, promising to reduce healthcare and prescription expenses and extend the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies to help American households save $800 annually. In addition to these social measures, the government will prioritize sustainability, investing in AI climate control technologies to reduce energy consumption expenses for citizens and improve electric grids.
Combating the Drug Problem
Drug abuse is crippling the US, and a survey by the Pew Research Center confirms 53% of Americans say that reducing the availability of illegal drugs should be a priority in 2023. There is no doubt about the negative impact of drug trafficking in the US. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, illicit drugs have caused a $120 billion loss in productivity due to workers going to rehab, prematurely dying, or being incarnated.
The economy suffered a second $11 billion loss in healthcare costs for drug-related medical emergencies and treatments and $61 billion in criminal justice expenses—criminal investigations, incarceration, victim, and prospection fees.
According to research by the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS), the 2020 federal budget for drug control was $35 billion. This report also confirms that 50% of citizens 12 years and older have tried illegal substances at least once.
There were 37.309 million noted drug users, with monthly usage rates per citizen increasing by 3.8% year-over-year (YoY).
In 2022, President Biden implemented the National Drug Control Strategy, outlining two core aspects of the drug problem—untreated addiction and drug trafficking.
Government Solutions for Untreated Drug Addiction
As confirmed by the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.5% of drug users do not have access or only have limited access to treatment. This strategy is the first-ever national plan to make drug treatment and recovery more accessible to communities. In addition, this plan sets out to expand evidence-based studies to support substance abuse treatment while prioritizing data collection for improved public health methods.
Here is an overview of what each of these 3 steps will entail:
- Expand harm reduction interventions. This strategy aims to bring drug treatment and intervention directly to communities, without substance users having to find solutions themselves. Taking these measures will help provide more people with an opportunity for recovery. The Biden-Harris Administration intends to focus on greater access to syringe service programs, drug strips, and naloxone while encouraging federal agencies to integrate these solutions into the US system.
- Make evidence-based drug abuse treatment accessible. The Biden-Harris Administration plans to focus on the availability of treatment and intervention for users at the highest risk of overdose. Congress will implement treatment payment reform, increase support for those at high risk of overdose, and strengthen the Nation’s treatment workforce and infrastructure. The plan outlines these groups as people who are homeless, those who inject drugs, and people who are incarcerated or recently re-entered society.
- Optimize drug research and systems that support treatment. President Biden aims to ensure drug policymaking is driven by improved research and infrastructure to take individualized approaches to treatment and recovery. To achieve this, the administration plans to collect and analyze data and trends on drug use consequences, consumption patterns, transportation, prevention, production, trafficking organizations, and distribution.
Government Solutions for Drug Trafficking
The second component of this approach to drug abuse in the US is determining and developing solutions to minimize drug trafficking. As such, the administration intends to invest $300 million in the Drug Enforcement Administration and $300 million to increase Customs and Border Protection.
In addition, the government will obstruct and disrupt the financial activities of criminal drug organizations and collaborate with domestic and international entities to reduce the harm of drug trafficking. Finally, this drug control strategy also details the need to improve border security and reduce smuggling.
This is each element of the outlined strategy to solve drug trafficking:
- Disrupt the financial activity of criminal organizations. Transactional criminal organizations (TCOs) generate significant revenue from illicit drugs, which they launder to grow these enterprises. The Biden-Harris Administration aims to strengthen strategies against trade-based laundering (TBML), including Black Market Pesco Exchanges and mirror transfers. These steps will obstruct TCO’s financial activity, help the government slow down criminal activity, and make it more challenging for these organizations to gain profit from the drug trade.
- Work with federal and international agencies. The administration believes in collaboration between federal and international agencies to combat drug trafficking. By working with national security, the government will protect individuals and homes from drug activity and improve foreign relationships to reduce trafficking, smuggling, and distribution.
- Reduce national drug smuggling. To prevent drugs from entering US communities, the administration will enforce optimized border protection and control. This entails targeting drug transportation routes, countering criminal networks, disrupting drug trafficking revenue, and working with local law enforcement.
In Closing
To recover the economy from the impacts of external and internal influences, including COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, the government has employed three imperative focuses for 2023. First, President Biden is proposing to increase the debt limit in fear of an economic shutdown.
Next, the government has enacted several acts to prioritize finance and the economy, aiming to optimize transportation infrastructure, reclaim the title of the best semiconductor designers and developers globally, and improve the quality of lives of citizens.
Finally, President Joe Biden has taken an in-depth approach to reducing drug abuse and trafficking in the US. The government will connect national and international agencies to support these strategies while increasing border security and control and making drug rehabilitation more accessible. Overall, the Biden-Harris Administration has implemented numerous pivotal strategies to rebalance the economy and build a thriving system.
