Among the wave of spending proposals coming out of the Biden administration, it’s easy to overlook the release of a new federal budget request for 2022 that would boost outlays more than 8.4 percent.

The $1.5 trillion budget includes big increases in non-defense spending, which has federal workers smiling:

The president’s 2022 budget request calls for $769 billion in non-defense discretionary spending, a 16% increase over 2021 levels, and $753 billion for defense programs.

Defense programs will see a modest 1.7% spending bump in 2022, which administration officials said would largely cover pay increases for military members and the civilian employees who support them.

The big winners in the Biden budget include:

…a 41 percent boost in Education Department funding, and a 23 percent increase in spending on the Department of Health and Human Services. The government’s climate change efforts would get a $14 billion bump, while appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development would jump 15 percent.

Worth noting: the budget proposal is less than the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, and the $2 trillion CARES Act. 

Even so, it’s big – very big. But big (and costly) seems to be the Biden mantra…and pay no attention to that tidal wave of red ink associated with all this spending.