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Obama: Washington should cut back like average families do
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02/12/11 07:00 AM ET
President Obama said Saturday that his upcoming budget will force
Washington to “live within our means” at a time when American families
are having to make difficult economic decisions every day.
In his weekly address, Obama outlined his fiscal year 2012 budget
request, which he will send to Congress on Monday. Obama’s budget comes
as Republicans in Congress are railing against government spending.
House Republicans just unveiled a bill to fund the government for the
rest of the fiscal year that, at the prodding of Tea Party
freshmen, cuts current spending by $58 billion.
Obama told the story of Brenda Breece, a special-ed teacher in Missouri, and her family. The Breece family has tightened their food budget, started watching movies on TV instead of going to the movie theater and even cuts each other’s hair.
“[I]t’s time Washington acted as responsibly as our families do,” Obama said. “And on Monday, I’m proposing a new budget that will help us live within our means while investing in our future.”
Obama said he had to make tough choices on his budget. The budget will call for a five-year spending freeze on all domestic spending, a move that will reduce the deficit by $400 million during the next 10 years, Obama said.
The budget targets wasteful spending, Obama said.
“We’re getting rid of thousands of government-owned buildings that sit empty because they aren’t needed,” he said. “I’ve also proposed freezing salaries for hard-working government employees, because everyone has to do their part.”
Obama also railed against earmarks. “I’m going to make sure politics doesn’t add to our deficit by vetoing any bill that contains earmarks,” he said.
But Obama stressed that there are a number of policies that are worth investing in. He pointed to investments in infrastructure like roads and high-speed rail, clean energy and education.
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