万花筒 2011-02-16&02-18 奥巴马2012财年预算赤字严重（在线收听） |
President Obama unveiled his budget proposal for the coming year. And at a time when a lot of Americans are struggling economically and many are worried about this nation's massive national debt, this budget hasn't seemed to satisfy anybody. There are cuts in it that surprise even Obama loyalists. And yet as a whole, it's not near enough for most Republicans. Our White House correspondent, Savannah Guthrie, inside the briefing room in the west wing. Savannah, good evening. Good evening to you, Brian. There is a phrase that the president's budget is like to use. We are taking a scalpel to this budget, not in ax. Loosely translated it means the president is proposing cuts, but also spending in key areas. He says he will keep this country competitive.
Arriving this morning on Capital Hill, the President's 2012 budget, a bright blue book full of red ink. In Baltimore today, they push for more spending on education. The president said his budget also makes tough cuts.
So what we've done here is make a down payment. But there's gonna be more work that needs to be done and it's gonna require Democrats and Republicans coming together to make it happen.
The $3.7 trillion budget has deficits covering well above $1 trillion through 2012, but lays out a path to cut the deficit by $1.1 trillion over the next decade. Some 200 federal programs will be eliminated or see funding slashed, including low income heating assistance, community development block grants and federal funding to big airports. The biggest cuts $78 billion out of the Pentagon over 5 years.
I've worked on 7 budgets that presidents have sent to Congress. This has the toughest cuts that I have ever worked on. They are very significant.
Some progressives are dismayed to see favorite programs like Teach for America facing dramatic cuts.
Unless we are in the president's budget, we will be zeroed out. So we are barely toward being zeroed out.
The president is also proposing raising taxes to attack the deficit. Lowering how much wealthy tax payers can write off an itemized deductions, like home mortgage interest, and permanently rolling back the lower Bush Tax rates for top earners.
Today Republicans admitted they don't yet have their own budget ready to offer, ripped the president for his.
And so when you see, our leader, the president of the United States, seeing this, knowing it, acknowledging it, and ducking it. That is why we are so disappointed today.
Yet neither republicans nor the president have offered a plan to deal with the biggest part of the budget, mandatory spending for social security, medicaid and medicare.
In Washington, we've got kind of political stalemate with two parties not being willing to compromise and not being willing to really talk honestly about the kinds of changes there are in our future.
Well, this is far from over. The president's budget, Brian, really an opening bid. The Republicans offer theirs in April.
Savannah Guthrie, the White House for us tonight. Savannah, thanks. |
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