Obama Touts Deficit Plan

WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama used his weekly radio address Saturday to the nation to tout his plan to slash the deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years, saying his approach is balanced while a proposal from House Republicans would cut education and imperil U.S. competitiveness.

"While I think their goal is worthy, I believe their vision is wrong for America," Mr. Obama said of the plan from House Republicans, which would also cut about $4 trillion from the deficit. One of Mr. Obama's main criticisms of the Republican plan is that it would continue tax breaks for "every millionaire and billionaire in the country."

The president released his own proposal earlier in the week in a combative speech that rankled many in the Republican party just a week after the two sides had found enough common ground to slash nearly $40 billion from the current budget that funds the government.

Mr. Obama's own plan to slash the deficit relies on a mix of cuts to programs such as Medicare and the military, as well as a rise in taxes on the wealthy. The House plan would also make cuts and changes to federal programs including Medicare, but doesn't include raising taxes on the wealthy.

The Republican plan, Mr. Obama said, includes stiff cuts to health programs that would leave "millions of seniors, poor children, and Americans with disabilities without the care they need." He made similar remarks in his speech earlier in the week.

It was that sort of rhetoric that irritated Republicans and left them saying such partisan broadsides would make it harder for both sides to find common ground.

Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, used the GOP's weekly radio address to directly counter some of Mr. Obama's comments. President Obama's plan, Coburn said, would "strengthen a board of unaccountable medical czars and give them more power to impose price controls and ration care."

Mr. Obama's proposal includes strengthening the Independent Payment Advisory Board to give it more power to reduce payments to providers if Medicare costs rise.

Mr. Coburn also criticized Mr. Obama's call for reforming the individual tax code, saying he botched any hope for meaningful reform by calling for tax increases for the wealthy.

While the two sides don't agree, Mr. Coburn said the American people should be encouraged. "You have fundamentally changed the debate in Washington," he said, adding that the debate is now focused on how to cut spending rather than increase it. "That is a monumental shift for Washington," he said.

source-online.wsj.com