Obama: I Need the GOP's Help for Real Budget Reform

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Updated at 1:10 p.m. ET

President Obama said today that he alone cannot make decisions to reform the significant portions of the federal budget -- namely, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. He and congressional leaders will have to work together for several months to make a real dent in the federal debt, the president said.

"If you look at the history of how these deals get done, typically it's not because there's an 'Obama plan' out there," Mr. Obama said at a press conference today. "It's because Democrats and Republicans are both committed to tackling this issue in a serious way... We're going to be in discussions over the next several months. I mean, this is going to be a negotiation process."

The proposed 2012 budget that Mr. Obama put forward this week promises $1.1 trillion in deficit savings over 10 years, but as the president acknowledged today, the savings come from the "side of the ledger [that] only accounts for about 12 percent of the budget." Republicans in particular have criticized the president for avoiding entitlement reform in his budget, but GOP leaders have yet to put forward any of their own ideas for modifying Social Security or Medicare.

Mr. Obama said today he was, in fact, "glad" that Republicans have criticized him for avoiding entitlement reform.

"I think it is significant progress that there is interest on all sides on those issues," he said. Earlier Republican rhetoric, he said, made it sound as if the deficit could be reduced "if we just slash deeper on education or other provisions in domestic spending."

Mr. Obama said that Social Security is not a huge contributor to the deficit, and he is confident the program can be stabilized with "some modest adjustments."

On the other hand, "Medicare and Medicaid are huge problems," the president said. "I'm prepared to work with Democrats and Republicans to start dealing with that in a serious way."

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The health care reforms that Mr. Obama and Democrats passed last year included $500 billion in cuts to Medicare over the next decade -- cuts heavily criticized by Republicans -- but the president said today there is more work to be done to deal with the program's growing costs.

"Nobody's more mindful than me that entitlements are going to be a key part of this issue" of reducing the deficit, Mr. Obama said. He added that tax reform is also a key part of deficit reduction.

"I'm confident we can get this done," he said. "When it comes to difficult choices about our budget and priorities, we have found common ground before."

The president referenced bipartisan compromises struck between President Ronald Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill, as well as deals between President Bill Clinton and House Republicans in the 1990's. He also cited his own deal with Republicans late last year to temporarily extend the Bush-era tax cuts.

Mr. Obama acknowledged that he has yet to act on any of the suggestions for deficit reduction that his bipartisan deficit commission suggested last year, which included modifications to entitlements. However, he said the proposals still provide a "framework for a conversation."

"I think that there's a tendency for us to assume that if it didn't happen today, it's not going to happen," the president said. "The notion that it's been shelved I think is incorrect."

Watch Mr. Obama say he's "glad" Republicans are criticizing his budget proposal in the video at left.

Mr. Obama said he agreed with "much" of the proposal from the commission but not all of it -- and that he will have to negotiate with Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and other members of the deficit commission who rejected the commission's final plan.

"This is going to be a process in which each side, in both chambers of Congress, go back and forth and start trying to whittle their differences down, until we arrive at something that has an actual chance of passage," he said. "And that's my goal. I mean, my goal here is to actually solve the problem."

In the meantime, Mr. Obama said his budget does make some "tough choices," like freezing the salaries of federal workers for two years, to ensure that the federal government will at least stop spending more than it takes in by the middle of this decade.

"We will not be adding more to the national debt," he said. "We're not going to be running up the credit card anymore."

CBS News White House correspondent Chip Reid pointed out to the president that under his plan, the projected deficit will stand at $774 billion by 2021 and that over 10 years, $7.2 trillion would be added to the debt.

"We still have all this accumulated debt as a consequence of the recession and as a consequence of a series of decisions that were made over the last decade... And there's a lot of interest on that debt," Mr. Obama responded. "So in the same way that if you've got a credit card and you've got a big balance, you may not be adding to principal; you've still got all that interest that you've got to pay."

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The president said his proposed budget represented the first stage of addressing the deficit and debt, while tackling entitlement reform and tax reform represented the second stage.

"And in order to accomplish those two things, we're going to have to have a spirit of cooperation between Democrats and Republicans, and I think that's possible," he said.

The president defended the "tough choices" he made in his proposed budget, such as cutting $2.5 billion from a program that provides heating and cooling aid to low-income Americans. Mr. Obama pointed out that his administration doubled the home heating assistance program when he first entered office but that energy prices have since gone down.

"So what we've said is, well, let's go back to a more sustainable level," he said. "If it turns out that, once again, you see a huge energy spike, then we can revisit it, but let's not just assume because it's at a $5 billion level that each year we're going to sustain it at a $5 billion level regardless of what's happening on the energy front."

"Now, that doesn't mean that, you know, these aren't still tough cuts, because there are always more people who could use some help across the country than we have resources," Mr. Obama continued. "And so it's still a tough decision, and I understand people's frustrations with some of these decisions."

Watch CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer discuss President Obama's news conference today on "Washington Unplugged" with CBS News chief White House correspondent Chip Reid and business and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis:

[RobAla]

When both the left and the right say that President Obama's budget is crap, then we can all believe it is crap. He has the opportunity (and duty) to be known as the President who brought idiotic out of control federal spending under control (saving the nation from an economic meltdown), but he just can't seem to walk away from the massive spending increases that he has put in place over the past two years. Instead, he piles on huge increases in taxes in this budget and does absolutely nothing about the huge entitlement problem that we face. What a waste.

Hopefully, Congress will toss this lame and irresponsible budget in the trash, and present the President with a real budget. He should have taken the opportunity to lead, but he has chosen to follow.

[thinking-voter]

Who is Obama following?

[RobAla]

Mr. President, I hope the Republicans will give you some help regarding budget cuts.

Problem: The nation is $14 trillion in debt, and going deeper in the hole by $1.5 trillion each year. So, what could the solution be? Any guesses? Most Americans would have an easy answer, if they found themselves in a situation of going continually deeper in debt. THEY WOULD SPEND LESS!!!!

I am absolutely sick of hearing whining politicians moan about what to do. It is really pretty obvious to the average American, and it would probably even be obvious to the village idiot. Washington is supposed to be filled with the nations best and brightest. Someone must have laced the water in Washington DC with something pretty weird.

[LIBERALS-lie]

hurry...sign it...don't read it....emergency....it will create more jobs...

[pasha128]

That's the new 2011 TEA PARTY REPUBLICAN mantra. Did you not read the stories where the original patriot act renewal went down because veteran Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R) admitted the REPUBLICANS did not inform even their own new members of the proposal adequately and in time for the vote. Then even the conservatives report some of their members were uninformed about what they were voting for (yet voted to pass the bill anyway_.

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/02/09/morning-bell-patriot-act-facts/

Representative Todd Rokita (R-IN), who voted for the bill, even told Politico that he "didn't know anything about [the vote] until today."

http://docstalk.blogspot.com/2011/02/patriot-act-facts.html

Eight of the 26 Republican no votes came from freshmen who, Politico reports, "felt completely uniformed by their leadership." Representative Todd Rokita (R-IN), who voted for the bill, even told Politico that he "didn't know anything about [the vote] until today."

[nearl451]

I can translate.

Obama:"To John Boehner: You didn't thinkIwould bestupid enough totouch the 'third rail' by myself did you. Come on over, I'll be happy to hold your hand to it. You reach first."

[Dave9751]

I believe we need to look at the budget cuts. Why is the majority of the budget off limits. Everyone knows that the military budgets are about 60% waste. And why is it more important to take pictures of a comet we have already sent exploration shots at than it is to fully fund medicare and social security? Getting a bureaucracy to let go of it's frilly budget must be too politically expensive.

I agree with the comment about taxing over seas imports including NAFTA. Our country really needs to produce products. Manufacturing suicide is what we have been doing.

I am tired of dealing with service providers who do not speak the english language well enough for me to understand them.

[Birdman04]

We could save hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing 27,000 of our troops home from the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Our work there is long past done and it is time for South Korea to stand on its own and stop depending on big brother the United States for all its needs.

They are quite capable of taking care of themselves and I'm am quite tired of paying the bills for this nonsense.

Korean Demilitarized Zone

[forsanity1]

Nmmrng, nice try rewriting history and the current facts of our engagement in Afghanistan -- no cigar.

May I ask, were you calling either President Bush "pure evil"? How about Reagan with Grenada?

If not, your bias is showing and so is your poor sense of honor.

[thanksgreed]

Actually Mr. President, I think you need a testicular transplant...

[forsanity1]

A "warmonger" with no stones?

Pick an insult and stick with it, at least.

[catmomtx]

Yeah and he just punked Republicans. If people are whining now about what he wants cut just wait until Republicans come out with their cuts. You people still ,aren't paying attention. Republicans are full of it, the President sees through it and while the President continues to look out for the average American we will see that Republicans as usual will be busy protecting the campaign donors.

[Rodeo_Joe]

If each war costs $1 Billion every two weeks, stop invading counties.

Just say " No " - it's not just for kids, ya know.

[noloyalisti]

He needs us to unite against the evil rich that are robbing us blind. They are not paying their fair share of the debt and are robbing the public of their money by not paying their dues to the upkeep of the commons.

We have let the giant corporations take over the media, the military and the government for their own corrupt and greedy profits. Enough is enough, time for We the People to step up and empower the government to take apart these corporate crooks.

[Birdman04]

There is enough blame to go around for the mess we are in and it will take all of us to pull ourselves out of it. Neither side has all the answers and never have and both sides are equally to blame.

If for once both sides would sit down like adults and do the job we pay them to do I am certain someday things will improve. Life is about making tough decisions and compromises.

This political posturing, bickering back and forth and blame game nonsense doesn't accomplish diddly squat except give us all a damn headache.

[Socialization]

Unless of course Obama had his super majority back in congress, then it would be "We will do whatever we damn please"

So please do not lecture us about the need for compromise. You need to be defeated. Obama will be a one term wonder......

[jimbom121]

Socialization

So he can be replaced by the people who caused the mess?

[pasha128]

by propitiation February 15, 2011 2:50 PM EST
President Obama and the Democrats are absolutely INSANE!

Review the years! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_United_States_federal_budget

If my household had an income of only $23,000, I would never dream of making a budget out at $37,000!!!

Total Revenue was at $2.3 Trillion Dollars in 2010 for the United States, and the President's Budget passed for 2010 was at $3.6 Trillion.

-----

THE TRUE INSANITY is the TEA PARTY seeking to more than double the Obama deficit all by themselves.


At over $1 TRILLION every 10 years someone needs to reign in the 2011 TEA PARTY REPUBLICANS that voted to put Medicare Prescription Drugs back onto the credit card (repeal of health care reform).


At over $1 TRILLION every 10 years someone needs to reign in the 2011 TEA PARTY REPUBLICANS that plan to make the BUSH TAX CUTS PERMANENT without any offset in spending.

At over $1 TRILLION every 10 years someone needs to reign in the 2011 TEA PARTY REPUBLICANS that plan to pass additional misc tax cuts without any offset in spending.