Source: Obama Seeks 5-Year Partial Budget Freeze

WASHINGTON - A White House official says President Barack Obama will call for a five-year freeze in non-security, discretionary spending during his State of the Union address.

The official says the proposal will be part of the president's plans to reduce the deficit that he will outline in Tuesday's prime television time address. The official says Obama will also call for lawmakers to back a five-year plan put forth by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to save $78 billion in defense spending.

Obama is under pressure from the American public and lawmakers to cut spending. Several Republican lawmakers have proposed cutting $100 billion from Obama's budget for the current year.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the president's speech.

Mr. Obama stands before a divided Congress for the first time Tuesday to deliver his State of the Union policy address, a message expected to focus on creating jobs, whittling down the federal debt and narrowing the wide political chasm that splits Republicans from Democrats on just how to get that done.

The nationally televised address at the halfway point of his term also effectively marks the opening of Mr. Obama's 2012 re-election bid. It offers a chance to reset the political calculus after Republicans swept out the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives in the November elections and gained ground in the Senate where they remain in the minority.

The president's expected focus on the economy springs from voters' overwhelming concern about the weak recovery, stubbornly high unemployment and an overall federal government debt that now tops $14 trillion. Those worries propelled the Republican wave in the last election.

Obama Speech Will Set Tone for 2012 Run

Mr. Obama has adjusted quickly by showing a readiness to compromise with Republicans on taxes and shaking up his White House staff, adding important advisers who are seen as far friendlier to the business community, a Republican bastion.

In turn, Democrat Obama has seen his approval rating climb sharply since the Republican election landslide. His overall approval rating in an Associated Press-GfK poll released last week stood at 53 percent, 6 points higher than after the November congressional election.

"I think what our focus tonight is how is America going to win," senior White House adviser Valerie Jarett told CBS' "The Early Show" Tuesday. "And what we have to do is invest, but we have to invest wisely. … We want to make sure that we are creating that ingenuity that this lead to the jobs of the future.

Mr. Obama's speech comes less than three weeks after an assassination attempt on Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, who was shot in the head during a one-man rampage that left six dead and 13 wounded. Among those who will sit with first lady Michelle Obama during the president's speech will be the family of a 9-year-old girl who was killed, an intern to Giffords who rushed to help her at the shooting, and trauma surgeons who have treated the wounded lawmaker.

In an attempt at unity and toning down the often vitriolic political rhetoric, some Democratic and Republican lawmakers will sit together at Mr. Obama's speech, breaking with the tradition of sitting on opposite sides of the House chamber.

"We can be more civil, but let's not lose our passion," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CBS' "The Early Show" Tuesday. "Some of my favorite debates were with a guy named Ted Kennedy who had passion like I haven't seen before or since."

Republicans have chosen Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who as chairman of the House Budget Committee is an emerging voice for the party on behalf of spending cuts, to deliver the televised response to Mr. Obama's address. He is planning to promote budget cuts as essential to responsible governing.

More State of the Union coverage:

Will Obama "Up His Game" With Speech?
Obama to Seek Balance before Divided Congress
Obama's Goal: Get America Feeling Good Again
Obama Speech Will Set Tone for 2012 Run
Will the Supreme Court Justices Return to the State ofthe Union?