President Barack Obama is planning to promote his budget program after releasing his $787 billion economic stimulus plan, which includes measures to reduce foreclosures by state.
The president’s budget plan is designed to streamline the federal deficit by 50 percent before he ends his first term.
In his radio address, the president said that the economic stimulus plan cannot revive the economy alone. He believed that reducing foreclosures by state, encouraging mortgage lenders and regulating the financial system efficiently would give added benefits to efforts to revive the economy.
Meanwhile, Obama will host a summit on fiscal responsibility and will deliver a speech before he unveils his budget plan.
The summit, which will be attended by about 130 people, including union members, Republican and Democratic members of the Congress, experts and advocacy groups, will tackle deficit-cutting measures.
During a joint session at the Congress, Obama said that he will outline urgent national priorities at the summit. It is expected that one of the priorities will be preventing the flood of foreclosure by state.
Obama further explained that aside from reducing foreclosures by state, his strategy also includes investing in what the country needs, eliminating the inessentials and reestablishing fiscal discipline.
Meanwhile, Jen Psaki, a White House spokeswoman, confirmed that the Obama Administration has pegged the federal deficit at nearly $1.3 trillion, representing 9.2 percent of the country’s economy.
Psaki added that the administration expects that the deficit will decline to $533 billion in the span of four years, or about 3 percent of the country’s economy.
The 2010 budget plan of Obama includes cuts in defense spending and an end to the high-income tax cap.
However, Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant criticized Obama’s plan to raise taxes and reduce defense spending, saying that these measures will not help the country’s economy which is also being besieged by the foreclosure crisis. He pointed that that these measures that Obama plans to undertake are essentials to lowering deficits.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty echoed Conant’s opinion, saying that it is not a good idea to increase taxes in the midst of an economic crisis. He pointed out that the stock market reacted negatively over Obama’s plans for financial regulation and preventing foreclosures by state.
Obama plans to promote his economic plans during the National Governors Association’s meeting.
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