Obama proposes $3.6 trillion budget

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By Christina Bellantoni

UPDATED:

The massive budget blueprint that President Obama released Thursday puts his stamp on the entire operation of the federal government - fulfilling campaign promises of redistributing the tax burden and stripping Bush-era policies that the Democrat dubbed irresponsible, while amassing more than $3 trillion in debt over the next two years.

From making permanent a tax cut for workers to ending tax cuts for the better-off, the president signaled his vision for government in a document outlining massive new spending - $3.6 trillion in 2010 alone. The proposal would make a down payment on universal health care and tackle his No. 1 priority of curbing the effects of climate change.

It greatly adds to the national debt, projecting deficits of $1.8 trillion in 2009 and $1.2 trillion in 2010.

It also outlines $2 trillion in "savings," coming mostly by ending President George W. Bush's tax cuts for individuals making $200,000 or more and families earning $250,000 per year or more and creating a cap-and-trade system to tax greenhouse gas emissions.

The White House says much of that $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009 reflects Mr. Bush's plans for a budget year that began in October and the stimulus plan needed to boost the dormant economy. The administration presented its own blueprint - the full, detailed budget will come in April - as the start of a "new era of responsibility," giving that title to the 134-page document.

The budget introduction asserted that Mr. Obama inherited a "legacy of irresponsibility, and it is our duty to change it."

Reactions to the budget fell along mostly party lines, with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, saying it sent a strong statement on health care and "restored the American dream" for workers, while Republicans bashed Mr. Obama for a tax increase that they said would hurt the small businesses that create most jobs in the United States.

Sen. John Kerry said the budget "reflects an honest change in Washington that begins to reckon with our biggest challenges," adding: "This is nothing short of a sober, honest assessment of where our country stands and a tough, realistic plan to get our budget in line with our priorities."