Obama: Budget cuts are substantial

President Obama defended the $17 billion in cuts proposed by his budget as substantial “even by Washington standards” amid criticism from Republicans that the cuts do not go far enough.

“We can no longer afford to spend as if deficits do not matter and waste is not our problem,” Obama said in announcing cuts outlined in his detailed budget plan, which was released on Thursday.

{mosads}“We can no longer afford to leave the hard choices for the next budget, the next administration — or the next generation.”

Obama said his government needs to be as responsible as Americans who are “tightening their belts” during the economic recession.

The $17 billion in savings comes from programs that are ineffective, no longer needed or could be more efficient, the president said. While the proposed cuts would amount to less than 0.5 percent of the total $3.5 trillion budget in 2010, Obama said that the savings will add up.

“That’s a lot of money, even by Washington standards,” he said, adding that it could pay for increased Pell Grants, a tuition tax credit and money to protect the national parks.

The Republican National Committee on Thursday sent an e-mail blast to reporters that said the proposed cuts would “barely make a dent” in Obama’s $3.5 trillion budget.

Obama tied fiscal responsibility to the economic recovery, saying that it’s one of the pillars of a “lasting prosperity,” along with lower healthcare costs, increased education access and independence from foreign energy.

It will not be an easy task for Obama to win approval from Congress for the cuts. For example, the proposed elimination of direct subsidies to farms with more than $500,000 in sales was criticized by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.) and farm-state members when the plan was announced by the White House in its initial budget blueprint, released in February.

Members have also begun to push back on the Obama administration’s biggest proposed cut, the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft. Though it would save $2.9 billion next year, it is generating opposition from lawmakers across the country because more than 40 states contribute to making the plane. Already, 14 senators, led by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), have asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to save the F-22 Raptor and a transport plane, the C-17 Globemaster.

Obama acknowledged that lawmakers will resist some of the cuts.

“That’s how budgets swell. That’s how the people’s interest is slowly overtaken by the special interests,” he said. “But at this moment — at this difficult time for our nation — we cannot accept business as usual.”