'New budget will help US live within its means'

President Barack Obama said the 2012 budget he will submit to the US Congress, in two days, will help the US live within its means while making important investments for the future.

In his weekly address on the radio and internet, Obama touted steps his administration is proposing to help reduce the federal budget deficit, which is projected to reach a record $1.5 trillion this year.

“After a decade of rising deficits, this budget asks Washington to live within its means, while at the same time investing in our future,” he said.

Obama has already proposed freezing some domestic spending, including the salaries of some federal employees, to save $400 billion over the next 10 years. He also pledged to eliminate waste in the budget by vetoing any bill that contains earmarks - - spending projects inserted into legislation by members of Congress.

Obama said the nation must continue spending on infrastructure, education and clean energy and other programmes to help the economy grow and compete with other countries.

“I’m proposing that we invest in what will do the most to grow the economy in the years to come,” he said.

In the Republican address, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said indications are that Obama’s budget won’t cut spending enough.

“Our massive debt must be confronted immediately,” he said. “America cannot afford to kick this can down the road any longer.” Hatch said Obama’s partial spending freeze is a “totally inadequate solution” to the nation’s budget crisis because outlays have already increased 24 percent over the past two years. “These levels cannot continue,” he said. “Business as usual is unsustainable.”

Obama and Congress have yet to resolve the budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which begin Oct. 1. Since then the government has been funded by temporary measures called continuing resolutions.

The latest resolution expires March 4. Republicans who took control of the House following November’s elections are proposing to slash by $100 billion the 2011 budget Obama requested.