FOXNews.com: Obama Urges New Spending, Says Deficit Reduction Alone Not a Plan

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Obama Urges New Spending, Says Deficit Reduction Alone Not a Plan Feb 13th 2013, 03:01 President Obama pressed Tuesday in his State of the Union address for new spending aimed at helping the economy grow, while pushing back on Republicans who want to focus mostly on deficit reduction. "Most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be part of our agenda. But let's be clear: deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan," Obama said. "A growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs – that must be the North Star that guides our efforts." The president's address was anchored around his call for boosting the middle class. At the same time, Obama was using his first State of the Union of his second term to double down on many policies from the first – he reiterated his push for investments in clean energy and U.S. infrastructure, while cautioning against paring back entitlements like Medicare too much. Even before the address, Obama's plan to call for "investments" was panned by House Speaker John Boehner. "If government spending were the tonic for all our ills, this would have been solved a long time ago," Boehner told reporters. But Obama, among other ideas, proposed a "fix-it-first" program to put people to work on "urgent repairs" like structurally deficient bridges.   Obama stressed that his proposals would be "fully paid for." "Nothing I'm proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. It is not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth," Obama said in prepared remarks. Regardless of whether Obama's proposals add to the deficit, he is sure to face a mixed reception in putting the emphasis on new government programs when many – particularly House Republicans – are more interested in paring back the spending out of Washington. Some argue this could even help the economy by sending a signal that the federal government is at last tackling the budget deficit. Obama acknowledged Tuesday that the "biggest driver" of long-term debt is the rising cost of health care. He said America "must embrace the need for modest reforms" but "we can't ask senior citizens and working families to shoulder the entire burden of deficit reduction while asking nothing more from the wealthiest and the most powerful." He called for a "balanced approached" to closing the deficit that includes cuts and revenue. He said he would back some Medicare reforms that reduce subsidies to prescription drug companies and "ask more from the wealthiest seniors." The president spoke Tuesday as the economy showed mixed signs of recovery. While hiring has picked up since the sluggish 2009-2010 period, the unemployment rate ticked up again last month. While the stock market appears to be steadily improving, economic growth remains tepid – the Commerce Department estimates the economy actually shrank by .1 percent at the end of 2012. Obama, after watching the economy creep out of recession during his first term, knows better than to do a victory lap. His advisers for days previewed his 2013 State of the Union as one that would – like prior addresses – be focused on creating jobs. But Obama and the rest of Washington are facing a balancing act, with another looming deadline demanding that Washington take serious steps to address the federal deficit. Automatic spending cuts are poised to hit March 1 unless a deal is reached to replace them. Some Republicans are talking about letting the cuts simply take effect, though the Pentagon will bear the brunt of the hit. Other Republicans want to replace the scheduled cuts with a separate package of cuts. Obama, to the chagrin of Republicans, wants to include tax increases in any package. He has also urged Congress to draft a short-term bill if no deal can be reached by March 1. Republican leaders have largely bristled at this demand. Obama is also expected to hit several other agenda items for his second term, including immigration reform, gun control and climate change. Many lawmakers, as well as first lady Michelle Obama, invited victims of gun violence and their family members to attend. Their presence quietly underscored what is, for many Democratic lawmakers, a top priority this year. They have already drafted a new and stronger assault-weapons ban, though Republicans are mostly opposed to legislation that sweeping.

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