3/21/09 President Barack Obama Weekly Radio Address

Read the transcript

President Obama used his weekly radio address to prepare the nation for his emphasis on his $3.6 trillion federal budget. Obama announced his plans to cut the deficit in half by2012 and renewing his commitment to energy independence, education and health care reform.

Signaling what the President expects to be a difficult confrontation with Congress, Obama said: “As the House and the Senate take up this budget next week, the specific details and dollar amounts in this budget will undoubtedly change,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s a normal and healthy part of the process.”

President Obama explained: “when all is said and done,” Americans will be positioned to cut our foreign oil needs by increasing our use of wind and solar power technologies,expanding our use of biofuels and the production and use of more fuel-efficient cars.

Obama's overall goal is to "end the bubble-bust cycle of the past and jump start our economy in the short term while laying the groundwork for America’s long-term prosperity."

The President spoke plainly and forcefully: “To those who say we have to choose between health care reform and fiscal discipline, I say that making investments now that will dramatically lower health care costs for everyone won’t add to our budget deficit in the long term; it is one of the best ways to reduce it."

President Obama plans a Tuesday night prime-time news conference to explain his economic recovery plans with the American people.

Obama explained that: “With the fiscal mess we’ve inherited and the cost of this financial crisis, I’ve proposed a budget that cuts our deficit in half by the end of my first term,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s why we are scouring every corner of the budget and have proposed $2 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade.”

In addition, the President addressed the lessons he learned from his recent trip outside of Washington when he held town-hall meetings where ordinary citizens voiced their opinions that the economy needs to be strengthened and Obama also made an important bipartisan appearance with California Governor Arnold Schwartzeneger at the gatherings.

Of his priority on the budget which he plans to discuss throughout the coming week, Obama remarked: ""These investments are not a wish list of priorities that I picked out of thin air – they are a central part of a comprehensive strategy to grow this economy by attacking the very problems that have dragged it down for too long: the high cost of health care and our dependence on oil; our education deficit and our fiscal deficit."