[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 70 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H5373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 BUDGET OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010--MESSAGE 
      FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 111-3)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on 
Appropriations and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  I have the honor to transmit to you the Budget of the United States 
Government for Fiscal Year 2010.
  In my February 26th budget overview, A New Era of Responsibility: 
Renewing America's Promise, I provided a broad outline of how our 
Nation came to this moment of economic, financial, and fiscal crisis; 
and how my Administration plans to move this economy from recession to 
recovery and lay a new foundation for long-term economic growth and 
prosperity. This Budget fills out this picture by providing full 
programmatic details and proposing appropriations language and other 
required information for the Congress to put these plans fully into 
effect.
  Specifically, this Budget details the pillars of the stable and broad 
economic growth we seek: making long overdue investments and reforms in 
education so that every child can compete in the global economy, 
undertaking health care reform so that we can control costs while 
boosting coverage and quality, and investing in renewable sources of 
energy so that we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and become 
the world leader in the new clean energy economy.
  Fiscal discipline is another critical pillar in this economic 
foundation. My Administration came into office facing a budget deficit 
of $1.3 trillion for this year alone, and the cost of confronting the 
recession and financial crisis has been high. While these are 
extraordinary times that have demanded extraordinary responses, it is 
impossible to put our Nation on a course for long-term growth without 
beginning to rein in unsustainable deficits and debt. We no longer can 
afford to tolerate investments in programs that are outdated, 
duplicative, ineffective, or wasteful.
  That is why the Budget I am sending to you includes a separate volume 
of terminations, reductions, and savings that my Administration has 
identified since we sent the budget overview to you 10 weeks ago. In 
it, we identify programs that do not accomplish the goals set for them, 
do not do so efficiently, or do a job already done by another 
initiative. Overall, we have targeted more than 100 programs that 
should be ended or substantially changed, moves that will save nearly 
$17 billion next year alone.
  These efforts are just the next phase of a larger and longer effort 
needed to change how Washington does business and put our fiscal house 
in order. To that end, the Budget includes billions of dollars in 
savings from steps ranging from ending subsidies for big oil and gas 
companies, to eliminating entitlements to banks and lenders making 
student loans. It provides an historic down payment on health care 
reform, the key to our long-term fiscal future, and was constructed 
without commonly used budget gimmicks that, for instance, hide the true 
costs of war and natural disasters. Even with these costs on the books, 
the Budget will cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term, 
and we will bring non-defense discretionary spending to its lowest 
level as a share of GDP since 1962.
  Finally, in order to keep America strong and secure, the Budget 
includes critical investments in rebuilding our military, securing our 
homeland, and expanding our diplomatic efforts because we need to use 
all elements of our power to provide for our national security. We are 
not only proposing significant funding for our national security, but 
also being careful with those investments by, for instance, reforming 
defense contracting so that we are using our defense dollars to their 
maximum effect.
  I have little doubt that there will be various interests--vocal and 
powerful--who will oppose different aspects of this Budget. Change is 
never easy. However, I believe that after an era of profound 
irresponsibility, Americans are ready to embrace the shared 
responsibilities we have to each other and to generations to come. They 
want to put old arguments and the divisions of the past behind us, put 
problem-solving ahead of point-scoring, and reconstruct an economy that 
is built on a solid new foundation. If we do that, America once again 
will teem with new industry and commerce, hum with the energy of new 
discoveries and inventions, and be a place where anyone with a good 
idea and the will to work can live their dreams.
  I am gratified and encouraged by the support I have received from the 
Congress thus far, and I look forward to working with you in the weeks 
ahead as we put these plans into practice and make this vision of 
America a reality.
                                                        Barack Obama.  
The White House, May 7, 2009.

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