1 00:00:05,533 --> 00:00:07,200 The President: Hi, everybody.

2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,934 Over the last few years, Democrats and Republicans have

3 00:00:09,934 --> 00:00:12,033 come together and cut our deficit by more than

4 00:00:12,033 --> 00:00:17,066 $2.5 trillion through a balanced mix of spending cuts and higher

5 00:00:17,066 --> 00:00:19,633 tax rates for the wealthiest Americans.

6 00:00:19,633 --> 00:00:22,599 That's more than halfway towards the $4 trillion in deficit

7 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,133 reductions that economists and elected officials from both

8 00:00:25,133 --> 00:00:29,066 parties say we need to stabilize our debt.

9 00:00:29,066 --> 00:00:32,400 I believe we can finish the job the same way we started it --

10 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,033 with a balanced mix of more spending cuts and more

11 00:00:35,033 --> 00:00:36,367 tax reform.

12 00:00:36,367 --> 00:00:39,934 And the overwhelming majority of the American people agree --

13 00:00:39,934 --> 00:00:42,900 both Democrats and Republicans.

14 00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:45,600 Now, my preference -- and the preference of many Members of

15 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,233 Congress -- is to do that in a balanced, comprehensive way,

16 00:00:49,233 --> 00:00:53,233 by making sensible changes to entitlement programs and

17 00:00:53,233 --> 00:00:55,699 reforming our tax code.

18 00:00:55,700 --> 00:00:58,500 As we speak, both the House and Senate are working towards

19 00:00:58,500 --> 00:01:00,767 budget proposals that I hope will lay out this kind of

20 00:01:00,767 --> 00:01:03,300 balanced path going forward.

21 00:01:03,300 --> 00:01:05,432 But the budget process takes time.

22 00:01:05,433 --> 00:01:09,333 And right now, if Congress doesn't act by March 1st,

23 00:01:09,333 --> 00:01:12,967 a series of harmful, automatic cuts to job-creating investments

24 00:01:12,967 --> 00:01:16,467 and defense spending -- also known as the sequester --

25 00:01:16,467 --> 00:01:18,600 are scheduled to take effect.

26 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,000 And the result could be a huge blow to middle-class families

27 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,000 and our economy as a whole.

28 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,333 If the sequester is allowed to go forward,

29 00:01:26,333 --> 00:01:28,700 thousands of Americans who work in fields like national

30 00:01:28,700 --> 00:01:32,033 security, education or clean energy are likely to

31 00:01:32,033 --> 00:01:33,500 be laid off.

32 00:01:33,500 --> 00:01:36,533 Firefighters and food inspectors could also find themselves out

33 00:01:36,533 --> 00:01:39,633 of work -- leaving our communities vulnerable.

34 00:01:39,633 --> 00:01:41,433 Programs like Head Start would be cut,

35 00:01:41,433 --> 00:01:44,433 and lifesaving research into diseases like cancer and

36 00:01:44,433 --> 00:01:47,200 Alzheimer's could be scaled back.

37 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,433 Small businesses could be prevented from getting the

38 00:01:49,433 --> 00:01:53,834 resources and support they need to keep their doors open.

39 00:01:53,834 --> 00:01:56,600 People with disabilities who are waiting for their benefits could

40 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,100 be forced to wait even longer.

41 00:01:59,100 --> 00:02:02,667 All our economic progress could be put at risk.

42 00:02:02,667 --> 00:02:05,533 And then there's the impact on our military readiness.

43 00:02:05,533 --> 00:02:08,533 Already, the threat of deep cuts has forced the Navy to delay an

44 00:02:08,532 --> 00:02:10,833 aircraft carrier that was supposed to deploy to the

45 00:02:10,834 --> 00:02:12,500 Persian Gulf.

46 00:02:12,500 --> 00:02:14,767 As our military leaders have made clear,

47 00:02:14,767 --> 00:02:18,200 changes like this affect our ability to respond to threats in

48 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,333 an unstable part of the world.

49 00:02:20,333 --> 00:02:23,000 And we'll be forced to make even more tough decisions in the

50 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,433 weeks ahead if Congress fails to act.

51 00:02:26,433 --> 00:02:29,299 The good news is, there's another option.

52 00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:31,300 Two months ago, we faced a similar deadline,

53 00:02:31,300 --> 00:02:34,166 and instead of making deep, indiscriminate cuts that would

54 00:02:34,166 --> 00:02:37,400 have cost jobs and slowed down our recovery,

55 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,467 Democrats and Republicans came together and made responsible

56 00:02:40,467 --> 00:02:44,333 cuts and manageable changes to our tax code that will bring

57 00:02:44,333 --> 00:02:46,500 down our deficit.

58 00:02:46,500 --> 00:02:49,900 This time, Congress should pass a similar set of balanced cuts

59 00:02:49,900 --> 00:02:52,800 and close more tax loopholes until they can find a way to

60 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:57,166 replace the sequester with a smarter, longer-term solution.

61 00:02:57,166 --> 00:02:59,600 Right now, most Members of Congress --

62 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,733 including many Republicans -- don't think it's a good idea to

63 00:03:02,734 --> 00:03:05,834 put thousands of jobs at risk and do unnecessary damage to

64 00:03:05,834 --> 00:03:07,233 our economy.

65 00:03:07,233 --> 00:03:09,967 And yet the current Republican plan puts the burden of avoiding

66 00:03:09,967 --> 00:03:13,800 those cuts mainly on seniors and middle-class families.

67 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,700 They'd rather ask more from the vast majority of Americans and

68 00:03:16,700 --> 00:03:21,266 put our recovery at risk than close even a single tax loophole

69 00:03:21,266 --> 00:03:23,700 that benefits the wealthy.

70 00:03:23,700 --> 00:03:26,200 Over the last few years, we've made good progress towards

71 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,033 reducing our deficit in a balanced way.

72 00:03:29,033 --> 00:03:31,733 There's no reason we can't keep chipping away at this problem.

73 00:03:31,734 --> 00:03:34,333 And there's certainly no reason that middle-class families and

74 00:03:34,333 --> 00:03:37,800 small businesses should suffer just because Washington couldn't

75 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,433 come together and eliminate a few special interest tax

76 00:03:40,433 --> 00:03:44,500 loopholes, or government programs that just don't work.

77 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:47,100 At a time when economists and business leaders from across the

78 00:03:47,100 --> 00:03:50,632 spectrum have said that our economy is poised for progress,

79 00:03:50,633 --> 00:03:53,767 we shouldn't allow self-inflicted wounds to put

80 00:03:53,767 --> 00:03:56,000 that progress in jeopardy.

81 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,033 So my message to Congress is this:

82 00:03:58,033 --> 00:04:01,132 Let's keep working together to solve this problem.

83 00:04:01,133 --> 00:04:04,166 And let's give our workers and our businesses the support they

84 00:04:04,166 --> 00:04:07,299 need to grow and to thrive.

85 00:04:07,300 --> 00:04:09,300 Thanks, and have a great weekend.