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The President: Good morning, everybody.
I'm here at Powell Elementary School, and
just had a chance to see some of the outstanding
students here.
And I thought it was appropriate for me to say
a few words about the budget that I sent to
Congress this morning -- because obviously the
budget is not just about numbers, it's about our
values and it's about our future, and how well we
are laying the groundwork for those young children
that I was with just a few moments ago to be able to
succeed here in America.
These kids may not be the most excited people in
town on budget day, but my budget is designed with
their generation and future generations in
mind.
In my State of the Union address, I laid out an
agenda to restore opportunity for all people
-- to uphold the principle that no matter who you
are, no matter where you started, you can make it
if you try here in America.
This opportunity agenda is built on four parts --
more good jobs and good wages; making sure that
we're training workers with the skills they need
to get those good jobs; guaranteeing every child
access to a world-class education; and making sure
that our economy is one in which hard work is
rewarded.
The budget I sent Congress this morning lays out how
we'll implement this agenda in a balanced and
responsible way.
It's a roadmap for creating jobs with good
wages and expanding opportunity for all
Americans.
And at a time when our deficits have been cut in
half, it allows us to meet our obligations to future
generations without leaving them a mountain of
debt.
This budget adheres to the spending levels that both
parties in both houses of Congress already agreed
to.
But it also builds on that progress with what we're
calling an Opportunity, Growth and Security
Initiative that invests in our economic priorities in
a smart way that is fully paid for by making smart
spending cuts and closing tax loopholes that right
now only benefit the well-off and the
well-connected.
I'll give you an example.
Right now, our tax system provides benefits to
wealthy individuals who save, even after they've
amassed multimillion dollar retirement
accounts.
By closing that loophole, we can help create jobs
and grow our economy, and expand opportunity without
adding a dime to the deficit.
We know that the country that wins the race for new
technologies will win the race for new jobs, so this
budget creates 45 high-tech manufacturing
hubs where businesses and universities will partner
to turn groundbreaking research into new
industries and new jobs made in America.
We know -- and this is part of the reason why
we're here today -- that education has to start at
the earliest possible ages.
So this budget expands access to the kind of
high-quality preschool and other early learning
programs to give all of our children the same
kinds of opportunities that those wonderful
children that we just saw are getting right here at
Powell.
We know that while not all of today's good jobs are
going to require a four-year college degree,
more and more of them are going to require some form
of higher education or specialized training.
So this budget expands apprenticeships to connect
more ready-to-work Americans with
ready-to-be-filled jobs.
And we know that future generations will continue
to deal with the effects of a warming planet, so
this budget proposes a smarter way to address the
costs of wildfires.
And it includes over $1 billion in new funding for
new technologies to help communities prepare for a
changing climate today, and set up incentives to
build smarter and more resilient infrastructure.
We also know that the most effective and historically
bipartisan ways to reduce poverty and help
hardworking families pull themselves up is the
earned income tax credit.
Right now, it helps about half of all parents in
America at some point in their lives.
This budget gives millions more workers the
opportunity to take advantage of the tax
credit.
And it pays for it by closing loopholes like the
ones that let wealthy individuals classify
themselves as a small business to avoid paying
their fair share of taxes.
This budget will also continue to put our fiscal
house in order over the long-term -- not by
putting the burden on folks who can least afford
it, but by reforming our tax code and our
immigration system and building on the progress
that we've made to reduce health care costs under
the Affordable Care Act.
And it puts our debt on a downward path as a share
of our total economy, which independent experts
have set as a critical target for fiscal
responsibility.
As I said at the outset, our budget is about
choices.
It's about our values.
As a country, we've got to make a decision if we're
going to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest
Americans, or if we're going to make smart
investments necessary to create jobs and grow our
economy, and expand opportunity for every
American.
At a time when our deficits are falling at
the fastest rate in 60 years, we've got to decide
if we're going to keep squeezing the middle
class, or if we're going to continue to reduce the
deficits responsibly, while taking steps to grow
and strengthen the middle class.
The American people have made clear time and again
which approach they prefer.
That's the approach that my budget offers.
That's why I'm going to fight for it this year and
in the years to come as President.
Thank you very much, everybody.