|
 Obama, a Democrat who leaves office next January, sought to
outline his fiscal and political vision for the country with
proposed investments in infrastructure, cyber security, education,
and job growth.
It also includes more than $11 billion for the Departments of
Defense and State to fight Islamic State militants and stabilize
Syria - one measure that could draw bipartisan support.
But the plan is primarily a political document and is unlikely to be
embraced by the Republican-controlled Congress.
Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives,
called it a "manual for growing the federal government at the
expense of hardworking Americans."
The budget envisions a deficit of $503 billion in fiscal 2017 after
a $616 billion budget gap in the current fiscal year ending on Sept.
30.
It seeks to cut deficits by $2.9 trillion over 10 years largely
through smaller tax breaks for wealthy earners, new savings in
Medicare healthcare, and assumptions that adoption of its policies
on immigration reform and other areas would boost economic growth.
 "The budget that we’re releasing today reflects my priorities and
the priorities that I believe will help advance security and
prosperity in America for many years to come," Obama told reporters
at the White House after a meeting with national security advisers
on cyber security.
"It drives down the deficit. It includes smart savings on
healthcare, immigration, tax reform," he said.
The budget seeks $19 billion for cyber security investments across
the U.S. government.
White House officials sought to play down the portrayal of the
budget as dead on arrival in Congress. They noted bipartisan support
for increases in funds for cancer research, opioid addiction
programs and anti-poverty measures such as an expansion of the
earned income tax credit (EITC), which helps low-income taxpayers.
Other proposals were clear non-starters, though, including one to
levy a $10.25 per barrel tax on imported and domestically produced
oil to fund transportation infrastructure such as mass transit and
high speed rail.
"The president’s final budget continues his focus on new spending
proposals instead of confronting our country’s massive overspending
and skyrocketing $19 trillion in debt," said Senate Budget Committee
Chairman Mike Enzi.
BIPARTISAN DIVIDE
The budget forecasts that deficits would average 2.5 percent of U.S.
economic output over 10 years compared to about 4.0 percent in the
Congressional Budget Office's estimate, which is based on existing
tax and spending laws.
It stayed within the bounds of an agreement reached between the
White House and Congress last year that lifted mandatory
"sequestration" cuts on both defense and domestic spending.
The budget proposes lifting the limits entirely from 2018.
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Obama and Ryan agree on some anti-poverty policies, but the general
differences between the two men and their parties are vast,
particularly in a presidential election year.
Underscoring that divide and the fact that the budget is Obama's
last, Republican lawmakers took the unusual step of not inviting
Obama's budget director Shaun Donovan to brief about the proposal.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest, who has likened the snub to
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's decision to skip
a debate with fellow candidates before the Iowa nominating contest,
challenged Republicans to move on areas of compromise.
"The question really for Republicans at this point is, are they
going to do anything? Are they going to use their majority in
Congress to strengthen our cyber security, to fight opioid
addiction, to cure cancer, or are they not?" he said.
Congress can advance elements of the budget without endorsing the
entire proposal.
Republicans are especially resistant to the White House's tax
proposals.
The budget takes aim at tax breaks for the wealthy that have been
perennial targets, including the “carried interest” loophole
allowing investment fund managers to treat income as capital gains.
It would also increase the top tax rate on capital gains and impose
the “Buffett Rule” to ensure that millionaires pay a tax rate of no
less than 30 percent of their income after charitable contributions.
In addition, it proposes a new fee on the liabilities of the largest
banks that would raise $111 billion over 10 years and discourage
excessive leverage in the financial system.
The budget foresees $375 billion in new 10-year savings to federal
healthcare programs, including several changes to the Medicare
program for seniors.
The budget calls for $152 billion in research and development, an
increase of 4 percent over fiscal year 2016.
(Additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe, David Shepardson, Susan
Cornwell, Richard Cowan, and Julia Edwards)
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