Awwal 12, 1432 / April 16, 2011, SPA -- Launching a week devoted to selling his deficit-reduction plan, U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday drew sharp contrasts with a House Republican budget that he says offers a vision that "is wrong for America." In his weekly radio and Internet address, President Obama charged Republicans with seeking to dismantle venerable safety net programs and choosing tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of students paying for college or older adults on Medicare. "To restore fiscal responsibility, we all need to share in the sacrifice - but we don't have to sacrifice the America we believe in," President Obama said. And while President Obama, in the interview, predicted a "smart compromise," his address Saturday left little room for common ground with the House Republican budget. That plan, approved by the House Friday, would reduce deficits by $4 trillion over the next 10 years. It would extend Bush-era tax cuts at all income levels, repeal President Obama's health care law and overhaul of Medicare by providing future retirees a voucher-style federal payment to purchase coverage from private plans. "It's a vision that says that in order to reduce the deficit, we have to end Medicare as we know it and make cuts to Medicaid that would leave millions of seniors, poor children and Americans with disabilities without the care they need," President Obama said.
