Obama pushes for quick movement on fiscal 2010 spending plan

President Obama Tuesday urged Congress to pass a budget resolution that would let lawmakers move forward on overhauling the healthcare system, capping emissions of greenhouse gases and improving education.

"I see it as an economic blueprint for our future -- a foundation on which to build a recovery that lasts," Obama said after meeting with House Budget Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C., and Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D.

Both panels are expected to mark up their budget measures next week, with floor action anticipated for the week of March 30. The budget resolutions are expected to reflect the health, energy and education initiatives included in Obama's $3.55 trillion fiscal 2010 budget released last month.

Obama stressed the proposals "are directly linked to our long-term prosperity," including a reform of health care that would help "bring down the cost of Medicare and Medicaid so that we can reduce our deficit in the long run."

Obama's comments come after Republicans and some Democrats have raised concerns about the budget, citing among other items its proposal to help fund healthcare reform by limiting itemized deductions on people who earn more than $250,000 a year. Obama said Tuesday his critics should "be ready and willing to propose constructive, alternative solutions" for portions of the proposal they do not like. He also answered those who have said he is taking on too much, warning that delay would "continue the same irresponsibility that led us to this point."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Tuesday praised Obama's budget, particularly the plan to develop a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gases, which would provide about $150 billion over 10 years for clean-energy initiatives. "This budget finally takes the logical approach that all Americans understand: We need to reduce our consumption, and we need to find new, renewable sources of clean energy that we can grow right here at home, creating hundreds of thousands of good new jobs right here at home," Reid said.

The cap-and-trade proposal has come under fire from Republicans. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Monday such a plan would spur higher energy costs and amount to a tax on all Americans. "It ... punishes anyone who has the audacity to flip on a light switch thanks to a brand new ... energy tax," he said. "This means less money in the family budget and more jobs being shipped overseas."

Taking a similar tack, a pro-business group of more than 1,000 trade associations, corporations and advocacy groups sent a letter Tuesday to lawmakers detailing how Obama's budget does not focus on fixing the economy. "The ongoing financial and housing crises are the number one challenge to turning America's economy around," the Tax Relief Coalition said in its letter. "Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the nation's number one priority -- the economy -- the administration has announced the most sweeping expansion of government in decades." The coalition includes Americans for Tax Reform, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.