Obama Hails US Fiscal Cliff Deal
Related video of Obama's weekly address
VOA News
January 05, 2013
U.S. President Barack Obama says he has kept his promise to America by working with Congress to change a tax code that he says too often benefited the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.
In his weekly address Saturday, Obama hailed the bipartisan budget agreement lawmakers reached this week, noting it raised taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans for the first time in two decades. He said the move prevented a middle-class tax hike that could have thrown the economy back into recession.
What's Next After the Fiscal Cliff Deal
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Late February: Extraordinary measures to extend the nation's borrowing limit will be exhausted.
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March 1: Large automatic spending cuts, or sequestration, would take effect without congressional action.
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March 27: A temporary funding measure expires. Government agencies will run out of money unless Congress adopts a new bill.
But Obama said the government must still do more to put Americans back to work and get the country on a path to pay down its debt.
Obama said he believes spending cuts can be made without "shortchanging" items like education, job training, research and technology, which he called "critical" to the nation's prosperity.
In the weekly Republican address, U.S. Representative David Camp of the northern state of Michigan called on his fellow lawmakers to identify responsible ways to tackle what he called "Washington's wasteful spending."