Obama unveils $3.73 trillion budget for 2012 [February 14 2011]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is sending Congress a $3.73 trillion spending blueprint that pledges $1.1 trillion in deficit savings over the next decade through spending cuts and tax increases. Obamas new budget projects that the deficit for the current year will surge to an all-time high of $1.65 trillion.

That reflects a sizable tax-cut agreement reached with Republicans in December. For 2012, the administration sees the imbalance declining to $1.1 trillion, giving the country a record four straight years of $1 trillion-plus deficits. Jacob Lew, Obamas budget director, said that the presidents spending proposal was a balanced package of spending cuts and "shared sacrifice" that would bring the deficits under control.

Appearing on ABCs "Good Morning America," Lew said that Obamas budget would "stand the test that we live within our means and we invest in the future." Senior administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the formal release of the budget, said that Obama would achieve two-thirds of his projected $1.1 trillion in deficit savings through spending cuts including a five-year freeze on many domestic programs. The other one-third of the savings would come from tax increases, including limiting tax deductions for high income taxpayers, a proposal Obama put forward last year only to have it rejected in Congress.