奥巴马将提议削减赤字超1万5千亿美元

U.S. President Barack Obama says he will present a proposal early next month to cut the nation's massive budget deficit by more than currently planned.On a visit to his home state of Illinois Wednesday, President Obama told residents his proposed deficit reduction will exceed the $1.5 trillion target that a bipartisan congressional committee has been tasked to find. The group of six Democrats and six Republicans is to identify the cuts by December as part of the deal passed earlier this month to raise the U.S. debt limit. White House officials say Mr. Obama will also propose several measures aimed at creating jobs, including tax cuts, infrastructure investment and help for the long-term unemployed.
 
Many Republican lawmakers oppose raising taxes on high-income earners and eliminating tax breaks for big corporations, saying such steps will hurt job creation and undermine the sluggish economic recovery. Illinois was the final stop on a three-day bus tour that also took the president to Minnesota and Iowa. Mr. Obama spent his time in each state listening to residents' concerns and discussing his ideas for creating jobs. He returned to Washington late Wednesday, ahead of a 10-day vacation to Martha's Vineyard, an island in the northeastern state of Massachusetts.