President Barack Obama will try to rise above party politics in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, but is headed for a bitter fight with Republicans over the budget deficit and spending. Obama's address to Congress at 9 pm EST (0200 GMT on Wednesday) will stress a search for common ground on efforts to boost growth and jobs, shaping a centrist message to carry into his 2012 re-election campaign.
He will call again for a spending freeze, proposing a five-year halt on increases in non-security, discretionary spending. Officials said Obama will look for cuts in other areas and put forward a Pentagon plan to cut $78 billion in defence spending over five years. When Obama made a similar proposal last year for a three-year freeze on discretionary spending, he also asked that it be delayed for a year due to the weak economy. Discretionary spending does not cover the big ticket social spending items such as health care and Social Security.
Ahead of the speech, Republicans sought to pressure Obama over spending, seizing on an expected call for investment in targeted areas like education. Republicans say "investment" is just a Democratic code for "borrow and spend" policies. "I'm hopeful that the president has listened to the American people," House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said. "I'm hopeful that the word 'investment' really isn't more stimulus spending and a bigger government here in Washington."
Americans have responded positively to better bipartisan cooperation after Obama struck a deal with Republicans over tax cuts, helping lift his approval ratings in recent weeks. Washington's often harsh tone was also tempered by efforts from both parties toward greater comity after Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords was wounded in a mass shooting on January 8. Six people died in the Arizona rampage.
The family of a 9-year-old girl who was among those killed has been invited to attend the address with first lady Michelle Obama, while some lawmakers plan to break the practice of sitting as a bloc with only members of their own party. But the partisan battles are expected to heat up again.
Americans are worried about a $1.3 trillion budget deficit and rising federal debt, which will hit a statutory limit of $14.3 trillion by March 31. The two parties differ over how to tackle these problems, with Republicans in favour of deep spending cuts and many Democrats preferring to increase taxes on wealthier Americans.
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