Obama to Congress: Stop shooting down deficit proposals

Good morning from The Oval, and happy Veterans Day -- President Obama is in Seoul, South Korea, where today he said lawmakers in the United States should hold off on comments about his fiscal commission's proposals to slash the federal budget deficit through spending cuts, ending tax breaks, and a revamping of the Social Security system.

"Before anybody starts shooting down proposals, I think we need to listen, we need to gather up all the facts," Obama told reporters.
He added: "If people are, in fact, concerned about spending, debt, deficits and the future of our country, then they're going to need to be armed with the information about the kinds of choices that are going to be involved, and we can't just engage in political rhetoric."
Obama said he will await the commission's Dec. 1 formal report before commenting in detail. Members "are trying to round up 14 votes for certain aspects of the recommendations, and I want to make sure that they've got the room and the space to do so," he said.


The commission proposals -- outlined here by USA TODAY's Richard Wolf -- drew fire from many of Obama's fellow Democrats, including outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She and other Democrats were particularly critical of proposals to change Social Security, including lower benefits for upper-income recipients and reduced cost-of-living increases.
"We're going to take it out on senior citizens?" said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., one of Pelosi's appointees to the deficit reduction panel. "I am virulently against that proposal."
At a news conference in Seoul, Obama said he opposes special spending projects known as earmarks, and wants to eliminate waste from the federal budget -- but those alone won't come close to cutting the national debt now pegged at $13.7 trillion.

"We're going to have to make some tough choices," Obama said. "The only way to make those tough choices historically has been if both parties are willing to move forward together."
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Obama delivered his Veterans Day speech to U.S. troops in South Korea -- and delivered a stern message to North Korea.
One of the package bombs from Yemen was designed to explode over U.S. territory, USA TODAY's Kevin Johnson reports.
U.S. and South Korean negotiators are still unable to nail down a free trade agreement.
A Pentagon study says there is little risk to ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
(Posted by David Jackson)