President Holds Facebook Town Hall

WASHINGTON, DC 
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

President Obama is on day two of a three-day campaign-style tour to tout his plan for the federal deficit and take questions from voters.

Today, the president held a town hall via Facebook at the social media website's headquarters in Palo Alto, California. According to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, President Obama is "one of the most popular people on Facebook." with more than 19 million fans.

He spoke to the crowd of Facebook employees and more than 45,000 people who posted on their Facebook page that they were attending via the social media site about his plans for the deficit, immigration, energy and education.

When asked by a Facebook employee in the audience to reflect on his presidency, Obama said he would like to look forward at things he still wants to accomplish. He said, "Getting our debts and deficits under control in a balanced way has to happen." About immigration, he said "I care deeply," and that comprehensive immigration reform is a priority. 

At a town hall gathering at a community college in northern Virginia Tuesday, Obama said his proposal to cut spending by $4 trillion in 12 years is a balanced approach to reducing the deficit.

He said reducing the deficit needs to be a "shared sacrifice" and that the "wealthiest Americans" should see a tax increase. He floated the idea of raising the social security tax beyond the first $106,000 of income.

As for spending cuts, the president said wasteful and ineffective programs should be cut from domestic and defense spending. But he told the crowd of college students and professors that priorities need to be protected. He proposed increased spending in transportation infrastructure, renewable energy and education to stay competitive.

Comparing his plan to the budget the Republican-led House of Representatives passed last week, President Obama said, "The debate isn't about whether we reduce the deficit, the debate is about how we reduce the deficit."

The Republican budget cuts up to $6 trillion dollars over the next decade by cutting spending and shrinking Medicare and Medicaid.

The Facebook Town Hall was moderated by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Later in the day, he will host two fundraisers. Thursday he will hold another town hall in Reno, Nevada.

Updated: 3 hr., 10 min. ago