Obama warns spending cuts could hurt recovery

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Obama warns spending cuts could hurt recovery

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President Barack Obama warned Republicans on Tuesday against making symbolic cuts in spending that could damage the fragile US economic recovery.

16 February,2011 05:44 am

Republicans in Congress have lambasted the budget for 2012 that Obama announced on Monday and have presented him with an immediate challenge. They plan to pass legislation in the House of Representatives by weeks end to cut this years spending by at least 14 percent, or $61 billion, to show how serious they are about reducing the deficit.In a news conference held at White House, Obama said that I think it is important to make sure that we do not try to make a series of symbolic cuts this year that could endanger the recovery. If the steps that we take then prompt thousands of layoffs in state or local government or core vital functions of government are not performed properly, well that could also have a dampening impact on our recovery, he added.The US economy has been slow to recover from the recession that ended in 2009 and unemployment is still at nine percent, threatening Obamas chances of re-election in 2012. Republicans said the White House is ignoring the severity of the countrys fiscal problems. Obamas 2012 budget would cut the budget deficit by $1.1 trillion over ten years. On Tuesday, he signaled a willingness to go further on spending cuts, just not in the short term.