Obama's new vision for deficit reduction

In a Wednesday speech, President Barack Obama will outline a new approach to the nation's budget deficit, including proposals to address spending on Medicare and Medicaid.

The Washington Post: Obama's New Approach To Deficit Reduction To Include Spending On Entitlements
President Obama this week will lay out a new approach to reducing the nation's soaring debt, proposing reductions in spending on entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid and renewing his call for tax increases on the rich (Goldfarb, 4/10).

The Associated Press: White House: Obama To Lay Out Spending Plan
President Barack Obama and Congress are shifting from short-term budget concerns to debates over the nation's long-term economic future, and everything — from Medicare and Medicaid cuts to tax hikes for the wealthy — is on the table (Kellman, 4/11).

The Wall Street Journal: Obama Puts Taxes On Table
In a speech Wednesday, Mr. Obama will propose cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and changes to Social Security, a discussion he has largely left to Democrats and Republicans in Congress. He also will call for tax increases for people making over $250,000 a year, a proposal contained in his 2012 budget, and changing parts of the tax code he thinks benefit the wealthy (Lee and Paletta, 4/11).

The New York Times: Obama To Call For Broad Plan To Reduce Debt
The Republican plan includes a shrinking of Medicare and Medicaid and trillions of dollars in tax cuts, while sparing defense spending. Mr. Obama, by contrast, envisions a more comprehensive plan that would include tax increases for the richest taxpayers, cuts to military spending, savings in Medicare and Medicaid, and unspecified changes to Social Security (Calmes, 4/10).

The Boston Globe: Obama, GOP Look To Rein In Benefits
President Obama will call this week for new curbs on Medicare and Medicaid spending, an aide said yesterday, while a top House Republican predicted that a bipartisan deal on reducing Social Security costs is possible this summer. "You're going to have to look at Medicare and Medicaid and see what kind of savings you can get," Obama adviser David Plouffe said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press." The program was one of several on which he announced Obama's planned speech Wednesday detailing proposed cuts "with a scalpel, not a machete" in the long-term deficit (Viser, 4/11).

Politico: Obama To Take On Ryan On Health Costs
President Barack Obama is promising to lay out his long-awaited ideas on how to restrain Medicare and Medicaid spending this week — just in time to take the spotlight away from Paul Ryan. But he'll have to do it in a way that doesn't provoke a Democratic revolt or give the Republicans an easy target. And right now, there aren't a lot of Democratic ideas on either Medicare or Medicaid that Obama can just pull off the shelf, dust off and use (Nather, 4/11).