Obama sends $3.8 trillion budget to Congress

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) � President Barack Obama on Monday sent Congress a $3.8 trillion budget request for fiscal 2013 that�s expected to be a cornerstone of his re-election campaign.

Harking back to a theme he used in the State of the Union speech last month � economic fairness � Obama�s budget would raise taxes on the wealthy and boost spending on infrastructure projects and job training.

The budget would not damage the nascent recovery, he said.

�The main idea in the budget is this: At a time when our economy is growing and creating jobs at a faster clip, we have got to do everything in our power to keep this recovery on track,� Obama remarked in a speech at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va.

Overall, the budget calls for individual tax reforms that would include $1.5 trillion in tax increases over the next decade. The president once again proposed eliminating the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 a year.

The plan also details the �Buffett rule� � that households making $1 million annually should pay no less than 30% of their income in taxes.

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Obama also called for Congress to start a process to reform the corporate tax system by lowering the tax rate and closing loopholes.

White House officials said they would have more to say about corporate tax reform before the end of the month.

Republicans were harshly critical of Obama�s budget plan. �The budget is utterly irresponsible,� said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.

Republicans in Congress and running for president are opposed to tax increases and want to lower government spending instead. They argue that without spending cuts, the United States could experience a debt crisis similar to the European fiscal woes.

Obama rejected the idea that austerity alone would benefit the recovery, however. �We can�t just cut our way into growth,� he said. �We can cut back on the things that we don�t need, but we have also have to make sure that everyone is paying their fair share for the things we do need.�

The president also said money must be spent to restore manufacturing, promote clean energy and help Americans attend college.

Higher education cannot be viewed as a luxury, according to Obama.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor that he doubted that even Senate Democrats supported Obama�s budget request.

He had earlier suggested that he would bring the Obama budget to a vote.

23%of GDP

Obama�s budget request equals 23% of the nation�s gross domestic product, down slightly from his plan last year.