| Good afternoon, Yesterday, President Obama laid out a comprehensive and balanced framework to cut the nation's deficit by $4 trillion over the next twelve years while still making the investments needed to win the future. He also described the underlying values that guide his approach, including the role that government should play and the shared responsibility Americans have to one another. The video of the President’s speech is worth watching, but it's 40 minutes long, so we've also summed up the main points in a graphic. You can see both the video and the graphic here: 
President Obama's framework has four key parts: - Budget Cuts. Last week, President Obama worked with Democrats and Republicans on a budget compromise that represents the largest spending cut in our history. The President's approach builds on that compromise and will save us $770 billion over twelve years.
- Security Spending. Working with Secretary of Defense Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen, we will cut $400 billion by 2023 out of defense spending by eliminating waste and inefficiencies while ensuring that our troops have the resources they need to protect our national security.
- Health Care Costs. The President's approach to reforming Medicare and Medicaid keeps our commitments to seniors, people with disabilities, and children while reducing health care spending. These reforms will help us save $480 billion by 2023 and an additional $1 trillion in the decade after that.
- Tax Reform. The President called for closing loopholes and letting the Bush era high income tax cuts -- which we simply cannot afford -- expire. The President is also calling on Congress to reform the individual tax code so that it is fair and simple so the amount of taxes you pay isn't determined by what kind of accountant you can afford. Those savings would be devoted to reducing tax rates and the deficit.
The President's approach also calls for something that we don't see enough of in Washington -- accountability. If this approach isn't on target by 2014, the President is proposing a "debt failsafe" trigger that would require across the board spending cuts, including spending in the tax code. Now, you may have also heard about a plan from Republicans in the House of Representatives that will cut the deficit by about the same amount. But there's an important difference between the two approaches. The Republican plan places the burden of debt reduction on those that can least afford it -- people like seniors and lower income Americans. Their plan slashes investments in areas like clean energy investment and education funding. It ends Medicare as we know it and doubles health care costs for seniors in order to pay for an average tax cut of $200,000 for millionaires and billionaires. The President's plan protects the middle class, defends our commitments to seniors, and makes the smart investments we need to create good jobs and grow our economy. It's based on the idea that, as a nation, we have a responsibility to come together to provide a basic measure of security and dignity for all Americans. The President has laid out his framework, but there is clearly much work ahead. As the recent compromise in the face of a government shutdown taught us, Republicans and Democrats can sit down and work through these issues to find common ground. I'll be sure to keep you posted on our progress. Sincerely, David Plouffe
Senior Advisor to the President P.S. Tomorrow I'm going to send you another way to understand how your personal taxpayer dollars are spent in Washington. Hint: the President mentioned it in his State of the Union Address.
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