Energy, healthcare, education key points

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Healthcare, energy and education must be key points in the federal budget, U.S. President Barack Obama said of his administration's first spending document.

"These must be the priorities reflected in our budget, for in the end, a budget is more than simply numbers on a page," Obama said before presenting his budget outline for fiscal year 2010 to Congress for consideration. "It is a test for our commitment to making America what it was always meant to be: a place where all things are possible for all people."

Saying America's future depends on breaking its dependence on foreign oil, Obama said the budget includes funding to help turn clean, renewable energy into profitable kind of energy.

Included in his outline is a controversial plan to places a market-based cap on carbon pollution that should drives the production of more renewable energy, as well as allocating $15 billion a year for 10 years to develop alternative energy technologies.

To counter the effects of "crushing healthcare costs," the budget builds upon the legislation that expanded a federally funded, state-run children's insurance program and calls for computerized health records.

"With this budget, we are making a historic commitment to comprehensive healthcare reform," Obama said.

The budget also makes a "historic investment" in education, he said, including incentives for teacher performance, closing achievement gaps among high schools and other efforts to "reward success in the classroom."

The budget plan also represents an "honest accounting" of where U.S. tax dollars are spent, Obama said.

"For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent," he said.

Having inherited a trillion-dollar deficit that will take time to whittle down, Obama warned compromise would be necessary.

"We need to focus on what we need to move the economy forward," he said, "not on what's nice to have."