GOP: American Dream may 'vanish'

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- A Republican Party spokesman says U.S. President Barack Obama's $3.55 trillion budget bill could make "the American Dream vanish."

Speaking Saturday in the GOP rebuttal to Obama's weekly radio and Internet address, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina said the spending contained in the budget bill will drive "the deficit to levels that were once thought impossible.

"Looking at the spending priorities of Democrats in Washington in the proposed budget and over the past month, it's hard to escape the reality that for the first time we could see the American Dream vanish," Burr said.

The GOP senator said the spending called for by president to staunch soaring unemployment and stop the meltdown of the U.S. financial system is "so large, and the deficits so staggering, it's difficult for the average person to imagine how much money we're talking about."

Burr said it's time for "those elected to lead. Will we rise to the challenge, and make the tough choices necessary? Or will we simply hand the obligation to our children and wish them good luck?"