Obama challenges Congress on debt, taxes

WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- President Obama told Congress to do its job and reach agreement on reducing the U.S. debt and deficit because the country is barreling toward its debt limit.

No one wants to see the federal government default on its loans, Obama said Wednesday in a news conference, but reducing the deficit and debt requires more than just cuts in spending.

"We can't get to the $4 trillion in savings that we need by just cutting the 12 percent of the budget that pays for things like medical research and education funding and food inspectors and the weather service. And we can't just do it by making seniors pay more for Medicare," Obama said. "So we're going to need to look at the whole budget, as I said several months ago, and we've got to eliminate waste wherever we find it and make some tough decisions about worthy priorities."

And that means looking at the tax code, providing tax breaks for the middle class and closing loopholes that benefit a few, the Democratic president said.

Obama said bipartisan talks on deficit reduction, led by Vice President Joe Biden, have made "real progress" in narrowing the differences among its participants, having already identified more than $1 trillion worth of spending cuts.

"So the good news is, because of the work that's been done, I think we can actually bridge our differences," Obama said. "I think there's a conceptual framework that would allow us to make huge progress on our debt and deficit and do so in a way that does not hurt our economy right here and right now."

But congressional Republicans must be willing to make decisions that go against their core constituents, just as Democrats have, Obama said.

And Congress as a whole needs to consider staying in Washington to hammer out a deal.

"You need to be here," a frustrated Obama told Congress, suggesting that if real progress wasn't made by the end of the week, some things may have to be canceled. "I've been here."

Obama also said the New York law that recognizes same-sex marriages could be considered a blueprint on law-making for thorny issues.

"You saw … people of New York having a debate, talking through these issues. It was contentious, it was emotionally, but ultimately they made a decision to recognize civil marriages," Obama said. "And I think that's exactly how things should work."

He said his decision to deploy U.S. troops to participate in a NATO-led mission in Libya didn't rise to the level of needing congressional approval under the War Powers Act. He said U.S. military personnel did not have a lead role in the mission, did not have boots on the ground and the mission was narrowly defined.

He said the reason the United States could consider withdrawing troops from Afghanistan beginning this year was attributable to the service and sacrifice of U.S. military personnel throughout the 10-year war.