Obama: Cuts Were 'Common Sense'

Politico reports:

Late Friday night, Republicans and Democrats finally reached a long-awaited agreement on a budget framework for the remainder of the fiscal year, averting a government shutdown that threatened to leave about 800, 000 federal employees temporarily out of work.

In his weekly address to the nation, President Barack Obama on Saturday lauded leaders of both parties for coming together to reach a deal after days of intense negotiations.

“This is good news for the American people,” Obama said. “It means that small businesses can get the loans they need, our families can get the mortgages they applied for, folks can visit our national parks and museums, and hundreds of thousands of Americans will get their paychecks on time – including our brave men and women in uniform.”

The president also praised lawmakers for avoiding politics and social issues from overtaking the budget talks, referring to provisions on the EPA and Planned Parenthood that had hindered lawmakers from arriving at a resolution in the final days of the debate.

The deal that was finally announced would cut $78.5 billion from Obama’s 2011 budget proposal, and according to a joint statement from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the two sides had “reached an agreement on the policy riders.”

Despite the agreement, the president also had a sober message about the “painful” spending cuts to come, warning that many federal programs people depend on may be killed and that certain infrastructure projects will be delayed. “I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances,” he added.