WASHINGTON — Families are making tough decisions about their money and so too will their government, President Barack Obama said Saturday, promising that spending cuts are coming — and soon.
At a Cabinet meeting Monday, the president will ask department and agency heads for specific proposals for trimming their budgets.
“If we’re going to rebuild our economy on a solid foundation, we need to change the way we do business in Washington. We need to restore the American people’s confidence in their government — that it is on their side, spending their money wisely, to meet their families’ needs,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address, released while he attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is ending consulting contracts to create new seals and logos that, Obama said, have cost the department $3 million since 2003. Obama also cited Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to overhaul contracting procedures and eliminate billions in wasteful spending and cost overruns.
The president praised Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., who are leading the effort in Congress.
