``Going forward, we're going to have to make some additional very tough decisions that this town has put off for a very long time, and that's what this upcoming week is really about,'' Obama said in announcing the freeze plan, which would save $5 billion over two years and affect civilian workers, not the military. Congress must approve the pay freeze for it to become effective.
The federal budget deficit was about $1.3 trillion in the recently ended fiscal year, and the national debt is estimated at nearly $14 trillion. Paying interest on that debt alone gobbles 6 percent of all federal spending, and that's projected to rise to 17 percent by 2020.
On Tuesday, the president is to meet with congressional leaders from both parties to haggle over what can get done in their lame-duck session over the next three weeks, especially whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts that otherwise will expire at year's end.
On Wednesday, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, also known as Obama's bipartisan deficit commission, is to issue its report on how to bring down the crippling budget deficits and debt.
On other urgent fiscal fronts, some 2 million people stand to lose extended unemployment benefits over the next few weeks unless Congress acts soon; the money runs out Tuesday.
Congress also must act by Friday to authorize money to keep the government functioning; otherwise, most nonessential government services would shut down.
Obama's pay-freeze proposal drew fast opposition from labor and liberal groups, while many Republicans and some Democrats said it wouldn't go far enough.
Obama Proposes Federal Pay Freeze
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