Obama Plans $17bn Budget Savings

President Barack Obama has said he aims to cut $17bn (£11bn) from next year's US government budget, saying he had found examples of "stunning" waste.

A total of 121 existing government spending schemes will either see their funding reduced or cut completely.

President Obama said the cuts were necessary but not easy

He added that he hoped to halve the government's budget deficit by the end of his first term in office.

President Obama said a lot of money was currently being spent "inefficiently and ineffectively" by federal agencies.

The resulting savings are relatively minor compared with the government's fiscal woes House Republican Leader John Boehner

"At this difficult time for our nation, we can't accept business as usual," he said.

"We must create a government for the 21st Century that is more efficient."

President Obama added that some of the cuts would not be easy, but that they were necessary.

"We can no longer afford to leave the hard choices for the next budget, the next administration - or the next generation," he said.

'Diverse cuts'

The planned $17bn of savings represents 0.5% of the approved $3.4tn budget for 2010.

President Obama said the 121 schemes he was targeting for savings were diverse, ranging from a weapons system to a Department for Education office in Paris that would now close, and the end of some healthcare subsidies.

"These savings, large and small, add up," said President Obama.

However, senior Republicans complained that the spending cuts did not go far enough.

"The resulting savings are relatively minor compared with the government's fiscal woes," said House Republican Leader John Boehner.

bbc.co.uk