White House Budget Director Peter Orszag personally delivered the Obama administration's new budget to the U.S. Capitol yesterday. At 134 pages it is still only an outline of the president's budget, but it speaks volumes about the administration's priorities. The budget plans to spend $3.6 trillion dollars this year and focuses money on President Obama's priorities: health care, energy and transportation. It will raise taxes on the wealthiest five percent of Americans in order to pay for his budget in the long-term. In this video, NewsHour congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports on the budget debut. The projected deficit is by the biggest dollar amount ever: $1.75 trillion, more than four times the red ink for this year. President Obama acknowledged the numbers are large but called it an "honest accounting of where we are and where we intend to go." The budget is large in part because it accounts for the financial rescue package and the economic stimulus plan. Another major chunk of the spending -- $634 billion -- would go for a down payment on universal health care. Obama has vowed to cut spending by at least $2 trillion in the next 10 years, which includes cutting funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not everyone agrees on the budget - many Republicans in Congress do not want increased government spending or taxes during a recession Quotes "We are on an unsustainable fiscal course. There's not a single line in the budget that won't have someone who cares about it very strongly. And yet if we allowed those - all of those lines to persist and grow over time, we would wind up with a fiscal crisis." - Peter Orzag, White House Budget Director "These must be the priorities reflected in our budget, for in the end a budget is more than simply numbers on a page. It is a measure of how well we are living up to our obligations to ourselves and one another. It is a test for our commitment to making America what it was always meant to be: a place where all things are possible for all people." - President Barack Obama "The era of big government is back, and Democrats are asking you to pay for it." - Rep. John Boehner, (R-OH) House Minority Leader Warm Up Questions 1. How large is the United States federal budget? 2. What is the difference between the deficit and the debt? Discussion Questions 1. Obama said that a budget is "a measure of how well we are living up to our obligations to ourselves and one another." What do you think he means by this? Do you think that we are living up to our obligations? 2. Do you think that the recession has made the federal budget more important to you and your family? Why or why not? 3. What is the single most important thing to you in the federal budget? What is the least important? Why? Additional Resources Read the transcript Orszag Outlines Policy Priorities in Budget Blueprint Obama: The First 100 Days