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Obama to Propose Spending Freeze

President Barack Obama plans to propose a three-year freeze on non-security discretionary spending, a White House official confirmed Monday evening. The move will save the government about $250 billion. It will be part of Obama’s State of the Union address on Wednesday night, but it may be announced earlier.The freeze omits spending on defense, intelligence and veterans issues. The proposal comes as Obama looks to refocus his agenda on the economy. Democrats are clamoring for the president to take the lead on those issues on Wednesday and help deflect criticism from the public and Republicans who say they haven’t done enough to create jobs.Republicans have also argued that the $787 billion stimulus bill Obama signed last year was too expensive and did little to move the economy forward. What’s more, GOP lawmakers have criticized Obama’s decision to sign annual appropriations bills that increased discretionary spending.

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