President Barack Obama will look to defense spending and the tax code as elements of his long-term deficit-reduction plan, which he will outline in a speech Wednesday afternoon.

Obama will identify a four-step approach that expands on his fiscal 2012 budget request and incorporates recommendations floated by his National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, according to a White House official. Besides seeking savings in the defense budget and the tax code, the president will stress keeping domestic spending low and reducing health care spending.

A key component of the fiscal commission’s recommendations is a tax reform package that includes a tax cut for most people but allows many deductions to shrink or disappear. Conservative critics have said the package amounts to a tax increase, and the White House official did not specify whether the president will adopt it in his plan.

The president will give his national address at 1:35 p.m. at George Washington University. The speech will be broadcast live on the White House website.