Obama Predicts 'Trillion-Dollar Deficits for Years to Come'

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Obama Predicts 'Trillion-Dollar Deficits for Years to Come'

Obama Predicts 'Trillion-Dollar Deficits for Years to Come'
The Democratic-dominated Congress meets Tuesday to confront the economic crisis and President-elect's Barack Obama's ambitious agenda.
President-elect Barack Obama predicted Tuesday that the nation could see "trillion-dollar deficits for years to come," but said the country needs to continue spending taxpayer dollars to get the economy back on track.

Obama, speaking to reporters at his Washington transition office, said he didn't want to get into specific budget numbers because his proposal is still being worked out with lawmakers and has yet to be submitted for debate. But he expects a trillion-dollar deficit before the next fiscal-year budget is even proposed.

"We're already looking at a trillion-dollar budget deficit or close to a trillion-dollar budget deficit, and that potentially we've got trillion-dollar deficits for years to come, even with the economic recovery that we are working on at this point," Obama said.

The president-elect was lobbying Capitol Hill as the 111th Congress convenes, attempting to pitch an economy recovery package estimated to hit about $775 billion.

Asked about concerns of increased deficit spending, Obama said: "We know that we're going to have to spend money to jump-start the economy."

But he also pledged his stimulus plan will not include pork-barrel projects.

The package will set a "new higher standard of accountability, transparency and oversight. We are going to ban all earmarks, the process by which individual members insert projects without review," Obama said. "We're not having earmarks in the recovery package. Period."

Obama said he is planning to establish an oversight board to meet publicly and issue reports to Congress on how the money is being spent.

Democrats are promising swift action on the recovery program that is the first order of business for the Obama administration.

"We will hit the ground running ... to address the pain being felt by the American people," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., promised Monday as she welcomed Obama to her office