President Barack Obama today warned Republicans against making "symbolic cuts" in spending that could damage the fragile US economic recovery.
Republicans in Congress have lambasted the budget for 2012 that Obama announced yesterday and have presented him with an immediate challenge.
They plan to pass legislation in the House of Representatives by week's end to cut this year's spending by at least 14 per cent, or $61 billion, to show how serious they are about reducing the deficit.
"I think it is important to make sure that we don't try to make a series of symbolic cuts this year that could endanger the recovery," Mr Obama told a White House news conference.
"If the steps that we take then prompt thousands of layoffs in state or local government or core vital functions of government aren't performed properly, well that could also have a dampening impact on our recovery," he said.
Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner echoed the president's message in testimony to Congress, saying cutting government services and programs too soon would destroy thousands of jobs.
The US economy has been slow to recover from the recession that ended in 2009 and unemployment is still at nine percent, threatening Mr Obama's chances of re-election in 2012.
Data on Tuesday showed growth in sales at US retailers slowed in January, partly due to harsh winter weather across much of the country, but the trend remained supportive of an acceleration in economic growth.
Reuters