Obama challenges lobbyists to legislative duel

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama vowed to fight America's powerful interest groups as he seeks to push through Congress an ambitious plan that could help reshape American society.

While tackling the economic crisis, Obama is asking Congress to enact contentious measures that have been debated, but not decided, in calmer times: cut subsidies for big farms; combat global warming with a pollution tax on industries; raise taxes on the wealthy; and make big changes to the health care system.

``The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long,'' Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and video address. ``But I don't. I work for the American people.''
He said the budget plan he presented on Thursday will help millions of people, but only if Congress overcomes resistance from deep-pocket lobbies.

``I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they're gearing up for a fight,'' Obama said. ``My message to them is this: So am I.''

The tone underscored Obama's preparation for a drawn-out battle over his tax and spending proposals. Sometimes he uses more conciliatory language and stresses the need for bipartisanship. Often he favors lofty, inspirational phrases.
On Saturday, he was a full-throated populist, casting himself as the people's champion confronting special interest groups that care more about themselves and the wealthy than about the average American.

Well-financed interest groups are likely to fight back furiously, and the challenges Obama faces are daunting. The U.S. economy contracted by a stunning 6.2 percent in the final three months of 2008, its worst showing in a quarter-century. Obama says the crisis calls for gutsy actions.

Under the president's proposal, America's wealthiest 5 percent would pay a whopping $1 trillion in higher taxes over the next decade, while most others would get tax cuts. Industries would buy and trade permits to emit heat-trapping gases. Higher-income older people would pay more for government health insurance benefits. Drug companies would receive smaller profits from the government. Banks would play a much smaller role in student loans.

Passing the budget, even with a Democratic-controlled Congress, ``won't be easy,'' Obama said. ``Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington.''

Obama's climb is steep. Even with solid Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, he secured a $787 billion stimulus package only after accepting compromises that irked liberals but won the support of three Republican senators.
Not a single House Republican backed it. Judging from House Republican leaders' immediate condemnation of his budget blueprint, Obama can expect more of the same.

Almost every day brings another ``multibillion-dollar government spending plan being proposed or even worse, passed,'' said Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, who gave the Republicans' weekly address.

He said Obama is pushing ``the single largest increase in federal spending in the history of the United States, while driving the deficit to levels that were once thought impossible.''

Also Saturday, a White House source said Obama has chosen Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be his secretary of health and human services, and plans to formally announce his decision Monday.

Sebelius, 60, was an early Obama supporter. She picked his presidential campaign over that of Hillary Rodham Clinton, now the secretary of state, worked tirelessly for Obama's bid and was a top surrogate to women's groups. Obama's first choice for health secretary, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, withdrew after disclosing he had failed to pay $140,000 in taxes and interest. As governor, Sebelius made addressing rising health care costs and making sure more people have coverage top priorities.