 The Obama administration proposed its 2012 budget on February 14 , 2011 . It aimed to reduce annual deficits to more sustainable levels by making selective cuts in spending , while increasing support in specific areas such as education and clean energy to foster long @-@ term economic growth . The plan did not contain specific proposals to rein in spending on entitlement programs such as Medicare , Medicaid , and Social Security , which were expected to make up much of the increase in the deficit in future years . The budget represented a shift from the Obama administration 's strategy in previous years of using increased government spending , such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 , to combat the late 2000s recession . The 2012 budget plan was instead projected to reduce deficits by $ 1 @.@ 1 trillion over the next ten years . Republicans criticized the plan for not going far enough to reduce future deficits . 
