国际英语新闻:U.S. should reduce deficit as much as possible: Obama

WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States had a responsibility and an opportunity to reduce its deficit as much as possible and solve the problem in a real and comprehensive way, U. S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday.

"For a decade, America has been spending more money than we've taken in. For several decades, our debt has been rising," Obama said in his weekly address.

He said both parties had "talked this problem to death without doing enough about it," adding that it will take a balanced approach and shared sacrifice to solve the problem.

"That means spending less on domestic programs. It means spending less on defense programs. It means reforming programs like Medicare to reduce costs and strengthen the program for future generations. And it means taking on the tax code, and cutting out certain tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest Americans," Obama noted.

The five-day White House debt talks failed to seal a deal this week, and Obama urged both parties to find common ground to raise the nation's debt ceiling currently at 14.29 trillion U.S. dollars before the Aug. 2 deadline.