This budget builds on these reforms. It includes an historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform - a down-payment on the principle that we must have quality，affordable health care for every American. It’s a commitment that’s paid for in part by efficiencies in our system that are long overdue. And it’s a step we must take if we hope to bring down our deficit in the years to come.
Now，there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to achieve reform，and that is why I’m bringing together businesses and workers，doctors and health care providers，Democrats and Republicans to begin work on this issue next week.
I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform，the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt： health care reform cannot wait，it must not wait，and it will not wait another year.
The third challenge we must address is the urgent need to expand the promise of education in America.
In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge，a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity - it is a pre-requisite.
Right now，three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma. And yet，just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish.
This is a prescription for economic decline，because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education - from the day they are born to the day they begin a career.
Already，we have made an historic investment in education through the economic recovery plan. We have dramatically expanded early childhood education and will continue to improve its quality，because we know that the most formative learning comes in those first years of life. We have made college affordable for nearly seven million more students. And we have provided the resources necessary to prevent painful cuts and teacher layoffs that would set back our children’s progress.
But we know that our schools don’t just need more resources. They need more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher performance；pathways for advancement，and rewards for success. We’ll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. And we will expand our commitment to charter schools.
It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. And so tonight，I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school；vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be，every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself，it’s quitting on your country - and this country needs and values the talents of every American. That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal：by 2020，America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.
I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever，which is why if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your community or serve your country，we will make sure that you can afford a higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations，I ask this Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country - Senator Edward Kennedy.
These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end，there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences，or help with homework after dinner，or turn off the TV，put away the video games，and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President，but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children’s education must begin at home.
There is，of course，another responsibility we have to our children. And that is the responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay. With the deficit we inherited，the cost of the crisis we face，and the long-term challenges we must meet，it has never been more important to ensure that as our economy recovers，we do what it takes to bring this deficit down.
I’m proud that we passed the recovery plan free of earmarks，and I want to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects only our most important national priorities.
Yesterday，I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office. My administration has also begun to go line by line through the federal budget in order to eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs. As you can imagine，this is a process that will take some time. But we’re starting with the biggest lines. We have already identified two trillion dollars in savings over the next decade.
