WASHINGTON (AP):

United States President Barack Obama pushed back yesterday against criticism that he is trying to take on too many issues at once, defending a US$3.6 trillion budget that seeks to shore up the economy while also overhauling health care, energy and education.

"To kick these problems down the road for another four years or another eight years would be to continue the same irresponsibility that led us to this point," Obama said in an appearance with the heads of the congressional budget committees. "That's not why I ran for this office. I didn't come here to pass on our problems to the next president or the next generation."

The president countered arguments that the government was too focused on rescuing the financial industry, saying his team is working aggressively to free up frozen credit and get people working again, but said real economic recovery requires many actions at once.

"The American people don't have the luxury of just focusing on Wall Street," Obama said. "They don't have the luxury of choosing to pay their mortgage or their medical bills. They don't get to pick between paying their kids' college tuition or saving enough money for retirement."

"They have to do all these things," the president added. "They have to confront all these problems. And as a consequence, so do we."

Obama's US$3.6 trillion spending plan for the federal budget year beginning October 1 assumes a US$1.75 trillion deficit.

The president and his administration also were being forced to grapple with growing criticism of the government's handling of the bailout program, which allowed insurance giant American International Group inc. to borrow billions from the US Treasury and then announce that it plans to go ahead with paying out some US$165 million in bonuses to executives.

Strict limits

The White House says it is trying to put strict limits on the next US$30 billion installment in taxpayers' money for AIG, whose bonuses were the subject of several congressional hearings on Tuesday. AIG has been promised more than US$170 billion in federal rescue money.

Obama directed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to see whether there was any way to retrieve or stop the bonus money, a move designed as much for public relations as for public policy.