Obama and McCain at Fiscal Summit Video

Funny helicopter exchange:

Fiscal Responsibility Summit Details

The summiters will talk about ways to cut waste out of government programs, such as Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. Obama has invited 130 people to the summit. Those on the left are fretting and those on the right are poking fun of the summit and at least one republican, John McHugh, has declined to show. He's not over the stimulus. Hopefully, the reasonable folks, who've agreed to meet, can get something done. Robert Gibbs said no policy will come out of this. It's just a first step.

WHAT: The White House Fiscal Summit

WHEN: Monday, February 23rd, 2009

12:30 PM - Event Call Time

1:00 PM - Program Begins

4:30 PM - Event Concludes

WHERE: The White House

The State Dining Room

*Specific information on arrival gates will be provided shortly.

FORMAT: Approximately 100 guests will gather at the White House to participate in a summit on fiscal issues. The group will be composed of the President and Vice President, Members of Congress, members of the Cabinet and senior Administration officials, and various other experts in the field. The group of Members will be bipartisan and bicameral.

Session 1: The President and Vice President will each deliver remarks in an opening session in the State Dining Room. Open press.

Session 2: Breakout discussion groups led by members of the Cabinet and senior Administration officials on key fiscal issues. Pooled press.

Session 3: Plenary discussion led by the President regarding results of the five breakout groups. Pooled press.

Breakout sessions.

Health: Orszag, Melody Barnes, Sec. Shinseki

Tax: Geithner, Volcker

Social Security: Romer, Summers

Contracting & Procurement: LaHood, Napolitano, Bill Lynn

Budget: Nabors, Panetta

Obama plans to cut deficit in half.

Politico: President Obama will announce Monday that he plans to cut the nation’s projected annual deficit in half by the end of his first term, a senior administration official said Saturday.

Obama, who will speak Monday to a Fiscal Responsibility Summit at the White House, also will outline steps he is taking to eliminate what his staff calls “accounting gimmicks” used by previous administrations.

“This budget actually is going to assume that there will be a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood or manmade disaster in the United States in fiscal year 2010, and each year going forward 10 years,” the official said. “The Bush budget never assumed that.”

Under White House projections, this year’s inherited budget deficit of $1.3 trillion will be cut to $533 billion by fiscal year 2013, the end of the first term.

“So we’ll cut it at least in half,” the official said.

Dave Camp Gives Republican Weekly Address

After chattering on and on about the stimulus, the fiscal summit next week is the republicans' opportunity to make good, since they're all about cutting government waste. 

Obama's Weekly Address Feb. 21

The typical family will now get about $65 more a month in their paychecks. The week ahead:

That work begins on Monday, when I will convene a fiscal summit of independent experts and unions, advocacy groups and members of Congress, to discuss how we can cut the trillion-dollar deficit that we've inherited. On Tuesday, I will speak to the nation about our urgent national priorities. And on Thursday, I'll release a budget that's sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don't, and restoring fiscal discipline.

Read the transcript.