Obama says the U.S. can’t ‘sacrifice investments in our future’

As Congress debates Republican-backed spending cuts, President Obama again pressed for continued investments in education and manufacturing that he said are critical for sustaining a healthy economy.

Speaking at an Intel plant outside Portland, Ore., the president said he is committed to reducing the deficit and cutting spending, and said his proposed budget takes steps to do so.

“To really get our deficit under control, we’re going to have to do more,” he said. “But even as we have to live within our means, we can’t sacrifice investments in our future. If we want the next technological breakthrough that leads to the next Intel to happen here in the United States — not in China or not in Germany, but here in the United States — then we have to invest in America’s research and technology.”

Obama’s trip to Oregon is the latest of a series of events outside Washington to sell his new “Winning the Future” agenda, announced in his State of the Union address last month. On previous stops, he has touted initiatives to expand broadband access to more Americans, fund weatherization projects to create jobs, and promote green energy.

At Intel’s plant, Obama was introduced by the company’s Republican CEO, Paul Otellini, who had been critical of the president’s economic agenda in past years. Otellini will join the president’s new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, along with GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt, as the White House looks to restart its relationship with the business community, with which it had battled for two years.

“Intel is possible because of the incredible capacity of America to reinvent itself and to allow people to live out their dreams. And so the question we have to ask ourselves now is, ‘How do we maintain this?’ ” Obama said.

He said half of all new jobs created in the next decade require more than a high school degree, and highlighted his administration’s efforts to promote math and science education.

The president is scheduled to return to Washington on Friday night, but will be back on the road next week for an event in Cleveland focused on small business.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

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