Obama, who introduced the budget alongside his fellow officials, including Timothy Geithner and Peter Orszag, said that because the recovery is starting to take hold, it is time for Washington to return to more fiscally responsible spending patterns, though he acknowledged that would take time.

"We won't be able to bring down this deficit overnight, given that the recovery is still taking hold and families across the country still need help," he said. "We will continue, for example, to do what it takes to create jobs."