Washington: US President Barack Obama on Saturday vowed to stick to his $3.55 trillion budget but acknowledged there is room for compromise. 

He said the budget would "undoubtedly change" as Congress prepared to take up his record spending plan. 

"It's an economic blueprint for our future, a vision of America where growth is not based on real estate bubbles or over-leveraged banks, but on a firm foundation of investments in energy, education and health care that will lead to a real and lasting prosperity," Obama said in his weekly radio address. 

The budget committees of the Senate and House of Representatives were set to begin crafting their budget legislation next week. 

Republicans and even some of Obama's fellow Democrats who control Congress have complained that his budget is too costly. 


Congressional budget experts on Friday offered a darker economic and budget outlook, projecting a $1.8 trillion deficit this year. 

Taking on his critics, Obama said: "These investments are not a wish list of priorities that I picked out of thin air…They are a central part of a comprehensive strategy to grow this economy by attacking the very problems that have dragged it down for too long: the high cost of health care and our dependence on foreign oil, our education deficit and our fiscal deficit."