FACTBOX: Obama prepares for big week-budget, Congress speech
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama has barely had a chance to draw breath since being sworn into office a month ago as he pushes his administration's efforts to arrest a spiraling economic downturn.
If he is not meeting chief executives, mayors or state governors, he is holding near daily public events to sell his $787 billion economic recovery package to rescue the United States from the worst economic crisis in decades.
His schedule next week shows no let-up, with a fiscal summit, major speech to Congress, budget unveiling and a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso all penned in his diary.
Below are some details of the events:
MONDAY: FISCAL SUMMIT
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will host a "Fiscal Responsibility Summit" at the White House, starting at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT), to which about 130 people have been invited, including lawmakers, academics and business leaders.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs described the summit as "a frank discussion" on reducing the deficit and getting the country back on a sound economic footing.
Economist Mark Zandi, a former adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, is due to deliver a presentation on the state of the government's finances.
Summit participants will work in small discussion groups to tackle specific issues such as tax and revenue, healthcare, Social Security, government contracting and the budget process, officials said.
TUESDAY: SPEECH TO CONGRESS, JAPANESE PM VISITS
Japanese Prime Minister Aso makes the first visit to the White House by a foreign leader since Obama was sworn in last month.
During their talks from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (1530 GMT-1630 GMT), they are expected to discuss coordinating action on reviving the global economy. Japan has been hit particularly hard by the worldwide economic slump, triggered by the U.S. housing market meltdown.
At 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday), Obama heads to Capitol Hill to deliver a major speech to a joint session of Congress in which he will outline his domestic and foreign policy agenda. He is again expected to talk about the need for personal sacrifice, a theme from his inaugural address.
The last time Obama visited Capitol Hill was shortly after his inauguration, when he sought to get opposition Republicans to support his stimulus package. Despite his bipartisan push, just three Republicans supported the recovery plan.
BUDGET
Obama will release his first budget proposal on Thursday morning, an outline of the budget for the 2010 fiscal year. A more detailed version will be released several weeks later. It is expected to put a spotlight on the deficit, which private economists expect to reach $1.5 trillion or more this year.
The budget will reflect big increases in spending on public works that were part of the $787 billion economic recovery plan that Obama signed this week.
(Reporting by Caren Bohan; Writing by Ross Colvin; Editing by Peter Cooney)
