In his first State of the Union address, President Obama will offer a plan to tighten up the federal budget and help middle-class families. White House officials have confirmed the proposal would:
* Freeze discretionary spending not associated with national security.
* Nearly double the value of the child- and dependent-care tax credit for middle-class families earning less than $85,000 a year. All households earning under $115,000 will see a credit increase.
* Add $1.6 billion to child-care funding assistance, the largest one-year increase in 20 years, to help an additional 235,000 children.
* Cap a student's federal loan payments to 10% of income above a set living allowance. The White House says this would lower payments for hundreds of thousands of graduates.
* Set up a system of workplace IRAs by requiring employers to offer direct-deposit IRAs to their workers.
* Expand tax credits to match retirement savings.
* Enact safeguards to protect retirement savings.
* Increase support for families caring for elderly relatives, and for seniors who want to stay in their homes.
Source: White House; Middle Class Task Force
