President's SOTU Programs To Cost Billions

Better start going through the seat cushions

President Barack Obama said the proposals in his State of the Union speech won't increase the U.S. deficit "by a single dime." He didn't say they'd be free.

The president's wish list, involving a mix of one-time and continuing costs, amounts to billions of dollars largely to boost the economy and job creation. Just how many billions will become clearer when he submits his budget proposal to Congress in mid-March.

Obama's initiatives include $50 billion for bridge repairs and other "urgent" infrastructure projects, $1 billion for manufacturing-innovation centers, and undisclosed amounts for research, clean energy, education, worker training and preschool for 4-year-olds in the U.S.

How much support the proposals get in Congress depends in part on how Obama would pay for them and on the broader political atmosphere. Republican lawmakers were skeptical.