Question

"Meeting the spending targets in this budget meant some very difficult choices."
President Barack Obama,
2012 Budget Message of the President

Read the passage.

What did the president mean when he said he had to face “very difficult choices” when creating a federal budget?

deciding which country to borrow from to finance spending
deciding what would be funded and what would be cut
deciding how to keep interest rates low on the national debt
deciding how much to increase tax rates

Answer 1

deciding what would be funded and what would be cut

He meant the budget required trade-offs and prioritizing programs — choosing which programs to keep or expand and which to reduce or eliminate to meet spending targets.