WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Congress to delay massive government spending cuts in the near term, saying government budget policies will have effects on US economic growth.

Drastic government spending cuts will cost jobs to be created and slow down the economic growth pace, Obama said at a White House press conference on Tuesday.

"We can't cut our way to prosperity," he told reporters.

Obama asked US Congress to postpone the government outlays cuts starting on March 1 and stressed the importance of a balanced government fiscal policy to bolster economic growth.

Roughly $85 billion of spending cuts were set to hit various US governmental departments this year starting on March 1, as agreed by Democrats and Republicans in January to solve the so-called "fiscal cliff."

"This doesn't have to happen," Obama said, referring to the across-the-board cuts poised to kick in next month.

US Congress is working on the government's budget for 2014 fiscal year starting on October 1 this year, which might not be achieved by March 1. Obama urged lawmakers to pass a modest bill to soften the impact of the government reductions for several months to allow more time to produce a broader package to tackle mounting government deficit.

The proposals he has offered to US House Speaker John Boehner last year during the widely-scrutinized "fiscal cliff" discussions are still on the table, Obama noted.

Obama said the nation is making progress on achieving 4 trillion dollars government deficit reduction over the next decade, but part of the deficit reduction should come from tax reforms.

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