In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama appealed to the to the public in hopes of influencing a deal that talks have failed to produce so far.
"We have to ask everyone to play their part because we are all part of the same country," Obama said Saturday, pushing a combination of spending cuts and tax increases that has met stiff resistance from Republicans. "We are all in this together."
Obama said the wealthiest must "pay their fair share." He invoked budget deals negotiated by Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill, and Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich.
"You sent us to Washington to do the tough things, the right things," he said. "Not just for some of us, but for all of us."
A weekend deadline that the president gave congressional leaders to choose one of three deficit reduction options became a moot point after House and Senate leaders made it clear to the White House on Friday that they were moving ahead with their own plans.
In the Republicans' weekly address Saturday, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah argued for passage of a balanced-budget amendment. He blamed Democrats for failing to embrace adequate budget cuts and said "the solution to a spending crisis is not tax increases."
An amendment that requires a balanced budget, he said, "would put us on a path to fiscal health and would prevent this White House or any future White House from forcing more debt on the American people."