By Suzanne Perry

Washington

President Obama gave few clues in his State of the Union speech tonight about what his proposed 2011 budget might hold for social services or other areas of interest to nonprofit groups.

The president, who will present his budget plan on Monday, defended his proposal, announced earlier, to freeze parts of domestic spending for three years.

A failure to rein in the budget deficit “could damage our markets, increase the cost of borrowing, and jeopardize our recovery,” he said.

Mr. Obama told Congress some of that effort would be paid for by ending tax cuts for oil companies, investment fund managers, and people earning over $250,000 a year. But he did not say whether spending in areas like the arts, poverty, or national service would be affected.

The White House is proposing a “top-line freeze” for spending in areas outside of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, defense, and national security. Officials say budgets in some individual programs could be cut and in others increased.

Mr. Obama countered criticism that spending should not be frozen “when so many are still hurting.” The freeze, he said, would not take place until 2011, “when the economy is stronger.”

Lobbying Rules

The president mentioned several other proposals that could affect nonprofit groups:

• Further restrictions on lobbyists, following limits on their ability to hold administration jobs. “It’s time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or Congress,” Mr. Obama said. Some nonprofit groups have criticized the president’s crackdown on lobbyists for failing to distinguish between those fighting for the public interest and those who aim to increase private profits.

• More openness about earmarks, or special federal spending on state and local projects. The president said Congress should publish all earmark requests on a single Web site “so that the American people can see how their money is being spent.” A variety of nonprofit groups benefit from Congressional earmarks.

• A request for a jobs bill that he can sign “without delay.” The House passed a jobs bill in December that would provide $200-million in fresh money to AmeriCorps, the national-service program, but the Senate has not yet acted.