Obama says Romney would cut school funding

Denver: President Barack Obama says Republican rival Mitt Romney favours cutting a fifth of the Education Department's budget while Mr Romney is countering that President Obama directed $90 billion to so-called "green jobs" - a sum, he says, that would hire 2 million teachers.

The two sparred on Wednesday during their first presidential debate on what role government plays in Americans' lives. (Rate the speakers here)

President Obama says there are challenges that only the federal government can solve. Mr Romney says government should do only what is prescribed in the Constitution and challenges that only have federal solutions, such as national security.

President Obama pointed to Mr Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, whose budget proposals make sharp cuts across the board. Romney retorted that Washington invested in new failed energy research.