Obama budget chief warns of unsustainable path
The man tapped by President-elect Barack Obama to head the White House’s budget office said Tuesday that the federal budget is on an “unsustainable” long-term path, although dramatic action is needed to counter the bleak outlook for the economy in the short term.
Even after the economy recovers from the recession, the U.S. faces the prospect of budget deficits measuring 5% of gross domestic product over the next five to 10 years, Peter Orszag said.
Orszag, currently the director of the Congressional Budget Office, is Obama’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget.
Appearing for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee, Orszag outlined parts of Obama’s recovery plan for the economy and longer-term challenges, including bringing down health-care costs.
“We need to act,” Orszag told senators in his testimony. “President-elect Obama’s economic recovery plan is aimed at promoting economic activity by helping to fill the gap between aggregate demand and existing capacity, and doing so in a way that will also help to expand capacity in the future.”
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