Management

Now that Orszag is gone, what’s next for the budget?

We take a look at a variety of viewpoints.

Federal News Network Staff

June 23, 2010 11:09 am

1 min read

We told you yesterday about OMB’s Peter Orszag stepping down.

Today, we bring you a variety of update:

Peter Orszag became famous for making health care cost control sexy. His replacement will have an even harder task: Doing the same for deficit reduction. An article in Slate posits that reducing the deficit is the Washington equivalent of eating one’s vegetables. It’s preached mainly by stern fogies, who don’t make it sound very appetizing. Whoever replaces Orszag as director of the Office of Management and Budget-the top names floated so far are Clinton administration vets Laura Tyson and Gene Sperling-will have to change that.

Meanwhile, Senators of both parties said Tuesday that despite the nation’s bleak fiscal situation, they want President Barack Obama’s next budget chief to be pretty much like the guy who has held the job for the past year and a half. RollCall reports that it is almost a given that Senate Republicans will grill Obama’s nominee to replace Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, using the confirmation process to cast a critical eye on the administration’s policies. However, Orszag managed to maintain his reputation as a fiscal hawk during his time in the administration, with some Republicans saying there was little Orszag could do to control red ink while working for a free-spending boss.

And what did Orszag accomplish — and fail to do? The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein says that, while much was done, polls show that many Americans are still concerned about the deficit.

These stories are part of our daily Dorobek Must Reads. Check out the full list of stories.