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Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Nussle Approved to Head OMB, All Brace for Budget Battles
Yesterday, the Senate voted 69-24 to confirm former Rep. Jim Nussle (R-IA) as director of OMB. Every GOP Senator voted in favor of Nussle; 23 Democrats did likewise while 23 opposed him.
The vote sets up a looming battle between Congress and the Bush administration over how much to spend on the 12 FY 2008 appropriations bills. Congress' budget resolution calls for $22 billion more in overall discretionary spending than the $933 billion the president has requested, drawing veto threats from Bush. Additional struggles are expected over extending farm subsidies, SCHIP, and renewing more than 40 expiring tax cuts.
The Center on Budget characterized the looming budget fight as follows:
... the Administration is insisting on cuts and is threatening to veto appropriations bills unless those cuts are made. Claims that Congress's rejection of those cuts represents "spending lust" are unfounded. The question is not whether there should be large increases in domestic appropriations — since large increases are not on the table — but whether domestic programs should be cut (as the President demands) or increased modestly (as the Congressional majority favors)... All of this indicates that in the emerging battle over the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bills, the Administration and its supporters are misrepresenting a disagreement over budget priorities as a disagreement over fiscal responsibility.
Among the more impassioned statements from Senators such as Budget Committee chair Kent Conrad (D-ND), Appropriations chair Robert Byrd (D-WV), and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) seeking to signal their disapproval of the Bush fiscal policy and performance was this one from freshman Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT): "We need a budget director who will make this president understand what the ordinary American family is going through. Unfortunately, there's nothing in former Congressman Nussle's background to suggest that he is that person."
As our name suggests, we will be watching carefully to see if Mr. Nussle is more interested in compromising with Congress and completing work on the FY 2008 budget, or in confrontation, conflict, continuing resolutions, and threatening to close down the federal government.
Posted by Dana Chasin
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