Senate Budget panel grills OMB chief over budget proposal

Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle's presentation of President Bush's $3.1 trillion fiscal 2009 budget before the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday quickly deteriorated into a political shoving match, making it clear that there might not be any bipartisan agreement this year beyond perhaps the current economic stimulus package. Democrats hammered Nussle on the cost of the war in Iraq, tax cuts and the growing national debt, and Nussle hammered right back, demonstrating that the nickname of "Knuckles" he acquired as a House member still has some resonance.

"I will say you're as combative a budget director as you were a member of Congress," said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who served in the House with Nussle. "The beauty of the relationship we have now, Mr. Director, is that I get to ask the questions and you get to answer them."

Nussle shot back at his tormentors that while Bush's budget does not factor in war costs beyond a $70 billion fiscal 2009 placeholder, Democrats supplied less than half of Bush's fiscal 2008 supplemental war request.

"It's difficult to budget for two years down the line if you haven't paid your bills for this year," he said, responding to a question from Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told Nussle that Bush's tax cuts were skewed toward the wealthy and that people like him should not receive a tax cut when services are being cut for lower-income people. "Why don't I need a tax break?" said Nussle. "Because you're doing well," Sanders replied.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., questioned why Nussle devoted equal time in his opening remarks to the question of earmarks in discretionary appropriations, which is a tiny percentage of the federal budget compared with the unfunded liabilities of as much as $70 trillion represented by looming entitlement obligations.

"What does it tell you about the culture of Washington [that the two issues] merits equal time?" asked Whitehouse. "I was only given five minutes," Nussle replied, arguing that Bush's budget proposes about $208 billion in five-year savings in the rate of growth of Medicare and Medicaid.

Conrad directed Nussle's attention to the national debt, which increases faster than annual deficits because the debt factors in off-budget costs like Social Security. The debt will grow by $704 billion this year and $761 billion next year under Bush's budget -- hitting $10 trillion for the first time in fiscal 2009 -- much more than the $400 billion-plus deficits expected or proposed over the next two years.

"I never hear the word debt leave the president's lips, ever," Conrad said. "The gross debt of the United States is going up like a scalded cat." Nussle replied that the budget was attempting to rein in the debt by also reining in mandatory programs, which account for about half the debt increase.

"If the debt is the threat, we can go further with regard to our mandatory programs," Nussle responded. "But I haven't heard anyone say we didn't go far enough."