Artificial Intelligence Jun 17, 2009
New Republic, July 1A presents Ezekiel Emanuelhealth care expert, leading bioethicist, and chief-of-staff Rahm's brotheras the epitome of Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag's influential "high command": "In a town that's often run by political operatives and slick K Street lobbyists, the Orszag intellectuals are shaping everything from health care reform to climate-change legislation." The OMB's power in the health care realm derives in part from having been "up and... (Slate)
America needs a plan to reduce the national debt May 31, 2009
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag seemed to send that message when, after the S, they both emphasized the need to do more on closing the budget gap. Until the administration gets specific, financial and currency markets probably will remain skittish, and no economic recovery will be on solid footing. (Montana Standard, MT)
Palin ends hiring freeze May 29, 2009
Top Palin staffers, including Chief of Staff Mike Nizich and Office of Management and Budget Director Karen Rehfeld said the freeze accomplished its goal of saving the state money and limiting the deficit this year, lessening the need to dip into state savings accounts. Rehfeld said the freeze will likely save $12 million, through the exact amount won't be known until after the end of the fiscal year June 30. (Juneau Empire)
State faces loss of mine cleanup money May 19, 2009
Max Baucus and Jon Tester have sent letters to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag asking that the federal funding be continued, and Baucus also wrote to members of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee urging reinstatement of the money. The senators note that Obama s cuts are only a proposal at this time, and that Congress will ultimately decide the funding for the AML. They added that mine cleanup is a public health and safety issue. (Helena Independent Record)
U.S. budget chief says signs of economic free-fall over May 18, 2009
Reuters Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag testifies before the Senate Finance Committee during. 1 hr 6 mins ago. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
More States are Raising Revenues to Help Close Budget Gaps May 14, 2009
As Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, and others have argued, some of the money collected from tax increases -- especially on the highest income households -- would have been saved rather than spent and so would not have entered the local economy immediately in any case. Meanwhile, cutting services hurts both vulnerable families and the economy, noted Jon Shure, deputy director of the State Fiscal Project. (PR Newswire)
Feds to cover up-front costs of tracking stimulus May 14, 2009
According to the memo from Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, federal money for estimated administrative costs will be provided up front instead of being reimbursed toward the end of the stimulus program. States welcomed the news. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Business)
Say Word the White House Likes Slam Poetry May 14, 2009
Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag has blogged about poetry. With the ever-expanding recession discussion, which has produced thousands of pages of legislation that attempts to articulate where we are as a nation, perhaps we need to rely on those who are able to tell us about the beauty and pain of the everyday. (Slate)
Obama: No More Cash for Jailing Illegals May 9, 2009
The evidence suggests that the funds are often used in a variety of ways that are tangential to the direct cost associated with imprisoning unauthorized immigrants, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag told reporters. A list of budget cuts asserted that money in the program can be used for extraneous items and services such as bonuses, consultants, and purchase of vehicles. (Newsmax)
When Fixing Government, Beware of the Brainiacs May 1, 2009
From left, Vice President Joe Biden, President Obama, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag depart a budget presentation in February Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME. Rotten economy. (Time.com)
Can Congress Make Health-Care Reform Pay for Itself? May 1, 2009
"Ironically, the things that may wind up being the most important are the things that we will get little or no credit for" under the budget rules, says White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag. So daunting is the prospect of passing a bill that fits the confines of a pay-as-you-go budget that a coalition of 30 organizations pushing for health-care reform including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, organized labor, the drug lobby, AARP and organizations representing... (Time.com)
Lawmakers await possible Palin vetoes Apr 28, 2009
Office of Management and Budget Director Karen Rehfeld said Palin asked the Legislature to bring the public into the process of deciding which stimulus funds to accept. "She will be evaluating that information and making decisions on the appropriation bills and the substantive legislation, including health records, unemployment insurance and air quality grants," Rehfeld said in an e-mail to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. (Juneau Empire)
Most diverse Cabinet in history still incomplete Apr 20, 2009
Office of Management and Budget Director. United States Trade Representative. (USA Today -- News)
Obama Would Impose New Energy Tax on Everyone Mar 26, 2009
The President s own Office of Management and Budget Director, Peter Orszag, is on record while at the Congressional Budget Office restating what we know to be true: Higher energy costs will affect the poor more than the rich. The rise in prices for energy and energy-intensive goods and services would impose a larger burden, relative to income, on low-income households than on high-income households, said Orszag. (Human Events Online)
Obama takes budget plan to Senate Democrats Mar 26, 2009
The "House and Senate budget committees are taking up resolutions that are fully in line with the president's key priorities for the budget," White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said in a conference call Wednesday morning. "There have been some changes made ... but they are 98 percent the same as the budget the president sent up in February.". (CNN -- International)
Will The Middle Class Tax Cut Survive? Mar 26, 2009
On a conference call with reporters in advance of the president's trip to the Hill to speak before the Senate Democratic caucus, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag indicated that, while 98 percent of the budget mark-ups in the House and Senate are on par with the administration's budget blueprint, some campaign trail promises, like middle-class tax cuts, may get left on the cutting room floor. The administration had tied the revenue raised from its environmental... (ABC News)
Obama's Budget Fight Starts With His Own Party Mar 26, 2009
"Not only do the House and Senate versions embody the four key principles that the President has put forward for the budget, but they are 98 percent the same as the budget proposal the President sent up in February," White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag told reporters on a conference call Wednesday morning. "The resolutions may not be identical twins to what the President submitted, but they are certainly brothers that look an awful lot alike.". (Time.com)
Will Obama tax plan hurt religious groups? Mar 23, 2009
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag said the tax changes, if passed by Congress, wouldn't kick in until 2011, and he's confident the economy will have recovered enough by then to offset any potential losses in charitable giving. "... (t)he best way to boost charitable giving is to jumpstart the economy and raise incomes and the purpose of the ($787 billion economic stimulus package) was to do precisely that," Orzag said in a White House statement. (USA Today -- News)
Is Obama's Environmental Agenda Losing Out? Mar 19, 2009
"That is a massive new tax. It's a tax on energy, and it will flow directly through to the consumer in the form of a national sales tax on their electric bill," Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, said in questioning White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag at a hearing last week of the Senate Budget Committee. After a few minutes of Gregg's grilling, Orszag conceded "there will be increased prices.". (Time.com)
Obama ventures into troubled Calif. for short trip Mar 18, 2009
But last weekend, a White House adviser said the economy is fundamentally sound despite the temporary "mess." Just a week ago, White House Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag declared that "fundamentally, the economy is weak." Days later, Obama told reporters he was confident in the economy. How much Obama - or any president - can do during an economic slowdown is always in question. (Fresno Bee -- State)
Obama team uses criticized rhetoric Mar 16, 2009
Just a week ago, White House Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag declared that fundamentally, the economy is weak. Days later, Obama told reporters he was confident in the economy. (MSNBC -- Business)
Obama Aides Change Their Rhetoric on Economy Mar 16, 2009
Just a week ago, White House Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag declared that "fundamentally, the economy is weak.". The seesaw message is drawing sharp criticism from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who said on ABC's "This Week" that the Obama team is exploiting the economic crisis for political gain and using it to push through unrelated policy changes. (13WMAZ.com, GA)
Obama to reverse Bush stem cell restrictions Mar 9, 2009
Peter Orszag, Obama's Office of Management and Budget director, acknowledged the federal budget is "uglier than we would like," but he blamed most of the spending on last year's budget process during the Bush administration and defended Obama's decision to go forward with it without seeking more changes. 1. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
White House Budget Director Says Economy Is 'Weak' Mar 9, 2009
Peter Orszag, President Barack Obama's Office of Management and Budget director, said in television interviews that the economic downturn has been years in the making but cautioned that the new administration wasn't yet looking at a second economic stimulus package. Orszag said the already-in-place $787 billion stimulus should have a chance to work before officials ask Congress to consider a sequel. (ABC News -- Wire)
Officials defend tax hikes in budget Mar 4, 2009
Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag prepares to testify before the House Budget Committee in Washington, D.C.. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images. (MSNBC -- Politics)
Obama Official: Budget Aids 'Vast Majority of American Families' Mar 2, 2009
Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag admitted this morning that capping carbon emissions may increase energy prices but said Americans would receive. Exclusively on "This Week" Sunday: Republican Whip Eric Cantor, OMB Director Peter Orszag, and Karl Rove joins Roundtable Sunday. (ABC News)
NewGuests for the Sunday TV news shows Feb 28, 2009
ABC's "This Week" Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag; House Republican Whip Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va. (Florida Times-Union)
The Obama Administration's Drink of Choice? Coke, Not Pepsi Feb 27, 2009
Hours earlier, at a breakout session with members of Congress in the Indian Treaty Room, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag handled not one, but two cans of Diet Coke during the nearly two hour session. Larry Summers, Obama's top economic adviser, rarely walks anywhere in the White House complex without a can of Diet Coke in his hand. (Time.com)
Obama's draft budget projects cap-and-trade revenue Feb 27, 2009
But White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag insisted that Obama's budget takes into account projected increases in Americans' energy bills as utilities pass on their compliance costs. The OMB chief said Obama's cap-and-trade program would provide taxpayers with direct payments to help them cope with higher energy prices. (Scientific American)
This is not George Bush's budget Feb 27, 2009
Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag started off a briefing for reporters by saying Obama's White House had inherited two different $1 trillion deficits from Bush. The first one, caused by the crumbling economy, represented the difference between what the country's economic output should be and what it will be this year; the second was the actual federal budget deficit left by the previous administration. (Salon)
Gimmicks We Can Believe In Feb 27, 2009
Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag with Barack Obama ... Photograph of Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag with Barack Obama by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images. (Slate)
Hannity's America Feb 25, 2009
Tax cheat Timothy Geithner owns an Acura (a Japanese model); Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council, owns a Mazda (another Japanese model); Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag owns a Honda (yup, another Japanese model); and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson owns an environmentally friendly Toyota Prius (yet another Japanese model). Then again, I'm sure that's all just for opposition research. (Fox News)
Spending restraint and rainy day fiscal relief Feb 17, 2009
Run the program with a council: the Treasury secretary, the Office of Management and Budget director, and the nonpolitical head of the Federal Reserve as chairman. Why should the feds help Californians, who choose to tie themselves up in ballot initiatives, super-majority requirements in their Legislature, Proposition 13, and other forms of sadomasochistic civics. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Opinion)
The Senate Passed The Stimulus. Now What? Feb 11, 2009
Three representatives from the White House were present: Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Congressional liaison Phil Schiliro and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag. The Senators present included Reid, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Nebraska Sen. (CBS News)
Senate Passes $838B Stimulus Bill Feb 11, 2009
Obama Says "That's Good News" After 61-37 Vote; Bill Now Goes To Negotiations With The House. WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2009. (CBS News)
Pentagon nominee to face recusal difficulties Feb 10, 2009
Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, wrote earlier this month to Peter Orszag, the White House Office of Management and Budget director, that the "recusal requirements could limit Mr. Lynns effectiveness as deputy secretary.". Mr. Orszag issued the waiver from the administrations ban on lobbyists serving in the government. (Insight on the News)
