Republicans are not interested in hearing from President Obama’s budget director.
The chairmen of the Senate and House Budget committees announced in a joint statement Thursday afternoon that they would not hold the traditional hearings with the director of the Office of Management and Budget following the publication of the White House budget, suggesting their time could be better spent elsewhere.
“It appears the president’s final budget will continue to focus on new spending proposals instead of confronting our government’s massive overspending and debt,” said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. “It is clear that this president will not put forth the budget effort that our times and our country require. Instead of hearing from an administration unconcerned with our $19 trillion in debt, we should focus on how to reform America’s broken budget process and restore the trust of hardworking taxpayers.”
Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., added that “nothing in the president’s prior budgets — none of which have ever balanced — has shown that the Obama administration has any real interest in actually solving our fiscal challenges or saving critical programs like Medicare and Social Security from insolvency.”
Both chairmen are working on drawing up their own versions of budgets. Last year, both chambers passed a budget that reached balance within 10 years. The congressional budget is an agreement between the two chambers and does not become law.
In contrast, the Obama White House has produced budget blueprints that lower deficits but do not aim for balance.
While Enzi and Price say they do not want to hear from OMB Director Shaun Donovan, other committees have scheduled hearings with the heads of the agencies they oversee for next week.
