Senators aim for swift confirmation of budget nominee

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said Tuesday he plans to speed the confirmation of Peter Orszag as the head of the Office of Management and Budget, allowing the full Senate to consider the appointment as early as Inauguration Day.

At a confirmation hearing for Orszag and Rob Nabors, tapped to be his deputy, Conrad said he plans to seek unanimous consent from the full Senate to discharge the nomination rather than waiting for a vote, which would not be possible until after Jan. 20, when President-elect Obama assumes office.

"We have talked to the offices of the members of the committee [about the UC] and we have strong agreement," Conrad said, adding that he will handle the Nabors nomination in the same fashion. Conrad's comments came after several members of the committee signaled their support for Orszag and Nabors.

Orszag earned bipartisan support as head of the Congressional Budget Office from January 2007 to November 2008.

In his testimony, Orszag stressed that while Congress must pass an effective stimulus bill to revive the economy and create jobs, it must also begin reducing the deficit as soon as the economy recovers. Democratic leaders, with advice from Obama, are currently drafting a stimulus bill that could top $775 billion. "This hearing is being held at a momentous time," Orszag said. "In the short run, the most pressing challenge is to jumpstart the economy out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Over the longer run, a key challenge is putting the budget on a more sustainable course."

Conrad said he and Senate Budget ranking member Judd Gregg, R-N.H., are working on the criteria for what should go into the stimulus package. Orszag recommended the bill give good "bang for the buck" by including a provision to quickly boost aggregate demand for goods and services.

As a guiding rule, he said, the stimulus should promote economic growth by financing new roads, improvements to the electricity grid, and investments in health information technology. As for long-term budget issues, Orszag said that Obama proposals for reducing the deficit will be included in the fiscal 2010 budget proposal to be delivered to Congress in February.

Without offering details, Orszag said the administration is exploring various ways to tackle long-term deficit reduction, including establishing a commission to make recommendations on healthcare policy, proposed by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and creating a panel to study both healthcare and Social Security costs, suggested by Conrad and Gregg. "I understand the notion of a health board," Conrad said. "But ... while health care is the 800-pound gorilla, we face other major challenges in this area as well."