Tense Budget Hearing: Senator Asks OMB Director if He Will Resign in the Future

The President released his budget for FY 2013 yesterday which analysts and critics have began to comb over and comment on. During a heated exchange in Washington this morning, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Sen. Jeff Sessions struggled to get an answer from acting OMB Director Jeffrey Zients on whether the President's budget provides actual net spending cuts.

“Let me ask you this. If you are incorrect, if you are incorrect in saying that you do not increase spending more than current law, would you consider resigning your office?"" asked Sen. Sessions."Are you that confident in your projections?"

"I'm confident that with our baseline, which accurately reflects current policy and business as usual, that we have deficit reduction of more than $4 trillion and we do it in a balanced way," said Zients."For every two dollars and fifty cents of spending cuts, there is a dollar of revenue, that's a good balanced approach."

"Mr. Zients, there is no spending cuts in this budget" responded a fed-up Sen. Sessions. "This budget increases spending. Surely you know that. It increases taxes. So to say you cut two dollars and fifty cents in spending for every dollar in tax increase is beyond the pale."

Republicans in Congress argue that the President‘s budget is not a practical plan to get the nation’s fiscal house in order but rather a pure political document riddled with inaccuracies and false promises, that in reality achieves a deficit reduction over ten years of just $273 Billion not $4 trillion. Critics of the President's budget say their analysis of the document indicates spending increases of $1.5 trillion.