Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Peter Orszag, on Thursday reiterated the promises of U.S. President Barack Obama, saying that the government's 2010 budget is focused on trimming “unnecessary” costs from America's spending list. Speaking just moments after Obama presented the 2010 budget, Orszag said the Obama administration is keenly focused on working to “help to cut the deficit in half.” He made sure to clarify that the administration is working to cut the over $1 trillion deficit that Obama inherited in half—rather than the deficit after the administration passed a $787 billion stimulus plan. The administration is focused on cutting the deficit “by the end of the president's first term,” Orszag said—a clear hint that the administration, only a month into its term, is looking ahead to the prospect of re-election in 2012. In order to achieve deficit reduction, the administration is focused on four main categories, Orszag said. They are: high income tax provisions, cutting tax loopholes, “winding down the war” in Iraq, and “making government more efficient” by cutting unnecessary costs. Orszag said though the complete review of cost cutting has not been done, the administration has already identified almost $50 billion in erroneous payments needed to be cut. Upon further inspection, especially in the fields of education, health care, taxes and agriculture, there is an estimated $2 trillion in deficit reductions, he said. Both Orszag and Obama, in their statements, said that the 2010 budget is focused on increasing long term budget stimulation, by narrowing in on reforms in the key areas of education, energy, and health care. Orszag said that it is imperative to push higher education, simplify the pell grant application process, reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, while pushing clean energy, and focusing on health care reform. Health care is now “the most important driving force in the fiscal gap…[the] single most important thing we can do…is reform the health system,” he said. By reforming the health care system, employers' “take home pay” will increase because employers are not spending as much on health care, Orszag said, adding that currently, there is as much as $700 billion a year spent on “unnecessary” health care payments. The administration will aim for “better care, rather than more care,” he said, adding that they want to get health care reform accomplished this year,” while asking for $264 billion towards improving health care efficiency.
