US lawmakers from both parties expressed concerns today about the balance in President Barack Obama's budget between reviving a defunct jobs market and lowering the skyrocketing deficit, dpa reported. Testifying before the Senate's Finance Committee, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner argued that record deficit spending was essential to stimulate job growth, but acknowledged that perilous debt levels needed to be brought under control in the coming years. "Our deficits, as everybody says, are alarmingly high," Geithner said. He emphasized that "our priority now, though, has to be to make sure this economy is growing and getting people back to work." Geithner was defending the administration's 3.8-trillion-dollar budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which was presented to Congress on Monday and proposed a mix of new stimulus measures and some efforts to cut spending programmes. Some of Obama's fellow Democrats argued the budget did too little to create jobs and revive lending to small businesses, while many conservatives criticized the proposals for not doing enough to tackle growing debt levels. "The budget and the administration's economic policies of late provide more questions often times than they do answers," said Blanche Lincoln, a moderate Democratic senator from Arkansas. "Now is the time to provide stability and certainty." Obama's budget proposed 100 billion dollars in new stimulus measures to help bring down the jobless rate from a quarter-century high of 10 per cent. Yet even with new spending, the White House predicted an unemployment rate of 9.8 per cent at the end of 2010. On Tuesday, Obama unveiled a separate plan to inject 30 billion dollars into community banks to boost lending that has dried up since the financial crisis began in September 2008. But some senators argued here, too, the administration was not moving quickly enough. "We acted with urgency when it came to the big banks, but when it came to the small banks and small businesses, we were told 'no,'" said Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state. The Obama administration expects to run a record deficit in 2010 of 1.6 trillion dollars, or 10.6 per cent of gross domestic product, and a slightly smaller 1.3-trillion-dollar deficit the following year. Lawmakers on both sides emphasized the importance of creating jobs in the near term and lowering debt levels over time, but disagreed on the pace and tactics. "The budget illustrates the fiscal perils our country faces," Republican Senator Charles Grassley said, arguing Obama's proposals would depress economic growth by raising taxes on businesses and wealthier Americans. Democratic Senator Max Baucus said Obama's budget "appropriately" focused on reviving the labour market with a mix of incentives for smaller businesses to restart hiring.
