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WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Jacob Lew on Sunday dismissed Republican criticism of President Barack Obama's latest spending plan, arguing that it charts a long-term strategy for tackling the national debt while offering a short-term boost to the recovering economy.
The budget request, due on Capitol Hill today, calls for spending $3.8 trillion in 2013, according to sources with knowledge of the document, including fresh increases for roads, infrastructure, manufacturing and education, as well as a year-long extension of emergency unemployment benefits and a temporary payroll tax holiday.
The White House said the plan would "construct an economy that is built to last." But it would also keep annual deficits above or hovering near $1 trillion for a fifth straight year.
Congressional Republicans seized upon the deficit projections when they were released Friday, noting that Obama has failed to keep a 2009 promise to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. The 2009 deficit was $1.4 trillion; Obama is projecting a $1.33 trillion deficit this year and a $901 billion budget gap in 2013.
During appearances on all five major Sunday talk shows, Lew, who served until recently as Obama's budget director, refused to acknowledge that lapse, arguing that Obama had been forced to take expensive action to shore up an economy in far worse shape than anyone had imagined. While debt-reduction remains a top priority, Lew said, it would be a mistake to cut too much too fast.
"The American people should be pleased that we now have a recovery that's taking root," Lew said on NBC's Meet the Press. "The thing that we have to be careful about is to make sure that Washington doesn't get in the way."
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