Alice M. Rivlin, Isabel V. Sawhill and Bill Frenzel | April 10, 2013 12:00pm

Around the Halls: The Obama Administration's Budget Release

With the release of the Obama administration's FY 2014 budget, Brookings experts weigh in on the president's proposals:

Alice Rivlin, Senior Fellow, member of the President’s Debt Commission:

The President’s budget offers specific proposals for creating jobs and investing in productivity while simultaneously reining in the rising debt. It creates the opportunity to jumpstart serious bipartisan negotiation on how to accelerate the recovery in the context of balanced comprehensive tax and entitlement reform that will put the budget on a sustainable path for the long-run future.

Isabel Sawhill, Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Brookings Budgeting for National Priorities Project:

This budget begins the difficult process of reallocating funds from more affluent seniors to lower-income families and their children. Much more needs to happen on this front over the coming decade but the President's proposals to limit spending on Medicare and tax-favored forms of retirement saving for the most affluent, slow the growth of social security benefits for non-vulnerable seniors and invest in Pre-K programs are all steps in the right direction.

Read Sawhill’s related blog post: The President’s Budget: A Good Strategy for Difficult Times

William Frenzel, former House Budget Committee Ranking Member and Brookings Guest Scholar:

It does not pass muster as a Budget because it does not get us where we want to be in ten years. But, as an invitation to Republicans to re-engage in ‘grand bargain’ discussions, it demonstrates real leadership by the President.

Alice M. Rivlin

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies

Alice Rivlin recently served as a member of the President’s Debt Commission. She was founding director of CBO, served as OMB director, and was Federal Reserve Vice Chair. She is an expert on fiscal and monetary policy.

On December 16, 2011, Rivlin released a premium support reform plan for Medicare with Pete Domenici, her co-chair at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

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Isabel V. Sawhill

Co-Director, Center on Children and Families, Budgeting for National Priorities

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies

@isawhill

A nationally known budget expert, Isabel Sawhill focuses on domestic poverty and federal fiscal policy. She is also co-director of the Center on Children and Families and the Budgeting for National Priorities Project at Brookings.

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Bill Frenzel

Guest Scholar, Economic Studies

A U.S. congressman for 20 years, Bill Frenzel has specialized in budget issues and tax policy. He was the ranking minority member on the House Budget Committee; advised President Clinton on NAFTA; and advised President Bush on Social Security and tax reform.

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