Extending Bush Tax Cuts Under Debate

(NewsCore) - The White House disagreed Tuesday with the opinion of its former budget director that all of the 2001 tax cuts put in place by former president George W. Bush should be extended, and not just those relating to the middle classes.

Peter Orszag, until recently Obama’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), wrote in The New York Times Tuesday that instead of extending George W. Bush’s 2001 middle class tax cuts while letting them expire for those making over $250,000 a year, the administration should extend all the tax cuts for two years before letting them expire altogether.

The article argued that while the tax cuts were not sustainable in the long-run and should be eliminated after two years, they should be extended in the short-term to help get the country out of its present woes.

Questioned about Orszag’s comments at Tuesday’s press briefing, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed that the administration was not given a heads-up prior to the article’s publication while saying that he had not heard Orszag voice the opinion while a member of the administration.

Orszag, 41, left his post on June 30. Tuesday’s column marked his debut as a contributor to the Times.

’I did not hear him make this argument. He may have made this argument in some meetings, I certainly don’t recall it, but that’s not to say that he didn’t,’ Gibbs said.

Reporters at Tuesday’s briefing repeatedly asked Gibbs to square the circle and explain the policy discrepancy between the president and his former budget director, specifically Orszag’s assertion that all the tax cuts should be extended for two years.

’The president disagrees with that,’ Gibbs said.

’The president's viewpoint is that we cannot afford to extend the tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 a year,’ Gibbs added.

Jacob Lew, Obama's choice to replace Orszag is due to appear before the Senate Budget Committee on September 16 as part of his confirmation process.