Essential Estrogen

As if my children didn't have enough national deficit to pay off, Reuters is now reporting that former Iowa Republican Congressman Jim Nussle has been confirmed as the nation's new budget director by a vote of 69-24.

Nussle will replace Rob Portman as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Prior to the confirmation, presidential candidate and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd issued the following statement:

“The first way out of a ditch is to stop digging. Unfortunately, appointing Jim Nussle as OMB Director is another example of President Bush digging our nation in deeper. As a Congressman, Mr. Nussle has a long record as one of the chief architects of the President’s failed economic agenda. Under this President’s watch, our nation has squandered its surplus and has run record deficits. At the same the President’s economic policies have failed the American people. The typical American family earns less in real wages today than they did when the President took office. More Americans are without health insurance and for those that are fortunate to have health insurance, it has never been costlier. The cost of sending your children to college – the key for their economic security and the nation’s future prosperity – is skyrocketing and is in danger of becoming out of reach for many families. Gas prices have more than doubled, our roads and bridges are literally collapsing and the President fails to fully fund our nation’s infrastructure. Of course, the President still refuses to include the real costs of the war in Iraq in his budget.

“Congressman Nussle’s record in support of the President’s failed economic policy inspires little confidence that he will do what is really needed for America. Instead of continuing to pursue failed policies, we need to do an about face. The budget is a set of priorities, and this Administration’s priorities are all wrong. Until the Administration realizes this, I do not think we will see the change that America needs to put us back on the right track.”

To date, no formal statements on the confirmation has been release by the presidential hopefuls. They'll be posted here as they come down the pipe.

~~~UPDATE~~~

The Register is reporting that both of Iowa's Senators, Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin, voted to approve the confirmation.

~~~UPDATE~~~

Radio Iowa ran the following statement from Nussle:

"I am humbled and honored to be confirmed as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. I thank the U.S. Senate for their broad, bipartisan support and will continue to work with members in both chambers of Congress on the important responsibility of delivering results for taxpayers.

"I look forward to helping to develop and implement the President's agenda by working with Congress on our common goal of balancing the budget and making government more efficient. This includes working with our agencies to ensure they are well managed so that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, or not at all.

We also need to hold the line on spending to maintain a pro-growth, low-tax environment that allows American workers to keep more of their hard-earned money. I am also committed to continuing efforts with Congress to responsibly address our Nation's biggest long-term fiscal challenge – the unsustainable growth in entitlement spending. It's a privilege to have the opportunity to work on these important issues on behalf of the President and with a tremendously talented group of professionals at OMB. As always, I want thank my family for their ongoing support of my public service."