Collins To OMB Nominee: Good Luck

Jacob ‘Jack’ Lew, the president’s nominee to succeed Peter Orszag as head of the Office of Management and Budget at the White House, will testify before a Senate committee later today, and is expected to be peppered with questions about the nation’s deficit and potential tax increases.

In her prepared remarks, Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, will warn Lew that he must prepare for a “perfect storm” of economic uncertainty.

“Rising entitlement costs soon will collide head-on with the cresting waves of aging Baby Boomers set to leave their jobs. The result will put even more pressure on already strained Social Security and Medicare expenditures,” Collins will say.

Collins, who supports extending tax cuts for all Americans, will also tell Lew he needs to keep a close watch on the nation’s soaring level of debt.

“Mr. Lew will need to develop a realistic plan that prevents the federal budget from becoming a mammoth anchor, dragging down growth in jobs and personal income.”

Kagan Now Has Support From Four Republicans

Sen. Olympia Snowe has announced that she will vote ‘yes’ to confirm the nomination of Supreme Court hopeful Elena Kagan. Snowe joins her state’s junior Senator, Susan Collins (R), as well as Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.)…