Judd Gregg
United States Senator from New Hampshire
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Warren Rudman
Succeeded by	Kelly Ayotte
76th Governor of New Hampshire
In office January 4, 1989 – January 7, 1993
Preceded by	John H. Sununu
Succeeded by	Steve Merrill
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by	James C. Cleveland
Succeeded by	Charles Douglas III
Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget
In office January 4, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Don Nickles
Succeeded by	Kent Conrad
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Ted Kennedy
Succeeded by	Mike Enzi
Member of the Executive Council of New Hampshire
In office 1978–1980
Personal details
Born	Judd Alan Gregg (1947-02-14) February 14, 1947 (age 65) Nashua, New Hampshire
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Kathleen MacLellan Gregg
Children	Molly Gregg Sarah Gregg Joshua Gregg
Residence	Nashua, New Hampshire
Alma mater	Columbia University Boston University School of Law
Occupation	Politician Attorney
Religion	United Church of Christ

Judd Alan Gregg (born February 14, 1947) served as the 76th Governor of New Hampshire and was a United States Senator from New Hampshire, who served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a businessman and attorney in Nashua before entering politics. He currently serves as the Chair of the Public Advisory Board at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.^[1] Gregg was nominated for Secretary of Commerce in the Cabinet by President Barack Obama,^[2] but withdrew his name on February 12, 2009.^[3][4][5] He would have been up for re-election in 2010, but chose not to run.^[6] In the November 2010 elections, former State Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, also a Republican, was elected to succeed Gregg in the Senate.^[7] On May 27, 2011, Goldman Sachs announced that Gregg had been named an international advisor to the firm.^[8]

Early life[link]

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, he is the son of Catherine Mitchell (née Warner) and Hugh Gregg, who was Governor from 1953 to 1955. Gregg graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1965. Gregg received his baccalaureate from Columbia University in 1969 and, from Boston University School of Law, a Juris Doctor in 1972 and a Master of Laws in 1975.^[9]

Early political career[link]

Then Governor Judd Gregg as painted by Richard Whitney

The first elective office held by Gregg was a seat on the Executive Council of New Hampshire, a post which he held from 1978 to 1980. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1980, and was reelected in 1982, 1984 and 1986.^[10]

He declined to run for re-election in 1988, and ran for Governor of New Hampshire instead. He won that election and was re-elected in 1990, New Hampshire being one of two states (Vermont is the other) that continues to elect its governors to two-year, rather than four-year, terms. As Governor, he balanced the budget, leaving the office in 1993 with a $21 million surplus.^[11][12] Although, his political opponents in the 1990s attacked Judd for the state's weak economy and his Vietnam War deferments.^[13]

U.S. Senate tenure[link]

Elections[link]

In 1992, Gregg decided to run for a Senate seat. He defeated Democrat John Rauh, and took his seat as a United States Senator in 1993. He was re-elected to a second term in 1998 after defeating George Condodemetraky, and ran for a third term. That year, 2004, he defeated campaign finance activist Doris "Granny D" Haddock, the then 94-year-old Democratic nominee, by 66% to 34%.

After withdrawing from his nomination to become United States Secretary of Commerce in the presidential administration of Democrat Barack Obama on February 12, 2009, Gregg said he would "probably not" seek reelection in 2010, when his term of office is set to expire.^[14]

Leadership[link]

In January 2005, Gregg was elected to chair the U.S. Senate Committee on Budget by the Senate Republican Conference. While chairman of this committee Gregg has been a steadfast supporter of lower spending.^[15] Throughout his Senate career he has been highly supportive of lower taxes as well.

Gregg (left) at the commissioning ceremony for the USS New Hampshire (SSN-778).

On November 14, 2008 Gregg was appointed by United States Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to serve on the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Gregg "stepped aside" on December 1, citing his Senate workload:

I regret that due to the impending Senate schedule involving the potential of dealing with an extremely large stimulus package, coupled with the ongoing issues of developing fiscal policy relative to the budget and the continuing economic downturn and my responsibility for foreign operations appropriations, it has become difficult to continue service on the TARP oversight board. I have advised Senator McConnell I will need to step aside from this effort.^[16][17]

Platform[link]

Republicans for Environmental Protection issued Gregg an "environmental harm demerit" for sponsoring the 2006 S.C. Resolution 83, which according to REP "included only one revenue-raising instruction to Senate appropriations committees, an abuse of the congressional budget process in order to force oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge", and "would perpetuate America's dangerous oil dependence and damage the most scenic, wildlife-rich reserve in the circumpolar north."^[18] The organization also praised Gregg, together with John E. Sununu, for their work to pass the New England Wilderness act, which classified nearly 100,000 acres (400 km²) of New Hampshire and Vermont as wilderness.^[19] In 2006, Gregg received a score of 43% from the nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters.^[20]

The University of New Hampshire renamed its Environmental Technology Building Gregg Hall, because Gregg used earmarks to secure $266 million of federal funds for research and development projects for the university. The Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute (JGMI), established in 2003, is the center of meteorological and atmospheric research at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH, which offers the only meteorology degree program in the state. The Senator was also instrumental in the establishing of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in 1999.

The libertarian Cato Institute classifies Gregg as a "Free Trader", voting against trade barriers and trade subsidies 81% and 86% of the time, respectively.^[21]

In 2007, Gregg voted for the Clean Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1639).

In October 2009, Gregg said, "You talk about systemic risk. The systemic risk today is the Congress of the United States...we’re creating these massive debts which we’re passing on to our children...(the figures) mean we’re basically on the path to a banana republic-type of financial situation in this country.^[22] "

Gregg has a moderate record on social issues. In June 2006, he joined six of his fellow Republicans in voting against the Federal Marriage Amendment. In April 2007, he was among the breakaway Republicans to support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. However, his record on the issue of abortion is a solidly pro-life one. Gregg has voted for some gun control measures and against others. He voted against the Brady Bill, but in recent years has voted for trigger control locks on firearms and in favor of the ban on assault weapons.

On December 17, 2009, Gregg voted to extend Chairman Ben Bernanke's term.^[23]

Presidential politics[link]

During the 2004 Presidential Election, Gregg stood in for John Kerry during practice sessions held by George W. Bush in preparation for the 2004 United States Presidential Election Debates. Four years earlier he had played the part of Al Gore for the same purpose.

On October 29, 2007, Gregg endorsed Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States.

Gregg has not foreclosed the possibility of running for President himself after he leaves the Senate but he has said it’s “not likely”:

"In New Hampshire we like to have a variety of candidates, so I would seriously doubt that. I expect to be actively involved in the presidential primary. That’s the fun on coming from New Hampshire and being in office,” Gregg said. “I don't rule out anything in my future. Let's face it -- that's not likely and I wouldn't expect to be doing that,” he added.^[24]

Attempted Interference with Spanish Justice System[link]

In April 2009, Senator Senator Gregg was sent to accompany a US Diplomat to speak with Spanish Diplomat Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña after a war crimes case was filed by Spanish NGO Association for the Dignity of Spanish Prisoners to the Spanish National Court for crimes alleged in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.^[25] The case targeted six former US Government Officials for violating the Geneva Convention, the 1984 Convention Against Torture, and the 1998 Rome Statute.^[26] The six accused were: Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Douglas Feith, Jay Bybee, and John Yoo.^[27] A summary of the meeting as recorded in a confidential diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks stated:

Senator Gregg expressed his concern and dismay about reported Spanish judiciary desire to indict six former Bush administration officials for allegedly creating a legal framework that permitted torture. Fernandez de la Pena lamented this development, adding that judicial independence notwithstanding, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disagreed with efforts to apply universal jurisdiction in such cases.^[28]

Senator Mel Martinez had a similar diplomacy meeting during the same period with the same agenda discussed. Martinez noted that "the prosecutions would neither be understood nor accepted in the U.S. and would have an enormous impact on the bilateral relationship". Spanish Foreign Minister Angel Lossada retorted, "the National Court had broad jurisdiction for universal justice and that there was no political influence on the judicial process."^[29]

In an earlier cable days before the Senators arrived, a US diplomat commented:

We do not know if the [Spanish] government would be willing to take the risky step of trying behind the scenes to influence the prosecutor's recommendation on this case or what their reaction to such a request would be.^[30]

Controversies[link]

In the Senate, Gregg was the leading Republican negotiator and author of the TARP program, which bailed out financial institutions, while he had a multi-million dollar investment in Bank of America.^[31][32][33] After leaving the Senate Gregg became a highly paid employee of the investment bank Goldman Sachs.^[34]

In February 2009, the Associated Press reported that Gregg and his family had profited personally from federal earmarks secured by the Senator Gregg for the redevelopment of the Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire into an industrial park.^[35][36] According to Senate records, Gregg has collected from $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments in Pease Air Force Base, while helping to arrange at least $66 million in federal aid for the former base.^[35][36] Gregg has denied any wrongdoing in the matter and claimed that his withdrawal from consideration for the Commerce Secretary was unrelated to the White House's discovery during the vetting process of his involvement in his family's real estate investments in Pease. Gregg explained away his actions by saying, "I've throughout my entire lifetime been involved in my family's businesses and that's just the way our family works. We support each other and our activities."^[35][37]

Gregg as a member of President Barack Obama's deficit commission defended cutting Social Security by quoting Willie Sutton who, when asked why he robbed banks, replied, "because that's where the money is." ^[38]

Commerce Secretary nomination and withdrawal[link]

On February 2, 2009, Politico and CNN reported that Gregg accepted President Obama's offer to be the next United States Secretary of Commerce.^[39] If Gregg had been confirmed by the Senate, he would have had to resign his Senate seat and be replaced with an appointment by Democratic Governor John Lynch. Sources from both parties confirmed that Gregg's former chief of staff, Republican Bonnie Newman, would have been chosen to replace him.^[40] The Washington Post had alleged that Gregg would not accept the appointment unless Gov. Lynch agreed to appoint a Republican to fill his seat until 2010.^[41] In February 2009 many news outlets noted that Gregg had, in 1995, voted to abolish the United States Department of Commerce.^[42] Although he has stated that he supports the stimulus package promoted by President Obama, he has stated that he will recuse himself from voting on the package.^[43]

With reports that the Obama Administration would move the United States Census Bureau, typically run by the Commerce Department, out of Gregg's jurisdiction, Republican leaders urged Obama to allow Gregg to run the census or withdraw Gregg's nomination.^[44] On February 12, 2009, Gregg withdrew his name from consideration for the position of United States Commerce Secretary, citing disagreements with issues surrounding the census and the stimulus bill.^[45] White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement regarding Gregg's withdrawal in which he accused the senator of not following through on his alleged statements of support for Obama's economic agenda made during the vetting process:^[46]

Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President's agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama's key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.

While speaking to press afterward, Gregg acknowledged responsibility for his decision and accepted the blame for accepting and then rejecting the Commerce Secretary nomination.^[14]

In an interview response to the AP, Gregg was quoted as saying, "For 30 years, I've been my own person in charge of my own views, and I guess I hadn't really focused on the job of working for somebody else and carrying their views, and so this is basically where it came out."^[47]

In February 2009, the Associated Press reported that Gregg and his family had profited personally from federal earmarks secured by the Senator Gregg for the redevelopment of the Pease Air Force Base into an industrial park.^[36] According to Senate records, Gregg has collected from $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments in Pease Air Force Base, while helping to arrange at least $66 million in federal aid for the former base.^[36] Gregg claimed that his withdrawal from consideration for the Commerce Secretary was unrelated to the White House's discovery during the vetting process of his involvement in his family's real estate investments in Pease.

Personal life[link]

Gregg belongs to the Congregationalist Church. He is married to Kathleen MacLellan Gregg. The couple have two daughters, Molly and Sarah, and a son, Joshua.

Gregg won more than $850,000 in 2005 after buying $20 worth of Powerball tickets at a Washington, D.C. convenience store.^[48]

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Judd Gregg

• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances on Charlie Rose
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Judd Gregg in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Profile at SourceWatch
• Gregg as governor at New Hampshire's Division of Historic Resources
• Environmental Technology building named for Senator Gregg – The New Hampshire
• Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute

v t e Governors of New Hampshire Weare Langdon Sullivan Langdon Sullivan J. Bartlett Gilman Langdon J. Smith Langdon Plumer Gilman Plumer S. Bell Woodbury Morril Pierce J. Bell Pierce Harvey Dinsmoor Badger Hill Page Hubbard Steele Colby Williams Dinsmoor Jr. Martin Baker Metcalf Haile Goodwin Berry Gilmore Smyth Harriman Stearns Weston Straw Weston Cheney Prescott Head C. Bell Hale Currier Sawyer Goodell Tuttle J. B. Smith Busiel Ramsdell Rollins Jordan Bachelder McLane Floyd Quinby Bass Felker R. Spaulding Keyes J. H. Bartlett A. Brown F. Brown Winant H. Spaulding Tobey Winant Bridges Murphy Blood Dale Adams H. Gregg Dwinell Powell King Peterson Thomson Gallen Roy Sununu J. Gregg Merrill Shaheen Benson Lynch

v t e United States Senators from New Hampshire Class 2 Wingate Livermore Olcott Gilman Thompson Morril S. Bell Hubbard Woodbury Jenness Cilley Hale Atherton Williams Hale Cragin Rollins Pike Cheney Chandler Marston Chandler Burnham Hollis Keyes Bridges Murphy McIntyre Humphrey Smith Sununu Shaheen Class 3 Langdon Sheafe Plumer Parker Cutts Mason Storer Parrott Woodbury Hill Page Pierce Wilcox Atherton Norris Wells J. Bell Clark Fogg Patterson Wadleigh C. Bell Blair Gallinger Drew Moses Brown Tobey Upton Cotton Wyman Cotton Durkin Rudman Gregg Ayotte

v t e Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on the Budget Muskie • Hollings • Domenici • Chiles • Sasser • Domenici • Conrad • Domenici • Conrad • Nickles • Gregg • Conrad

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2008)

Andrea Mitchell
Andrea and her husband Alan Greenspan, 2007
Born	(1946-10-30) October 30, 1946 (age 65) New York City, New York, U.S.
Education	University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	News anchor
Years active	1967–present
Notable credit(s)	NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Today, Andrea Mitchell Reports
Title	NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Host, Andrea Mitchell Reports
Spouse	Alan Greenspan (1997–present) Gil Jackson (divorced 1970s)
Website
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3688874/ NBC News Biography

Andrea Mitchell (born October 30, 1946) is an American television journalist, anchor, reporter, and commentator for NBC News based in Washington, D.C.. She is the NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, and has recently reported on the 2008 Race for the White House for NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Today, and MSNBC. She anchors Andrea Mitchell Reports airing at 1pm–2pm ET weekdays on MSNBC, has appeared on and guest hosted Meet the Press, and is often a guest on Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Rachel Maddow Show.

Early life[link]

Mitchell graduated with a B.A. in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967, where she served as news director of student radio station WXPN. She stayed in Philadelphia after graduation, hired as a reporter at KYW radio. Mitchell rose to prominence as the station's City Hall correspondent, and also reported for sister station KYW-TV. She moved to CBS affiliate WTOP in Washington, D.C., in 1976. Two years later, Mitchell moved to NBC's network news operation, where she served as a general correspondent. In 1979, she was named the NBC News energy correspondent and reported on the late 1970s energy crisis and the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Mitchell also covered the White House from 1981 until becoming chief congressional correspondent in 1988.

NBC News and MSNBC[link]

She has been the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News since November 1994.^{[citation needed]} Previously, she had served as Chief White House Correspondent (1993–1994) and Chief Congressional Correspondent (1988–1992) for NBC News.

In 2005, Mitchell published a book entitled Talking Back... to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels (ISBN 0143038737), chronicling her work as a journalist.

Mitchell hosts a program on MSNBC entitled Andrea Mitchell Reports. It broadcasts weekdays from 1 PM ET/10 AM PT.

Controversies[link]

Role in the Plame Affair[link]

A report in The Washington Post ("Bush Administration Is Focus of Inquiry CIA Agent's Identity Was Leaked to Media" by Mike Allen and Dana Priest, Washington Post, September 28, 2003) that Mitchell was leaked Valerie Plame's identity led to her being questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While Mitchell never appeared before the investigating grand jury or in I. Lewis Libby's trial, she was on the subpoena list as a person of interest. In October 2003, on "Capitol Report," Mitchell made a statement which Libby's defense construed to mean it was widely known among journalists that Joe Wilson's wife was in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a position she later clarified.^[1]

MURRAY: And the second question is: Do we have any idea how widely known it was in Washington that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA?
MITCHELL: It was widely known amongst those of us who cover the intelligence community and who were actively engaged in trying to track down who among the foreign service community was the envoy to Niger. But frankly I wasn't aware of her actual role at the CIA and the fact that she had a covert role involving weapons of mass destruction, not until Bob Novak wrote it.

McCain's "cone of silence"[link]

Following a forum at the Saddleback Church in August 2008 on values and ethics conducted by Christian pastor and author Rick Warren between the presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, Mitchell reported that the Obama campaign accused McCain of overhearing the questions asked of Obama, when McCain was supposed to be in a secluded "cone of silence."

According to the New York Times, Warren assured the audience that “we have safely placed Senator McCain in a cone of silence” and that he could not hear the questions. However, McCain was not in the building at the time; he was still in transit, without supervision by the forum staff.^[2] According to CNN, Warren said "we flat out asked him" if he heard any of the questions. The McCain campaign asserted "that McCain did not hear or see any of the broadcast" in the motorcade or after he arrived.^[3] The accusation provoked the McCain campaign into writing a letter to NBC News, complaining of biased news coverage.^[4] The dispute expanded, including reports on other networks such as CBS noting that there were allegations McCain had access to "communications devices" which may have advised him of the questions even if he was not listening directly to the broadcast itself.^[5]

Controversy during Obama Campaign[link]

During an appearance on MSNBC on June 5, 2008, Mitchell came under fire when she referred to the voters of the southwest Virginia region as rednecks.^[6] On June 9, Mitchell apologized for her comment stating:

And now, a point of personal privilege. I owe an apology to the good people of Bristol, Virginia, for something stupid that I said last week. I was trying to explain, based on reporting from Democratic strategists, why Barack Obama was campaigning in southwest Virginia, but without attribution or explanation, I used a term strategists often use to demean an entire community. No excuses, I'm really sorry. As they say, when I make a mistake, it's a beaut.^[7]

Iowa Caucus Controversy[link]

Mitchell came under criticism for a comment made during an interview of Republican strategist Mike Murphy in a January 1, 2012 news segment on Nightly News with Brian Williams. Mitchell said, "The rap on Iowa: it doesn't represent the rest of the country – too white, too evangelical, too rural." NBC defended the comment stating, "she was referencing critics who argue that the state shouldn't carry so much weight because it doesn't proportionally represent the rest of the country." ^[8]

Personal life[link]

Mitchell was born in New York City. She married her second husband, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, twenty years her senior, in 1997 following a lengthy relationship. ^[9] Previously, she was married to Gil Jackson; that marriage ended in divorce in the mid-1970s. At the end of her show on September 7, 2011, Mitchell revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a doctor's visit a few weeks earlier. It was caught early and treated.^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Andrea Mitchell

• Andrea Mitchell Reports at MSNBC TV, with Biography
• Andrea Mitchell on Twitter
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Andrea Mitchell on Charlie Rose
• Andrea Mitchell at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Andrea Mitchell in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Andrea Mitchell at the Notable Names Database
• Andrea Mitchell – University of Pennsylvania video

Peter Orszag
37th Director of the Office of Management and Budget
In office January 20, 2009 – July 30, 2010
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Rob Nabors Jeffrey Liebman (Acting)
Preceded by	Jim Nussle
Succeeded by	Jeffrey Zients (Acting)
7th Director of the Congressional Budget Office
In office January 18, 2007 – November 25, 2008
Preceded by	Donald Marron (Acting)
Succeeded by	Robert Sunshine (Acting)
Personal details
Born	(1968-12-16) December 16, 1968 (age 43) Boston, Massachusetts
Political party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	Princeton University London School of Economics

Peter Richard Orszag (pronounced /ˈɔrzæɡ/; born December 16, 1968) is an American economist who is a Vice Chairman of Global Banking at Citigroup.^[1] He is also a columnist at Bloomberg View^[2] and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Before joining Citigroup, he was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a contributing columnist for the New York Times Op-Ed page.^[3] Prior to that, he was the 37th Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Barack Obama.

Orszag is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, the Partnership for Public Service, and ideas42.

Biography[link]

Orszag grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts^[4] in a Jewish family from Hungarian descent.^[5] After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy with high honors (1987), he earned an A.B. summa cum laude in economics from Princeton University in 1991, and a M.Sc. (1992) and a Ph.D. (1997) in economics from the London School of Economics. He was a Marshall Scholar 1991–1992, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.^[6]

Career[link]

Orszag was a senior fellow and Deputy Director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he directed The Hamilton Project and (in conjunction with Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute) the Pew Charitable Trust's Retirement Security Project.

He served as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (1997–1998), and as Senior Economist and Senior Adviser on the Council of Economic Advisers (1995–1996) during the Clinton administration. He also formed a consulting group called Sebago Associates, which merged into Competition Policy Associates and was bought by FTI Consulting Inc. for a reported $70 million.^[7]

After leaving the Obama administration, Orszag took a job with Citigroup^[8]

He is also an invitee of the Bilderberg Group and attended the Swiss 2011 Bilderberg conference at the Suvretta House in St. Moritz, Switzerland.^[9]

Congressional Budget Office[link]

Orszag was director of the Congressional Budget Office from January 2007 to November 2008. During his tenure, he repeatedly drew attention to the role rising health care expenditures are likely to play in the government's long-term fiscal problems—and, by extension, the nation's long-term economic problems. "I have not viewed CBO's job as just to passively evaluate what Congress proposes, but rather to be an analytical resource. And part of that is to highlight things that are true and that people may not want to hear, including that we need to address health-care costs."^[10] During his time at the CBO, he added 20 full-time health analysts (bringing the total number to 50), thereby strengthening the CBO's analytical capabilities and preparing Congress for health-care reform.^[10]

He was widely praised for his time at CBO for preparing the agency for the debates to come. When he stepped down, National Journal noted that "Orszag, who will turn 40 on Dec. 16, has been praised by lawmakers from both parties as an objective analyst with deep knowledge of the most pressing fiscal issues of the day, including health care policy, Social Security, pensions, and global climate change. He is the unusual economist who blends an understanding of politics, policy and communications in ways that wrap zesty quotes around complex ideas."^[11]

Office of Management and Budget[link]

Peter Orszag with President Obama in the Oval Office

On November 25, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced that Orszag would be his nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, the arm of the White House responsible for crafting the federal budget and overseeing the effectiveness of federal programs.^[12][13]

Orszag, in a November 2009 speech in New York, said that deficits, expected to add $9 trillion to the current national debt of $12 trillion over the next decade, are "serious and ultimately unsustainable." He said that deficit spending was necessary to help boost the economy when unemployment is hovering around 10 percent. But he said that red ink must be stopped as the economy recovers. During a recovery, private investment will again pick up and compete with the federal government for capital.^[14]

In July 2010 Orszag said that “The problem now is weak growth and high unemployment rather than outright economic collapse,”. Still, the deficit would be equivalent to 10 percent of the gross domestic product, the highest level since World War II. The Office of Management and Budget’s mid-session review, forecast a smaller deficit and stronger economic growth than the administration’s initial budget release. The deficit forecast in 2011 increased to $1.42 trillion, up from the $1.27 estimate in February. For 2012, the deficit estimate rose to $922 billion, up from $828 billion in the previous report. The annual budget shortfall would bottom out in 2017 at $721 billion, or 3.4 percent of GDP, and begin rising again in following years.^[15]

A review of Orszag's daily schedules shows his sustained focus on healthcare reform as soon as he joined Obama’s Cabinet. The daily schedules for Orszag, who left his position as Office of Management and Budget director in July 2010, reveal that he and key White House aides regularly met to discuss healthcare starting in January 2009, within days of Obama entering office. Orszag also had meetings with insurance executives and health experts as the White House made health reform its top legislative priority after enacting the $814 billion stimulus.

When Orszag resigned, the Progressive Policy Institute summed up his time in office: "For an administration numbers-cruncher, he was unusually visible, which was a good thing. With a reputation for impartiality and brilliance, Orszag gave the administration’s agenda analytical ballast. There will no doubt be efforts on the right to brush Orszag with the red ink that the administration finds itself swimming in, but that’s politics as usual. Inheriting the worst economy since the 1930s, Orszag presided over the Herculean task of preventing a complete meltdown and setting the foundation for a recovery. In many ways, he’s a reflection of the administration at its best: a rigorous, pragmatic empiricist."^[16]

Citigroup and Bloomberg[link]

Since January 2011, Orszag has been Vice Chairman of Global Banking at Citigroup. According to New York Magazine, "for an ambitious economist like Peter Orszag, going to work for Citigroup represented a choice. As a young staffer working in the Clinton White House, he saw laid before him two different paths: Stiglitzism and Rubinism. There were both intellectual and career-arc components to these. While both are liberal Democrats, Rubin was the consummate insider, whose philosophy was that the free markets, balanced budgets, and limited regulation would create a rising tide that would lift all boats (or at least make Wall Street not complain too much about Clinton’s social programs). Stiglitz, the public intellectual, is as concerned with the boats as with the tide. Orszag certainly had a lot in common with Stiglitz’s academic mien, having grown up in an intensely intellectual family in Lexington, Massachusetts, outside Boston. His father is a celebrated Yale math professor. But Orszag possessed an ambition that would take him beyond the ivory tower. He ultimately chose Rubinism. It makes perfect sense that Orszag would have been drawn toward Rubin. It must have been incredibly seductive seeing this world, watching the Rubin wing of the Democratic Party move so easily from government to Wall Street boardrooms to the table with Charlie Rose." ^[17]

Orszag has also been writing a weekly column for Bloomberg View.^[18] His early columns covered topics such as consumer-directed health care,^[19] political polarization,^[20] and growing gaps in life expectancy.^[21]

Personal life[link]

Orszag is married to Bianna Golodryga, co-host of ABC's Weekend Good Morning America.^[22] They have a son, Jake Spencer Orszag, born in April 2012.^[23]

Orszag's first marriage was to Cameron Hamill, with whom he had two children.^[24][25] They later divorced.^[25][26] He also has a child with a former partner, Claire Milonas.^[25][27][28]

Economists Alan Blinder (who taught him at Princeton) and Joseph Stiglitz were his mentors early in life, and later Robert Rubin.^[29]

Orszag runs marathons and enjoys country music.^[29][30]

Bibliography[link]

• Orszag, Peter (July 9, 2008). "Climate Change Economics". Washington Post: p. A15. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070802465.html. Retrieved 2009-04-05. 
• Orszag, Peter, et al. American Economic Policy in the 1990s (MIT Press: 2002)
• Orszag, Peter, et al. Protecting the American Homeland: A Preliminary Analysis (Brookings Institution Press: 2002)
• Orszag, Peter, et al. Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach (Brookings Institution Press: 2004)
• Orszag, Peter, et al. Protecting the Homeland 2006/7 (Brookings Institution Press: 2006)
• Orszag, Peter, et al. Aging Gracefully: Ideas to Improve Retirement Security in America (Century Foundation Press: 2006)
• Orszag, Peter. 1999. Administrative Costs in Individual Accounts in the United Kingdom. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• "Implications of the New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Risk-Based Capital Standard" (March).Fannie Mae Papers 1, no. 2 (March 2002)
• Orszag, Peter R. (October 1, 2008). "CBO's Analysis of Dodd Substitute Amendment for H.R. 1424" (PDF). Congressional Budget Office. pp. 2. http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/98xx/doc9852/hr1424Dodd.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-03. 
• Orszag, Peter and Joseph E. Stiglitz. "Rethinking Pension Reform: Ten Myths about Social Security Systems." In Robert Holzman and Joseph Stiglitz, eds., New Ideas about Old Age Security. (The World Bank: 2001).
• Orszag, Peter, J. Michael Orszag. "The Benefits of Flexible Funding: Implications for Pension Reform in an Uncertain World." In Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics. (The World Bank: 2001).

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• OMB leadership biographies
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