our witness is cbo's director douglas elmendorf. i might say very distinguished director. and i want to say how much i appreciate the work of the congressional budget office. how credible i find it to be. how transparent i find it to be. and, look, sometimes they strenuously disagree with me. i remember very well on health care, my major initiative, cbo critiques very heavily. that's the way it should be. not that my proposal should have been critiqued as heavily as it was, but that's the way it works. that's why they have credibility and they have credibility on both sides because they tell it the way they see it. that's really absolutely critical to the process. we have to have some independent score keeper here. are they always right? no. this is the work of men and women and none of us are perfect. no, their work is not perfect. it would be impossible to have any entity on matters of this complexity be completely right every time. but they are independent, they are credible, they are serious people and they are doing very important work for all of us. so, director elme

douglas elmendorf has testified to that. what is true, is when president clinton left office, we had a 5.6 trillion dollar projected surplus, in the indy eight years following, that was squandered -- and in the eight years following, that was squandered. when president obama took office, not only were their projected deficits, but we were losing 8000 -- 800,000 jobs a month. we were on a downward trajectory all over 7% negative gdp. the economy was in free fall. and for -- fortunately, as a result of actions taken by the president and congress recovery act, we stop the freefall, stabilize the economy, and we have been able to slowly climb out. now, we are not at a fast enough job creation rate. nobody would argue that. that means it is very important that we continue to do things to nurture the economy like extending the payroll tax cut for 1 yards 60 million working americans -- 160 million americans. the cult that is, of course, -- guest: that is, of course, and goodness, but we need to remember we are in a fragile state,

. >>> congressional budget office director douglas elmendorf testifies wednesday about the economy and the federal budget. a cbo report released on tuesday predicts a $1.1 trillion budget deficit this fiscal year. we'll have live coverage of mr. elmendorf's testimony beginning at 10:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span3. >>> this is c-span3 with politics and public affairs programming throughout the week and every weekend, american history tv. 48 hours of people and events, telling the american story. get our schedules and see past programs at our websites. and join in the conversation on these social media sites. >>> the pentagon's number three official gave her last major speech sunday at the reserve officers association symposium in washington, d.c. she'll step down from the post on friday. this is just under an hour. >> welcome back, everyone. we'll continue with our program, continuing with the excitement. today's presentation titled "d.o.d. policy: a look back and a look ahead" will be in just a minute. before we begin the key speech, we would like to present the r.o.a. chaplain, lieut

douglas elmendorf testifies about the economy and the federal budget. a cbo report released on tuesday repredicts a $1.1 trillion budget deficit this fiscal. we'll have live coverage of his temperature beginning at 10:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span3. >> we as explorers of literature, we as readers of literature have a responsibility. for those of you who are discovering the creation of literature, you have a responsibility, do you not? can you create anything you want in the world that you create in literature reflecting history or not and feel comfortable in that creation or must you presensor yourself? >> this weekend from lectures in history, professor william foster on the n word's place in american literature and culture saturday night at 8:00 eastern? alsoon american history tv, he changed the reading habit for american. a look at the influence of time incorporated founder henry luce publisher of "time" o, "fortune" and "life" magazine. >> and the oil boom hits and makes texas a leading oil state. visit the streets of beaumont, texas. this weekend

. >>> congressional budget offer director douglas elmendorf testifying yesterday on the outlook. you can see the remainder of his remarks in the c-span video library. this morning he's testifying before the house budget committee on the same topic and is predicting that the budget will run about $1.1 trillion and it will slow with the unemployment rate staying at about 8%. the chairman of the house budget committee, congressman paul ryan. >>> the committee will come to order. welcome, all, to this very important hearing on the difficult fiscal challenges and economic challenges ahead of us. i want to welcome cbo director back with us again and with his beautiful daughters. it i'd good to have you here again, doug. wish we had better news. i want to thank doug, first of all, dr. elmendorf and your entire cbo staff for your hard work on the release of the annual budget and economic outlook. we have a compressed timeline this year, given the tardiness of the president's budget, given our easter coming earlier, so we know that cbo is going to be pushed extra hard this year, and i kno

director douglas elmendorf wrote, and i quote, the secretary of health and human services has concluded the class program can't be operated without mandatory participation so as to ensure its solvency. h.h.s. secretary kathleen sebelius called the program insolvent and the chairman of the senate budget committee called the program, in 2009, a ponzi scheme. in fact he went on to say it woult make bernie madoff proud. in its consideration in 2009, the c.m.s. actuary, richard foster, told the obama administration staff that, and this is his quote, 36 years of actuarial experience lead me to believe that this program would collapse in short order and require significant federal subsidies to continue, end quote. he was ignored. in fact, he was eventually cut out of the email loop so that they didn't want to, the health committee on the senate side and the staff of senator kennedy they didn't want to hear any more from him. subsequently, in december of 2010, the president's fiscal commission recommended that they reform or repeal, not amend, but reform or repeal the class act. the commission

director douglas elmendorf wrote, and i quote, the secretary of health and human services has concluded the class program can't be operated without mandatory participation so as to ensure its solvency. h.h.s. secretary kathleen sebelius called the program insolvent and the chairman of the senate budget committee called the program, in 2009, a ponzi scheme. in fact he went on to say it woult make bernie madoff proud. in its consideration in 2009, the c.m.s. actuary, richard foster, told the obama administration staff that, and this is his quote, 36 years of actuarial experience lead me to believe that this program would collapse in short order and require significant federal subsidies to continue, end quote. he was ignored. in fact, he was eventually cut out of the email loop so that they didn't want to, the health committee on the senate side and the staff of senator kennedy they didn't want to hear any more from him. subsequently, in december of 2010, the president's fiscal commission recommended that they reform or repeal, not amend, but reform or repeal the class act. the commission

videos, see what the candidates have said, and read the latest from social span.org.tes at c- >> douglas elmendorf testified about when new outlook. government spending and entitlement programs was one topic. other topics included the bush era who payroll tax cuts. overall they predict the deficit will run of 1.2 trillion dollars and economic recovery will remain slow with unemployment near 8%. this is to in a half hours. -- this is to end a half hours -- 2 and a half hours. >> the committee will come to order. there are difficult economic times ahead of us. i want to welcome the political director. good i want to thank your entire staff for their release. we have a compressed size line, given easter coming earlier, so we know that cdo is going to get pushed extra hard, and i know you are working around the clock, so i first want to start by saying thank you for all you have done. furs are one to say the cbo projects economic growth remains refers to want to say the cbo projects economic growth remains sluggish. this confirms what too many americans are aware of. president obama's economic policie