Neera Tanden faces tough road to USA budget director post
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden today nominated Neera Tanden as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Tanden is part of Biden’s economic team which “will help the communities hardest hit by COVID-19…will…ensure every American enjoys a fair return for their work and an equal chance to get ahead, and that our businesses can thrive and outcompete the rest of the world,” Biden said. The team “looks like America and brings…the highest degree of competency, and unwavering belief in the promise of America.”
If confirmed, Tanden’s main role will be to prepare the annual Federal Budget and oversee its administration. In this task, she will have to evaluate programs, policies, and procedures of various federal agencies, assess competing funding demands among agencies, and set funding priorities in accordance with Biden’s economic agenda.
This past March, Tanden, 50, co-wrote an opinion piece asking Federal policy makers to respond aggressively to battling both the COVID-19 health crisis and the related economic crisis because “the risks of doing too little to support families and the economy far outweigh the risks of doing too much.”
With long-term U.S. interest rates near zero, or even negative, in inflation-adjusted terms, the financial “markets are in effect willing to pay the federal government to borrow money and impose little or no fiscal cost…(So) deficits and debt pose no comparable risk.” Given the magnitude of the crisis, now is not the time for policymakers to worry about raising deficits and debt, Tanden and the others stated.
Biden has ambitious plans to inject over $5 trillion to battle COVID-19 and boost the economy, including by funding the repair, update and expansion of the country’s infrastructure.
President-elect Biden will likely face an obstructive Republican Senate majority and thus will have to seek compromise to govern, Tanden said a week after the November 3 Presidential elections, at an online forum organized by her alma mater the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA.)
In fact, in the U.S. Senate, which will confirm or reject Tanden’s nomination, she is already being opposed by some Republicans. “Neera Tanden, who has an endless stream of disparaging comments about the Republican Senators’ whose votes she’ll need, stands zero chance of being confirmed,” tweeted Drew Brandewie, the communications director for Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas.
Tanden’s nomination is also being criticized by some left-wing Democrats. “Neera Tanden supports cuts to the social safety net, which, like a Republican, she refers to as ‘entitlements,’" tweeted Brianna Joy Gray, the former press secretary for Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. Gray has more than 331,000 followers on Twitter.
Ron Klain, who will be Biden’s chief of staff, likely pushed for Tanden’s nomination. Klain is on the board of the Center For American Progress (CAP), where Tanden currently serves as chief executive.
CAP is a progressive policy and lobbying group which believes “America should be a land of boundless opportunity, where people can climb the ladder of economic mobility.” Its mission is to promote “bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country.”
In 2016, CAP’s annual budget was $41 million, funded by donors. It was founded in 2003 by John Podesta, who served as counselor to President Barack Obama on climate policy. Earlier, Podesta served as the chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. He also chaired Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president in 2016.
In the 2020 elections, individuals affiliated with CAP, its employees and their family members donated $607,000 to Democratic candidates, including $64,000 to Joe Biden’s campaign.
Before CAP, Tanden was a senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, developing policies for President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Earlier, she was the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign. She also served as the policy director for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Tanden served as legislative director in Senator Hillary Clinton’s office and deputy campaign manager for Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign. She began her career as an associate director for domestic policy under President Bill Clinton. She said she owes a lot to Hillary Clinton for her career success and was her loyal soldier.
At UCLA, Tanden received her bachelor of science. She earned her law degree from Yale University. Her husband Benjamin Edwards is a visual artist and writer, whom she met while studying at UCLA UCLA and both worked on the Democrat Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign. They and their son and daughter live in Washington DC. .
Tanden’s parents, who had an arranged marriage, emigrated from India in the 1950’s. Her father earned a Master’s degree from Harvard Law School and her mother earned a degree from Brandeis University. Tanden’s parents divorced when she was five.
She was then brought up by her mother. They survived for two years on government welfare payments, including food stamps and subsidized government housing. Her mother, who found a job as a travel agent, put Tanden and her brother Raj through school in Bedford, Massachusetts. Tanden realized at an early age that she had to work extra hard since she came from a family with few connections. She worked to support herself while at UCLA.
In 2007, Tanden told The Times of India, that having benefitted a great deal from government support while growing up, she is most proud of a career that “allowed me to serve in the government and therefore serve the public.”