Budget Director Says Economic Decline Slowing

Washington, DC, May 18, 2009--Peter Orszag, the administration's top budget official, said Sunday that the pace of decline in the U.S. economy appears to have slowed but that the economy wasn't yet in the clear.

"The freefall in the economy seems to have stopped," Mr. Orszag said during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union.

"The analogy is there are some glimmers of sun shining through the trees, but we're not out of the woods yet."

Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the administration would update its budget assumptions in the coming months, as planned.

He noted that only $100 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package has been allocated since the legislation was enacted three months ago.

"It takes time to get money out the door wisely," he said.

Orszag also suggested that there was no time to waste when it came to overhauling the country's health-care system.