(Washington D.C.)- U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, offered the following statement today after President Bush nominated United States Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman to be the next Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and elevated Deputy United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab to head the trade office:

"I congratulate Rob Portman and Susan Schwab on their nominations to vital positions within the U.S. Government.

"In both of their statements upon accepting their respective nominations, they referred to the need to restore bipartisanship.  However, this has been a challenge so far dramatically unfulfilled by the Bush Administration.

"The budgets submitted during this Administration have been on a strictly partisan basis. This has meant, rather than a reduction in deficits, a dramatic increase in the budget deficits that Rob Portman pointed to as a major reason for running for the U.S. House in 1993.

"As for trade, the Bush years have been marked by an increasing partisan divide. This continues to threaten our moving ahead effectively both on bilateral trade agreements and on the essential WTO negotiations in which Susan Schwab has participated.

"It is necessary to do better in 2006."

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