Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today questioned Jason Furman, the Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, during a JEC hearing on “The Economic Report of the President.”

During the hearing, Coats pressed Furman on the willingness of the Obama Administration to reduce the deficit.

“While the administration has taken credit for the current reduction in our annual deficit, overall debt has increased dramatically under President Obama, from $10.6 trillion to almost $18.2 trillion,” said Coats. “In addition, the reduction in our budget deficits is only temporary – CBO predicts that deficits will rise after 2017.”

Coats said short-term progress on deficit reduction is not a reason to overlook the long-term forecast.

“While we can perhaps celebrate some of the steps that have been taken, [they] come nowhere close to dealing with the long-term problem,” added Coats. “Do you think the president is willing to address the long term problem? He has one last chance in his eight-year presidency to address the long-term problem.”