Lew: Don’t write off supercommittee yet

White House budget director Jack Lew said Thursday that it would be premature to write the obituary of the deficit supercommittee that is struggling to find a debt deal by Nov. 23.

“I think we have a habit in this town of writing obituaries while the patient is still fighting,” Lew said. “The supercommittee is not done.”

The director of the Office of Management and Budget said he is in regular touch with the 12 members of the supercommittee and is providing technical help, but that overall the White House is standing back from the talks.

{mosads}“I think we have to give them some space to do their work,” Lew said. He noted that in September, President Obama laid out detailed recommendations for a deficit grand bargain to the supercommittee.

“We feel that we have laid before the committee a blueprint,” he said.

Lew repeated the rhetoric of fellow Democrats in recent days and attempted to blame the GOP members for the current stalemate on the panel.

“Republicans have to make a decision that they will put everything on the table,” he said. Lew said that he saw a bipartisan House letter released Wednesday as a “hopeful” sign that a deal can be struck.

That letter, signed by 40 Republicans and 60 Democrats, called for a $4 trillion grand bargain that includes revenues. The term “revenues” was not defined, however, and some signatories believe it refers to new money flowing into the government from economic growth spurred by tax simplification.

Lew said the White House does not want the group to fail and that a plan would be “an enormous shot in the arm for confidence” in government’s ability to overcome gridlock.

The budget director, speaking at a Politico event, denied that the White House has not been engaged enough with House leaders throughout this year’s budget struggles. He also made clear his view that Social Security should be tackled “sooner rather than later” even though it technically does not contribute to the budget deficit at this time.