Her words were music to the ears of Democratic lawmakers, like Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings, who, like the president, wants Congress to approve a short-term federal jobs program.

"The debt is a nominal factor in our current economic outlook," said Cummings. "Rather, slowed hiring, low consumer confidence and demand, reduced public investment, and the continuing [real estate] foreclosure crisis are driving our economic conditions and our rising debt, rather than the other way around."

Not so, according to another economist who testified on Capitol Hill this week. J.D. Foster, a budget official under former President George W. Bush, argued the U.S. economy would soar on its own if only a burdensome federal government would let it.

"The economy abounds in opportunities for growth," said Foster. "But turning potential into reality requires confidence: confidence in the future, confidence in the specific effects of government policy. America suffers a confidence shortage, and Washington is overwhelmingly the cause."

Picking up on that theme was Carnegie Mellon University economist Allan Meltzer, who took aim at the Obama administration's call for higher taxes on the wealthy and some corporations.

"Uncertainty about future tax rates has deterred investment and slowed recovery," said Meltzer.

According to economists like Meltzer, a federal jobs program is ill-advised, as it adds to short-term deficits, raises the debt burden, and increases the likelihood of future tax increases to avoid a fiscal meltdown. Thus, the path to unlocking investment and economic expansion is maintaining current tax rates and cutting federal spending.