'Super committee' moves behind closed doors; public confidence in Washington at stake

Sep 16 2011

Meanwhile, media outlets consider whether the panel will ultimately opt to go for a "grand bargain."

USA Today: Leaders Of Deficit Panel Say Public's Confidence At Stake
The leaders of a bipartisan congressional committee charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade say Americans' confidence in Washington hinges on their success. … If the committee deadlocks or fails, $1.2 trillion still would be cut automatically from future deficits, divided between defense and domestic spending, including Medicare. Hensarling likened that threat to "a hammer in the closet" (Wolf, 9/14).

Roll Call: Deficit Panel Taking Work Behind Closed Doors
The Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction will hold its first full-member closed-door session Thursday morning, multiple sources have confirmed. … In their first two sessions, lawmakers in both parties emphasized that the group can find points of common ground based on previous bipartisan efforts, such as the recommendations released in December 2010 by the president's deficit commission, and areas of agreement in last spring's bipartisan, bicameral negotiating group led by Vice President Joseph Biden. Tuesday's public hearing of the joint committee included testimony from Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf. Sources close to the committee indicated the intent of the public sessions is to allow experts and the public to weigh in on the issues of deficit reduction and the economy (Shiner, 9/14).

The Fiscal Times: Super Panel May Go For A Grand Fiscal Bargain
A task force of prominent budget experts concluded on Wednesday that the 12-member bicameral panel has far more power than many realize, and could work well past a November deadline in pursuit of a "grand bargain" of entitlement and tax reforms. ... [T]he Super Committee could also include detailed instructions to the relevant House and Senate committees to draft legislation to rewrite the tax code and alter Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and report back next year (Pianin, 9/14). 

The Hill: Deficit Panel Unlikely To Go Big
The debt super committee is unlikely to "go big" and find more than $1.5 trillion in budget cuts, according to a member of the special panel.  … There does not appear to be any consensus to cut Medicare payments to doctors, the Defense Department or other large programs with strong political support, the lawmaker said (Bolton, 9/14).