National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
Encyclopedia
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Bowles-Simpson/Simpson-Bowles from the names of co-chairs Alan Simpson
and Erskine Bowles
; or NCFRR) is a Presidential Commission
created in 2010 by President Barack Obama
to identify "…policies to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run." The commission first met on April 27, 2010. A report was released on December 1, 2010, but failed a vote on December 3 with 11 of 18 votes in favor, with a supermajority
of 14 votes needed to formally endorse the blueprint.
by a vote of 53-46, when six Republicans
who had co-sponsored it nevertheless voted against it. Thereafter, Obama established the Commission by . Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson
(R-Wyo.), after his appointment to co-chair the Commission, criticized the former supporters who had voted against the bill, saying that their purpose "was to stick it to the president." In the absence of special legislation, the Commission's proposals are not guaranteed to be considered by Congress in a single up-or-down vote.
The first vote on the final recommendations, originally set for December 1, 2010, was delayed until December 3 when the commission fell short of the votes needed. In order for a final report to be agreed to, 14 of the 18 members will have to vote to approve the report.
on Fox News in April, covering tax-vs-spending balance in the Commission's work ("Everything's on the table," Simpson said), the value-added tax ("[T]o drag this great specter,… like a dead rat through the room, without doing something with the income tax
, is a fakery. …I haven’t the slightest idea. But if you’re going to mess around in that area or flat tax
or any other tax… you’re going to go adjust all the other taxes in accordance"), the general fiscal situation ("This country’s in a mess"), and a response to Grover Norquist
calling Simpson "old and grumpy, and [saying Simpson] doesn’t like Reagan
Republican Party members" ("old Grover Norquist and his happy band of goofy warriors, all they do is make money off of people," Simpson replied). Simpson and Bowles were also interviewed by Chris Wallace
, also on the eve of the first Commission meeting, Simpson's latter appearance, particularly as it bore on entitlements, attracted comment from the Columbia Journalism Review
and James Ridgeway
, among others.
A health-care component of the overall U.S. federal
and state
fiscal-management challenge was addressed by a panel including Rivlin on the Diane Rehm Show in June.
The co-chairs also recommended some measures they felt would stimulate economic growth, such as a cut in the corporate tax rate from 35% to a more internationally competitive 26%.
After the chairmen's briefing to the commission members, two Democratic Party
members, Senator Durbin and Representative Schakowsky, publicly criticized the plan. Senator Kent Conrad
(D-ND), however, declined to criticize the proposal, saying "[i]nstead of shooting this down propose an alternative. But one that does as good a job as this one does in getting us back on a sound fiscal course." Senator Judd Gregg
, the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, noted that the report was a "starting point" which shows the size of the problem.
The proposal was dismissed as "unserious" by Paul Krugman
for its large unfunded cuts in income taxes. Union leaders such as Richard Trumka
and several Democrats such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and Representative Raul Grijalva
rejected the plan saying it cut spending, especially on Social Security, too much. The Economic Policy Institute
calculated that the proposed spending cuts would reduce payroll employment by roughly 1.9 million jobs by 2014, and that the resulting loss in the government's tax revenues would cut the proposal's deficit-reducing effect in half. The institute called instead for "budgeting for more desperately needed fiscal stimulus in the near-term...." The chairmen's proposal was also criticized by conservative interest groups such as defense contractors and Americans for Tax Reform
.
The proposal was better received by the Democrat-affiliated but business-friendly think tank Third Way
, Representative Jim Cooper
(D-Tenn.), Senator Ron Wyden
(D-Oregon) and Harvard economist Greg Mankiw. Senator-elect Rand Paul
(R-KY), a Tea Party
supporter, stated that the proposed changes to entitlement spending should take effect sooner instead of in future decades but praised the proposal for also having "some good ideas". The Concord Coalition
, a non-profit and non-partisan anti-deficit activist group, applauded the report and labeled it a "promising start."
President Obama asked critics of the proposal from either side of the political spectrum to exercise caution, saying "[b]efore anybody starts shooting down proposals, I think we need to listen, we need to gather up all the facts."
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
evaluated the draft plan, praising that it "puts everything on the table" but criticizing that it "lacks an appropriate balance between program cuts and revenue increases."
of 14 votes needed to formally endorse the blueprint. Voting for the report were Bowles, Coburn, Conrad, Crapo, Cote, Durbin, Fudge, Gregg, Rivlin, Simpson, and Spratt. Voting against were Baucus, Becerra, Camp, Hensarling, Ryan, Schakowsky and Stern.
and Medicare
, many Democrats
are calling this a 'cat food' commission, on the grounds that it will allegedly eliminate key portions of the social safety net
, forcing some people (particularly the elderly) into such extreme poverty that they will only be able to afford to eat cat food
. An early user of the term was the liberal blogger Digby
. Commission staffers working for external think tanks has also been an issue.
Keynesian Economist James K. Galbraith
submitted a statement to the NCFRR on behalf of Americans for Democratic Action
. He argued that the current deficits were caused by the financial crisis; that cuts in Social Security and Medicare would be harmful and would not reduce the deficit; and that the Commission would do best "by advancing no proposals at all."
Dean Baker
of the Center for Economic and Policy Research
in Washington
criticizes the deficit report for omitting a tax on the financial industry, as was recommended by the International Monetary Fund
. He also denounces co-chairs Alan K. Simpson
and Erskine Bowles
for claiming to have looked everywhere on ways to increase revenue, but not including the financial industry. Also, Baker said that a possible conflict of interest
exists regarding Erskine Bowles for serving on the board of Morgan Stanley
while being on the commission and asks for further investigation into the connection between Bowles' role as a director of Morgan Stanley and the omission of any financial taxes in the report.
charged with making budget adjustments by Congress, urging the 12 supercommittee members to "go big" toward the $4 trillion in savings the NCFRR had recommended v. the $1.2 trillion deficit reduction most discussed by the committee of congresspeople
and senators
. Simpson and Bowles also warned that failure to reach some agreement "might result in another downgrade
", though separately Moody’s said such failure alone would not result in a change in U.S. ratings, as the trigger would still result in $1.2 trillion in cuts. In that regard, Simpson and Bowles stated, "the only thing worse than failure by the committee to agree on savings would be removing the 'sequester' [or 'trigger'] mechanism for automatic cuts". Bowles said in verbal testimony that "[c]ollectively, I'm worried you're going to fail". NCFRR member Rivlin and former New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici
, separately, "said there is still time for supercommittee members to craft a 'grand bargain' to save at least $4 trillion over 10 years.... Rivlin and Domenici chaired the Bipartisan Policy Center
’s debt reduction task force", which also made its recommendations on the issue in 2010.
Alan K. Simpson
Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician who served from 1979 to 1997 as a United States Senator from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party. His father, Milward L. Simpson, was also a member of the U.S...
and Erskine Bowles
Erskine Bowles
Erskine Boyce Bowles is an American businessman and political figure from North Carolina. He served from 2005 to 2010 as the President of the University of North Carolina system...
; or NCFRR) is a Presidential Commission
Presidential Commission (United States)
In the United States, a Presidential Commission is a special task force ordained by the President to complete some special research or investigation...
created in 2010 by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to identify "…policies to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run." The commission first met on April 27, 2010. A report was released on December 1, 2010, but failed a vote on December 3 with 11 of 18 votes in favor, with a supermajority
Supermajority
A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
of 14 votes needed to formally endorse the blueprint.
History
The original proposal for a commission came from bipartisan legislation that would have required Congress to vote on its recommendations as presented, without any amendment. In January 2010, that bill failed in the SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
by a vote of 53-46, when six Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
who had co-sponsored it nevertheless voted against it. Thereafter, Obama established the Commission by . Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson
Alan K. Simpson
Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician who served from 1979 to 1997 as a United States Senator from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party. His father, Milward L. Simpson, was also a member of the U.S...
(R-Wyo.), after his appointment to co-chair the Commission, criticized the former supporters who had voted against the bill, saying that their purpose "was to stick it to the president." In the absence of special legislation, the Commission's proposals are not guaranteed to be considered by Congress in a single up-or-down vote.
Commission members
The Commission includes 18 members and one executive director appointed by the president. They include six members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and six members of the U.S. Senate.The first vote on the final recommendations, originally set for December 1, 2010, was delayed until December 3 when the commission fell short of the votes needed. In order for a final report to be agreed to, 14 of the 18 members will have to vote to approve the report.
| Republican | Democratic | |
|---|---|---|
| President's Appointments |
|
Erskine Bowles Erskine Boyce Bowles is an American businessman and political figure from North Carolina. He served from 2005 to 2010 as the President of the University of North Carolina system... (co-chair; fmr. White House Chief of Staff White House Chief of Staff The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:... ) Andy Stern Andrew L. "Andy" Stern , is the former president of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union , the fastest-growing union in the Americas. SEIU is the second largest union in the United States and Canada after the National Education Association.Stern was elected in 1996 to... (fmr. president of Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada... ) Alice Rivlin Alice Mitchell Rivlin is an economist, a former U.S. Cabinet official, and an expert on the budget. She has served as the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and the first Director of the Congressional Budget Office... (Brookings Institution Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and... ; fmr. director CBO Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress.... and OMB and Fed vice chair) Ann M. Fudge Ann Marie Fudge is former chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands, a global network of marketing communications companies... (fmr. CEO Young & Rubicam Young & Rubicam Y&R is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.-History:... Brands) Bruce Reed Bruce Reed was the CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council and currently serves as the Chief of Staff to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, having been appointed on January 14, 2011 to succeed Ron Klain.-Early life and education:... (fmr. Chief Domestic Policy Adviser to President Clinton), executive director of Commission |
| House |
Paul Ryan (politician) Paul Davis Ryan is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party and has been ranked among the party's most influential voices on economic policy.... (R-Wisconsin) Jeb Hensarling Jeb Hensarling has been the Republican congressman representing Texas' 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2003.-Early life:... (R-Texas) |
Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is based in Los Angeles.-Early life, education and career:... (D-California) Jan Schakowsky Janice D. "Jan" Schakowsky is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes many of Chicago's northern suburbs, including Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Park Ridge, Des Plaines and Rosemont... (D-Illinois) |
| Senate |
Judd Gregg Judd Alan Gregg is a former Governor of New Hampshire and former United States Senator from New Hampshire, who served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a businessman and attorney in Nashua before entering politics... (R-New Hampshire) Tom Coburn Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. , is an American politician, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills... (R-Oklahoma) Mike Crapo Michael Dean "Mike" Crapo is the senior United States Senator from the state of Idaho and a member of the Republican Party.Born in the city of Idaho Falls, Crapo is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Harvard Law School. He practiced law in his home city throughout the 1980s, while... (R-Idaho) |
Max Baucus Max Sieben Baucus is the senior United States Senator from Montana and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1978, as of 2010 he is the longest-serving Senator from Montana, and the fifth longest-serving U.S... (D-Montana) Kent Conrad Kent Conrad is the senior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party... (D-North Dakota) |
Working groups
The commission decided to create 3 working groups to focus on discretionary spending (DS), mandatory spending (MS), and tax policy (T).| Member | Tax | Mandatory | Discretionary | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cote | x | x | R | |
| Fudge | x | x | D | |
| Rivlin | x | x | D | |
| Stern | x | x | D | |
| Baucus | x | x | D | |
| Becerra | x | x | D | |
| Camp | x | x | R | |
| Coburn | x | x | R | |
| Conrad | x | x | D | |
| Crapo | x | x | R | |
| Durbin | x | x | D | |
| Gregg | x | x | R | |
| Hensarling | x | x | R | |
| Ryan | x | x | R | |
| Schakowsky | x | x | D | |
| Spratt | x | x | D |
Public outreach
Simpson was interviewed by Neil CavutoNeil Cavuto
Neil Patrick Cavuto is an American television anchor and commentator on the Fox Business Network and host of three television programs, Your World with Neil Cavuto and Cavuto on Business, both on the Fox News Channel and Cavuto on sister channel Fox Business Network.Cavuto also tapes a nightly...
on Fox News in April, covering tax-vs-spending balance in the Commission's work ("Everything's on the table," Simpson said), the value-added tax ("[T]o drag this great specter,… like a dead rat through the room, without doing something with the income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
, is a fakery. …I haven’t the slightest idea. But if you’re going to mess around in that area or flat tax
Flat tax
A flat tax is a tax system with a constant marginal tax rate. Typically the term flat tax is applied in the context of an individual or corporate income that will be taxed at one marginal rate...
or any other tax… you’re going to go adjust all the other taxes in accordance"), the general fiscal situation ("This country’s in a mess"), and a response to Grover Norquist
Grover Norquist
Grover Glenn Norquist is an American lobbyist, conservative activist, and founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform...
calling Simpson "old and grumpy, and [saying Simpson] doesn’t like Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
Republican Party members" ("old Grover Norquist and his happy band of goofy warriors, all they do is make money off of people," Simpson replied). Simpson and Bowles were also interviewed by Chris Wallace
Chris Wallace (journalist)
Christopher "Chris" Wallace is an American journalist, currently the host of the Fox Network program, Fox News Sunday. Wallace has won three Emmy Awards, the Dupont-Columbia Silver Baton Award, and a Peabody Award. Wallace has been with Fox News since 2003...
, also on the eve of the first Commission meeting, Simpson's latter appearance, particularly as it bore on entitlements, attracted comment from the Columbia Journalism Review
Columbia Journalism Review
The Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
and James Ridgeway
James Ridgeway
James Ridgeway is a prominent American investigative journalist.-Career history:Ridgeway began his career as a contributor to The New Republic, Ramparts, and The Wall Street Journal....
, among others.
A health-care component of the overall U.S. federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
and state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
fiscal-management challenge was addressed by a panel including Rivlin on the Diane Rehm Show in June.
Chairmen's draft proposal
On November 10 NCFRR co-chairs Simpson and Bowles released a draft proposal for consideration by other commission members. The proposal presented five "steps"- $200 billion reduction in discretionary spending with proposed cuts including reducing defense procurement by 15% and closing one third of overseas bases, eliminating earmarksEarmark (politics)In United States politics, an earmark is a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees...
, and cutting the federal work force by 10%. - $100 billion in increased tax revenues through various tax reform proposals, such as introducing a 15 cent per gallon gasoline tax and eliminating or restricting a variety of tax deductions such as the home mortgage interest deductionHome mortgage interest deductionA home mortgage interest deduction allows taxpayers who own their homes to reduce their taxable income by the amount of interest paid on the loan which is secured by their principal residence...
and the deduction for employer-provided healthcare benefits. - Controlling health care costs by maintaining the MedicareMedicare (United States)Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
cost controls associated with the recent health care reform legislation, in addition to considering a public optionPublic health insurance optionThe public health insurance option is a proposed government-run health insurance agency which competes with other health insurance companies. It is not the same as Publicly-funded health care. Called the public insurance option or public option, for short, it was a proposed health insurance plan...
and a further increase in the authority of Independent Payment Advisory BoardIndependent Payment Advisory BoardThe Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, is a fifteen-member, unelected United States Government agency created in 2010 by sections 3403 and 10320 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which has the explicit task of reducing the rate of growth in Medicare without affecting...
. - A reduction in entitlements, including farm subsidies, civilian and military federal pensions and student loan subsidies.
- Modifications to the Social SecuritySocial Security (United States)In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
program to raise the payroll tax and the retirement age.
The co-chairs also recommended some measures they felt would stimulate economic growth, such as a cut in the corporate tax rate from 35% to a more internationally competitive 26%.
After the chairmen's briefing to the commission members, two Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
members, Senator Durbin and Representative Schakowsky, publicly criticized the plan. Senator Kent Conrad
Kent Conrad
Kent Conrad is the senior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party...
(D-ND), however, declined to criticize the proposal, saying "[i]nstead of shooting this down propose an alternative. But one that does as good a job as this one does in getting us back on a sound fiscal course." Senator Judd Gregg
Judd Gregg
Judd Alan Gregg is a former Governor of New Hampshire and former United States Senator from New Hampshire, who served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a businessman and attorney in Nashua before entering politics...
, the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, noted that the report was a "starting point" which shows the size of the problem.
The proposal was dismissed as "unserious" by Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
for its large unfunded cuts in income taxes. Union leaders such as Richard Trumka
Richard Trumka
Richard Louis Trumka is an organized labor leader in the United States. He was elected President of the AFL-CIO on September 16, 2009, at the labor federation's convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, from 1995 to 2009, and prior to that was...
and several Democrats such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
and Representative Raul Grijalva
Raul Grijalva
Raúl M. Grijalva is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes half of metro Tucson, all of Yuma and Nogales, and some peripheral parts of metro Phoenix.-Early life, education and career:...
rejected the plan saying it cut spending, especially on Social Security, too much. The Economic Policy Institute
Economic Policy Institute
The Economic Policy Institute is a 501 non-profit, liberal, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy...
calculated that the proposed spending cuts would reduce payroll employment by roughly 1.9 million jobs by 2014, and that the resulting loss in the government's tax revenues would cut the proposal's deficit-reducing effect in half. The institute called instead for "budgeting for more desperately needed fiscal stimulus in the near-term...." The chairmen's proposal was also criticized by conservative interest groups such as defense contractors and Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform is an advocacy group and taxpayer group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax...
.
The proposal was better received by the Democrat-affiliated but business-friendly think tank Third Way
Third Way (think tank)
Third Way is a public policy think tank. The organization focuses on policies for private-sector economic growth, national security strategy, a clean energy, education and anti-poverty reform, and divisive culture issues. Third Way describes itself as moderate and progressive. In the media, the...
, Representative Jim Cooper
Jim Cooper
James Hayes Shofner "Jim" Cooper is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition. He previously represented from 1983 to 1995....
(D-Tenn.), Senator Ron Wyden
Ron Wyden
Ronald Lee "Ron" Wyden is the senior U.S. Senator for Oregon, serving since 1996, and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1996....
(D-Oregon) and Harvard economist Greg Mankiw. Senator-elect Rand Paul
Rand Paul
Randal Howard "Rand" Paul is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian...
(R-KY), a Tea Party
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
supporter, stated that the proposed changes to entitlement spending should take effect sooner instead of in future decades but praised the proposal for also having "some good ideas". The Concord Coalition
Concord Coalition
The Concord Coalition is a political advocacy group in the United States, formed in 1992. A bipartisan organization, it was founded by former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman, former Secretary of Commerce Peter George Peterson, and the late U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas. The Concord Coalition's advocacy...
, a non-profit and non-partisan anti-deficit activist group, applauded the report and labeled it a "promising start."
President Obama asked critics of the proposal from either side of the political spectrum to exercise caution, saying "[b]efore anybody starts shooting down proposals, I think we need to listen, we need to gather up all the facts."
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a non-profit think tank that describes itself as a "policy organization ... working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals."The Center examines the short- and...
evaluated the draft plan, praising that it "puts everything on the table" but criticizing that it "lacks an appropriate balance between program cuts and revenue increases."
Final vote
A report was released on December 1, 2010, but failed a vote on December 3 with 11 of 18 votes in favor, with a supermajoritySupermajority
A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
of 14 votes needed to formally endorse the blueprint. Voting for the report were Bowles, Coburn, Conrad, Crapo, Cote, Durbin, Fudge, Gregg, Rivlin, Simpson, and Spratt. Voting against were Baucus, Becerra, Camp, Hensarling, Ryan, Schakowsky and Stern.
Criticism
The commission has been criticized as deliberating in secret and as being "stacked with people who want to target entitlement spending rather than any balanced proposal." Because it could lead to cuts in benefits for Social SecuritySocial Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
and Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
, many Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
are calling this a 'cat food' commission, on the grounds that it will allegedly eliminate key portions of the social safety net
Social safety net
Social safety nets, or "socioeconomic safety nets", are non-contributory transfer programs seeking to prevent the poor or those vulnerable to shocks and poverty from falling below a certain poverty level. Safety net programs can be provided by the public sector or by the private sector...
, forcing some people (particularly the elderly) into such extreme poverty that they will only be able to afford to eat cat food
Cat food
Cat food is food intended for consumption by cats.As with all species, cats have requirements for specific dietary nutrients, rather than ingredients. Certain nutrients, including many vitamins and amino acids, are degraded by the temperatures, pressures and chemical treatments used during...
. An early user of the term was the liberal blogger Digby
Digby (blogger)
Digby is the pseudonym of liberal political blogger Heather Parton from Santa Monica, California who founded the blog Hullabaloo. She has been called one of the "leading and most admired commentators" of the progressive blogosphere....
. Commission staffers working for external think tanks has also been an issue.
Keynesian Economist James K. Galbraith
James K. Galbraith
James Kenneth Galbraith is an American economist who writes frequently for mainstream and liberal publications on economic topics. He is currently a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and at the Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Senior...
submitted a statement to the NCFRR on behalf of Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.-History:...
. He argued that the current deficits were caused by the financial crisis; that cuts in Social Security and Medicare would be harmful and would not reduce the deficit; and that the Commission would do best "by advancing no proposals at all."
Dean Baker
Dean Baker
Dean Baker is an American macroeconomist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, with Mark Weisbrot. He previously was a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and an assistant professor of economics at Bucknell University. He has a Ph.D...
of the Center for Economic and Policy Research
Center for Economic and Policy Research
The Center for Economic and Policy Research is a progressive economic policy think-tank based in Washington, DC, founded in 1999. CEPR works on Social Security, the US housing bubble, developing country economies , and gaps in the social policy fabric of the US economy.According to its own...
in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
criticizes the deficit report for omitting a tax on the financial industry, as was recommended by the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
. He also denounces co-chairs Alan K. Simpson
Alan K. Simpson
Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician who served from 1979 to 1997 as a United States Senator from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party. His father, Milward L. Simpson, was also a member of the U.S...
and Erskine Bowles
Erskine Bowles
Erskine Boyce Bowles is an American businessman and political figure from North Carolina. He served from 2005 to 2010 as the President of the University of North Carolina system...
for claiming to have looked everywhere on ways to increase revenue, but not including the financial industry. Also, Baker said that a possible conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
exists regarding Erskine Bowles for serving on the board of Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
while being on the commission and asks for further investigation into the connection between Bowles' role as a director of Morgan Stanley and the omission of any financial taxes in the report.
Continuing outreach
In November, 2011, Simpson and Bowles submitted written testimony to the "supercommittee"United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, colloquially referred to as the Supercommittee, is a joint select committee of the United States Congress, created by the Budget Control Act of 2011 on August 2, 2011...
charged with making budget adjustments by Congress, urging the 12 supercommittee members to "go big" toward the $4 trillion in savings the NCFRR had recommended v. the $1.2 trillion deficit reduction most discussed by the committee of congresspeople
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. Simpson and Bowles also warned that failure to reach some agreement "might result in another downgrade
Credit rating agency
A Credit rating agency is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves...
", though separately Moody’s said such failure alone would not result in a change in U.S. ratings, as the trigger would still result in $1.2 trillion in cuts. In that regard, Simpson and Bowles stated, "the only thing worse than failure by the committee to agree on savings would be removing the 'sequester' [or 'trigger'] mechanism for automatic cuts". Bowles said in verbal testimony that "[c]ollectively, I'm worried you're going to fail". NCFRR member Rivlin and former New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici
Pete Domenici
Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici is an American Republican politician, who served six terms as a United States Senator from New Mexico, from 1973 to 2009, the longest tenure in the state's history....
, separately, "said there is still time for supercommittee members to craft a 'grand bargain' to save at least $4 trillion over 10 years.... Rivlin and Domenici chaired the Bipartisan Policy Center
Bipartisan Policy Center
The is a non-profit organization that "drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue." Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell, "BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking...
’s debt reduction task force", which also made its recommendations on the issue in 2010.
See also
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 was federal law that was enacted by the 103rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It has also been referred to, unofficially, as the Deficit Reduction Act of 1993...
- Deficit Reduction ActDeficit Reduction ActDeficit Reduction Act may refer to various US legislation, including:# Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act# Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993# Deficit Reduction Act of 2005...
of various years - National Economic CommissionNational Economic CommissionThe National Economic Commission was failed bipartisan U.S. deficit reduction commission created by the U.S. Congress in December 1987....
of 1987 - United States Federal BudgetUnited States federal budgetThe Budget of the United States Government is the President's proposal to the U.S. Congress which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1. Congressional decisions are governed by rules and legislation regarding the federal budget process...
External links
- Official Site
- White House Announcement
- February 18th, 2010 President's Executive Order
- Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, Co-chairs, US Deficit Commission on Charlie RoseCharlie RoseCharles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
, November 16, 2010 (60:00 video) - Rep. Jan Schakowsky on the Deficit Commission Report on The Real News (TRNN), December 3, 2010 (video 5:14)