The White House released a statement yesterday (a rare Saturday news dump) expressing the President’s support for the Conrad-Gregg commission. This commission would create a bipartisan panel of equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats to make recommendations for reducing the deficit. Many fear that it would open a gateway to cutting entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. The rules governing the Conrad-Gregg commission are more problematic for their recommendations than even normal legislation. All recommendations would need the support of 14 out of the 18 commission members, and then the recommendations would go to the House and Senate. They would have to pass them with an up-or-down vote, but that vote would require a 3/5 supermajority to pass the Senate AND the House. In other words, this approach adds MORE minority veto points and obstacles than what already exists in our paralyzed Congress.
Nevertheless, such a commission would essentially take away lawmaking powers from the legislative branch, forcing them to contemplate deficit reduction legislation without being able to alter it through amendments. This just doesn’t seem like a smart approach to governing, and it could allow a pain caucus to sprout in Congress and force major slashes to safety net programs.
The Obama Administration comes pretty late to the table to support the Conrad-Gregg commission. Judd Gregg has already said he doesn’t have the votes for it, and the White House reportedly struck a deal this week to name a deficit panel via executive order (one which Republicans almost immediately opposed and denounced as a gimmick). Perhaps this endorsement is part of that deal, with the executive order tossed out as a back-up plan.
The statement is below. It at least adds some rhetorical flourish, reminding everyone that the deficit we face is almost entirely the responsibility of the Bush Administration, both in failing to pay for all of its domestic programs but also driving the economy into a ditch that required federal spending through stimulus.
The serious fiscal situation that our country faces reflects not only the severe economic downturn we inherited, but also years of failing to pay for new policies – including a new entitlement program and large tax cuts that most benefited the well-off and well-connected. The result was that the surpluses projected at the beginning of the last administration were transformed into trillions of dollars in deficits that threaten future job creation and economic growth.
These deficits did not happen overnight, and they won’t be solved overnight. We not only need to change how we pay for policies, but we also need to change how Washington works. The only way to solve our long-term fiscal challenge is to solve it together – Democrats and Republicans.
That’s why I strongly support legislation currently under consideration to create a bipartisan, fiscal commission to come up with a set of solutions to tackle our nation’s fiscal challenges – and call on Senators from both parties to vote for the creation of a statutory, bipartisan fiscal commission.
With tough choices made together, a commitment to pay for what we spend, and responsible stewardship of our economy, we will be able to lay the foundation for sustainable job creation and economic growth while restoring fiscal sustainability to our nation.
