As mentioned in an NTU press release yesterday, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility finally released its official report. This was, of course, in addition to the Chairmen’s draft from three weeks ago. To recap: the commission was instructed to reduce the federal deficit to 3% of GDP. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The report would have lowered the deficit to 2.3% of GDP by 2015.” The plan did receive support from a majority of the panel, but it failed to win the 14 votes that would have virtually guaranteed Congressional action. Here is a breakdown of the vote:
Voting Yes: Chairmen Bowles and Simpson, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), Rep. John Spratt (D-SC), Dave Cote (Chairman and Chief Executive of Honeywell International, Inc.), Alice Rivlin (Former Director of CBO), and Ann Fudge (Former Chief Executive of Young & Rubicam Brands)
Voting No: Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
In terms of those Members of Congress voting NO, House Democrats said they opposed the report because of its Social Security overhaul; House Republicans said it didn’t do enough to combat health care spending; and Senator Max Baucus (the lone Senator in opposition) said “he could not support it because it demanded disproportionate sacrifices from rural Americans.” That’s from the WSJ, and I can only assume he’s referring to the elimination of agricultural subsidies - $10 billion through the year 2020.
NTU has called the report a “work in steady by limited progress.” The commission has made strides toward slimming federal expenditures, but there are other important reforms that have been left out. Go here to read a more detailed NTU analysis of the commission’s report.
The next question is whether or not Congress will take up the proposed plan. Senator Majority Leader Reid and House Speaker Pelosi vowed to hold floor votes if the report received 14 votes from the panel, which it did not, so its fate in either chamber remains uncertain.
It’s our hope that lawmakers have now seen, and perhaps better understand, the dire economic reality we face. As NTU Executive Vice President Pete Sepp so eloquently stated, “In the months ahead, policymakers will need to discover numerous moments of truth about deficit reduction, starting with the realization that there’s no substitute for honest spending restraint.”
Hey, Members of the 112th Congress, are you listening?