Super-committee Seeks Public Input

Econintersect:  The co-chairs of the congressional Super-committee charged with coming up with a deficit cutting plan over the coming three months has announced they will seek public input.  According to the Los Angeles Times, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said they have been engaged in “serious discussions” over the logistics of creating the panel that has far-reaching authority to set federal budgets for the next decade.  Hensarling and Murray are shown in the caption photos.The Super-committee will be launching a web site that will provide a channel for the public to communicate.

From the LA Times:

“We have been working together to ensure that the committee we help build is given every opportunity to succeed,” Murray and Hensarling said in a joint statement. “We are confident that most Americans will agree that when building an organization from the ground-up with a short time-table for success, it’s important to get it right the first time.”

The committee has until Nov. 23 to recommend $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade through taxes, spending cuts or some combination. If a majority of the bipartisan 12-member panel agrees with the proposal, it would be presented to Congress for an up-or-down vote by Dec. 23.

Such tax and spending decisions have dogged Congress for years, but the committee faces increased pressure to shelve partisanship amid record deficits, jittery financial markets and a struggling economy.

Source:  Los Angeles Times

Hat tip to Jerrit Erickson.