Part of the recent deal to raise the federal government’s debt limit yet again was the appointment of a 12-member “super-committee” of Congress to find ways to cut up to $1.5 trillion from U.S. deficits over the next 10 years.
The committee must be named within two weeks. It will include six Democrats and six Republicans. Its recommendations must be presented to Congress by Nov. 23. Then Congress will have to vote up or down on the recommendations, or spending cuts will kick in automatically.
How the $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction will come about is unclear. Republicans want to cut out-of-control spending to begin to whittle away at our $14.3 trillion national debt. Democrats are pushing for big tax increases and some spending cuts.
“We’ve had too much talk [from] Republican leaders in the Senate saying there will be no revenue [meaning higher taxes]”, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. “That’s not going to happen.”
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, rightly countered, “The answer to this is not giving the government more money to spend.”