Budget

Simpson-Bowles Could Get House Floor Vote

Brian Beutler | March 27, 2012, 11:50AM

House Speaker John Boehner with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the foreground.

Members of Congress from both parties like to lament the opportunity missed when President Obama didn't embrace the budget plan his deficit-reduction committee co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles unveiled last year.

They may have an opportunity to turn preening into action.

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Barack Obama

CHART: Don't Buy The GOP Hype On Obama Budget Deficits

Brian Beutler | February 15, 2012, 5:40AM

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden

Republicans have taken to describing President Obama's budget as "deficits built to last" -- a play on Obama's call for an economy built to last. The implication: hand the government over to us, and we'll rid the budget of this deficit scourge. Put aside for a moment that wiping out deficits too fast would be economically disastrous, leading to rocketing unemployment rates. The truth is there are plenty of budget proposals out there, including Paul Ryan's "Path To Prosperity," which was endorsed by nearly every Republican in Congress. And these also project significant deficits well into the future.

Of course, Obama's budget is very substantively different from Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity. Obama's would draw down deficits over the coming decade with a mix of proposed tax increases on high income earners and corporations, already enacted spending cuts, and additional cuts to health care spending and other programs. But it maintains the basic shape of the existing safety net over the long term. Ryan's calls for huge cuts to the safety net, for making Medicaid a block grant program, and, after a decade, for phasing out Medicare. But he proposes significant tax cuts at the same time.

And even with all that slashing, just what does that do to the projected deficit? The chart below tells you quite starkly:

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Alan Simpson

Super Committee Republicans Get Earful Over Loyalty To Grover Norquist

Brian Beutler | November 2, 2011, 12:30PM

Grover Norquist

While Super Committee Democrats are pressed to accept unpopular, and illiberal proposals like raising the Medicare eligibility age to 67 over several years, Republicans are under increasing pressure to cut Grover Norquist loose.

The well-funded anti-tax crusader has secured pledges from the vast majority of Republican members of Congress, including all six GOP members of the Super Committee, to never raise taxes on net. And that's the key reason the panel is deadlocked with just three weeks until its deadline.

Yesterday, at a public hearing, those six Republicans got an earful from one of their former colleagues -- retired Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY).

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Super Committee

Why All Of Washington Is Screaming "Go Big!" Into The Wind -- At Least For Now

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2011, 6:20AM

The new mantra in Washington is "Go Big!"

It started with Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles -- the co-chairs of President Obama's fiscal commission -- and is now on the lips of scores of members of Congress in both parties.

Joining about two dozen other senators Thursday, Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) urged the new deficit Super Committee "We're with you! Be brave! Be bold! Go Big!"

Even President Obama wants them to "Go Big!" -- he'll be sending Super Committee members a list of deficit reduction proposals that go way beyond the $1.5 trillion they're aiming for, and hopes to use those extra savings to finance his jobs bill.

But this isn't realistic if you listen to the members themselves, particularly Republicans.

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Super Committee

Over GOP Objections, Budget Hawks Say Super Committee Should 'Go Big'

Brian Beutler | September 13, 2011, 5:57AM

President Barack Obama President, with Erskine Bowles (left) and Sen. Alan Simpson (right.)

Democratic and Republican members of the joint deficit Super Committee will meet Tuesday for their first substantive meeting, which will examine the history and driver of the country's debt, and the risk it poses in the future.

It will be the committee's second meeting overall and its first since President Obama pushed the panel in his joint address to Congress to find significantly more than the $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction they're required to find, to finance a near-term jobs bill.

That pressure has some Republicans saying that Obama's needlessly complicated the committee's task -- finding $1.2 trillion in cuts, revenues and savings is hard enough! -- and members should keep their eyes on the more modest goal spelled out in the debt limit law.

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Jon Huntsman

Huntsman Debuts Jobs Plan: Tax Breaks For The Rich

Benjy Sarlin | August 31, 2011, 4:48PM

Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman is looking to reboot his flagging campaign with a new jobs plan, offering up a list of ideas to spur growth in a speech on Wednesday. But despite his recent breaks with party orthodoxy on issues like climate change, he stuck to the usual conservative line on revenue, putting tax breaks for the rich and corporations at the center of his proposal.

"I'm not running for president to promise solutions, I'm running to deliver solutions," he said, according to prepared remarks. "Some of my entitlement reforms come directly from the Paul Ryan Plan. Other solutions come from the Simpson-Bowles Commission - a bipartisan group that last year put forth some very sensible tax reforms."

Under Huntsman's proposal, the tax code would be simplified into three brackets of 8%, 14%, and 23%. In addition, the corporate tax rate would be lowered to 25%, and taxes on capital gains and dividends would be eliminated entirely.

Overall, however, the whole shift would be revenue neutral. How?

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Names Clyburn, Van Hollen, Becerra To Deficit Super Committee

Brian Beutler | August 11, 2011, 1:04PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

The roster's now complete. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has named her picks to the deficit Super Committee, and they're a familiar bunch: Reps Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Each of the three has served at her behest on different fiscal working groups in the recent past. All are loyal members, current or former, of her leadership team, all with fairly liberal voting records.

But here are a few caveats...

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Debt Ceiling

Pelosi: Boehner Was Supposed To Have 218 Votes For Debt Limit Deal

Brian Beutler | August 4, 2011, 3:10PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

In her most candid assessment to date, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Democrats should have fared better in the debt limit fight. And she was unable to defend the final deal from the suggestion that it will cost the country jobs.

But in a new wrinkle, she also said the deal was crafted with the expectation that Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) would be able to marshal a majority for the bill on his own -- a mark he fell far short of.

Pelosi convened a handful of new media reporters to discuss the Democrats' plans for legislative action on jobs. I asked whether she believed the new law, which will ultimately result in at least $2.1 trillion worth of austerity measures, would cost jobs, and if so, how many.

Her response is worth quoting in full.

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Tea Party

Freedomworks Launches Tea Party Budget Commission

Benjy Sarlin | June 27, 2011, 1:49PM

William Temple, Chairman of the Tea Party Founding Fathers

Budget commissions are all the rage right now, and Dick Armey's Freedomworks have put together a Tea Party-flavored panel of their own to try and mark down a specific legislative goals for the movement.

According to the group, the Tea Party Debt Commission is modeled the White House's own commission, led by Erksine Bowles and Alan Simpson, which recommended about $4 trillion in savings through cuts and revenue increases and drew support from Democratic and Republican Senators who are now trying to negotiate a similar deal amongst themselves. Rather than relying on a blue-ribbon gathering of economists, former budget officials, and retired lawmakers, however, the Tea Party version will consist of 18 local activists from 2012 swing states and focus on finding a consensus among the grassroots.

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Social Security

In Letter, House Dems Tell Obama To Leave Social Security Alone

Brian Beutler | April 12, 2011, 6:20PM

President Barack Obama

House Democrats just sent a letter to President Obama warning him not to cut Social Security as part of the deficit reduction program he'll outline Wednesday, or risk losing their support.

"As you know, 137 members of the United States Congress signed a letter last year opposing any cuts to Social Security Benefits, including raising the retirement age," write Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), in a letter obtained by TPM.

"The signatories also stated their opposition to any effort to privatize Social Security, in whole or in part... we believe that any discussion of long-term debt issues must consider the strong fiscal integrity of Social Security--which is prohibited by law from adding to the national budget deficit and will have built a $4.3 trillion surplus by 2023."

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Barack Obama

Obama, Van Hollen Back Bowles-Simpson As Counterpoint To Right-Wing GOP Budget

Brian Beutler | April 12, 2011, 11:50AM

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

The Republican opening bid in the fiscal war of 2011 is to dismantle Medicare and Medicaid, and to lower tax rates on the wealthiest Americans.

The Democrats, by contrast, will enter the sweepstakes with ... the Simpson-Bowles recommendations?

For the uninitiated, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles co-chaired the White House's fiscal commission, and personally recommended a series of conservative leaning policy proposals for reducing deficits and debt over the long-term. They floated their proposals after the commission itself was unable to reach a consensus. Among their proposals were reducing top tax rates and simplifying the system by eliminating loopholes and giveaways in the code.

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2012 elections

Spitzer Presses Pawlenty To Detail How He'd Cut Spending As President (VIDEO)

Jon Terbush | January 12, 2011, 1:04PM

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R), who is mulling a 2012 presidential bid, appeared on CNN's Parker-Spitzer last night and said he had the "fortitude" to get things done in Washington. Yet that purported fortitude was not on display when he was pressed to name how he'd address contentious spending issues.

"The country is going to have to look for a leader who's going to have an uncommon amount of fortitude," Pawlenty said. "Not just to flap their jaw out, not just to offer failed amendments, not just to give a speech, but to get it done."

However, when host Eliot Spitzer asked him repeatedly to show that fortitude by outlining how he'd deal with ballooning defense spending, Pawlenty offered few specifics good for only slim savings. Pawlenty embraced a proposal by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to peg DOD spending increases to inflation and to eliminate ineffective weapons programs for an estimated savings of $93 billion over five years, and suggested trimming the size underused military bases.

Spitzer then asked Pawlenty if he'd go further and support calls from several conservatives, including Obama's deficit panel co-chair Alan Simpson, who've said defense should shed $1 trillion over 10 years. Pawlenty said he would not.

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Fiscal Commission

FAIL: Fiscal Commission Adjourns Without Holding Official Vote

Brian Beutler | December 3, 2010, 11:12AM

The 18-Member Commission on Fiscal Responsibility, Sept. 29th, 2010

After weeks of tumultuous negotiations, the White House's fiscal commission adjourned today without agreement on a controversial plan to reduce deficits by slashing spending and lowering income tax rates.

Recognizing that they'd fail to meet the 14-vote threshold for passage, the 18-member commission ultimately did not take a final vote. However, members announced their positions ahead of today's final meeting, and in the end a majority -- according to Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), 11 in total -- claimed to support the proposal.

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Paul Ryan

Republican Paul Ryan Opposes White House Fiscal Commission Plan

Brian Beutler | December 2, 2010, 10:42AM

Paul Ryan

Incoming Budget Committee chairman -- and fiscal commission member -- Paul Ryan (R-WI) will not be voting for the White House Fiscal Commission's report, he told reporters at a breakfast roundtable hosted by the Christian Science Monitor today.

"Obviously I'm not going to vote for it," Ryan said. "I think I pretty much telegraphed that."

Ryan was at pains to praise the commission's chairmen, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, for their efforts, but ultimately criticized the plan dramatically -- in particular, he says, because it reinforces President Obama's health care law.

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Fiscal Commission

'Moment Of Truth'? Fiscal Commission Unveils Final Report

Brian Beutler | December 1, 2010, 9:41AM

The 18-Member Commission on Fiscal Responsibility, Sept. 29th, 2010

Below is a copy of the White House Fiscal Commission's final report, somewhat hilariously titled "Moment of Truth."

According to the panel's chairmen yesterday, today's deficit-reduction recommendations aren't dramatically different from those in their much-ballyhooed draft report: It still contains cuts to Social Security, and eliminates tax expenditures to broaden the tax base and dramatically flatten the system, making the top-bracket tax rates drop dramatically.

The commission was supposed to vote on a final package today, per the executive order President Obama signed when he created the commission. But dissent on the commission delayed the unveiling of these recommendations, so the vote will happen Friday.

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Fiscal Commission

Deficit Commission Stumbles Toward Finish Line

Brian Beutler | November 30, 2010, 6:06PM

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

After a series of events that a fiscal commission source called "strange," the chairmen of the White House panel announced today that they'll delay a vote on the final recommendations until Friday -- two days after December 1, when President Obama required the commission to wrap up their work.

The 18 members of the commission were scheduled to meet in open session yesterday. But with members still deeply at odds, and without a final draft in hand, that meeting was closed to the public at the last minute, leaving staffers and commissioners scratching their heads.

At a press conference today, the co-chairs of the commission -- Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles -- first claimed they'd met the deadline Obama set for them, then shrugged off the fact that they'd missed that deadline, and finally sought to reduce the already low expectations that a significant number of commissioners would vote for the final product.

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Debt Commission

Alan Simpson: 'Greediest Generation' Won't Leave Me Alone Over Debt Commission Report

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 24, 2010, 5:14PM

Alan Simpson

Pity poor Alan Simpson. Three weeks after he and fellow presidential debt commission co-chair Erskine Bowles tried to put a positive spin on their incredibly controversial prescription to balance the federal budget, Simpson is still taking heat from critics on both sides of the aisle.

"I've never had any nastier mail or [been in a] more difficult position in my life," Simpson told the Casper Star-Tribune in his homestate of Wyoming.

"Just vicious," Simpson said. "People I've known, relatives [saying], "'You son of a bitch. How could you do this?'"

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Alan Simpson

Alan Simpson: Deficit Plan Can Pass After Debt Limit 'Blood Bath'

Brian Beutler | November 19, 2010, 11:52AM

Alan Simpson

The Republican co-chair of the White House's fiscal commission predicted this morning that his controversial recommendations for reducing long-term deficits will have a real opportunity to become enacted next year, when the nation brushes up against its debt ceiling, and newly elected Republicans threaten to send the country into default.

"I can't wait for the blood bath in April," said Alan Simpson at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast roundtable with reporters this morning. "It won't matter whether two of us have signed this or 14 or 18. When debt limit time comes, they're going to look around and say, 'What in the hell do we do now? We've got guys who will not approve the debt limit extension unless we give 'em a piece of meat, real meat, off of this package.' And boy the bloodbath will be extraordinary."

Here's a primer on the coming legislative fight over raising the national debt limit.

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Deficit

CBS Poll: Most Americans Don't Care That Much About The Deficit

Jillian Rayfield | November 15, 2010, 5:57PM

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

For all the recent frenzy over reducing the deficit, a new poll by CBS News shows that only 4% of Americans consider it the biggest problem faced by the country.

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Barack Obama

Deficit Reduction Plan Would Imperil Health Care Reform, Economists Say

Brian Beutler | November 12, 2010, 8:34AM

President Barack Obama

President Obama has been studiously mum about the proposals laid out Wednesday by his fiscal commission's co-chairs, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. In fact, he urged critics of the report to hold their fire for now.

"Before anybody starts shooting down proposals, I think we need to listen, we need to gather up all the facts, I think we have to be straight with the American people," he said.

But would he be so blasé if he knew that the draft, as written, would require scrapping or destroying his signature health care law?

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Kent Conrad

Conrad Applauds Fiscal Commissioners' Controversial Recommendations (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | November 11, 2010, 10:34AM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Senate Democrats' top budget guy spoke supportively this morning of the controversial proposal unveiled yesterday by the chairmen of the White House's fiscal commission.

"I am going to vote for proposals that do as much as this does in terms of reducing the debt," Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) said on ABC. "There is no way of doing it that's not controversial and difficult... if some of us have to sacrifice a political career to get this country back on track, then so be it. It has to be done."

Conrad stopped short of fully endorsing the plan, but in a later appearance on MSNBC suggested he thinks it's generally on point. "From 30,000 feet I think they are going in the right direction," Conrad said.

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Fiscal Commission

Debt Commission Chairmen Seek To Head Off Leaks, Put Positive Spin On Report

Brian Beutler | November 10, 2010, 3:00PM

Alan Simpson

The White House's debt commission co-chairs were not planning on publicly releasing their preliminary recommendations, at least not in such a hurried fashion. But the commissioners' reactions to their eye-popping proposals weren't exactly positive. And so, concerned about potential leaks and negative press, the co-chairs decided to unveil it and get ahead of the spin, according to a source with knowledge of the proceedings.

In that regard, this afternoon's briefing was a bid to keep the commission and its work from unraveling precipitously -- to lay out their discussion document publicly, as a starting point from which members will have to work.

"This is not a package that I could support," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) -- one of the only progressives on the panel -- told Bloomberg during a break at the commission's private meeting this morning.

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Fiscal Commission

Fiscal Commission Co-Chairs Simpson And Bowles Release Eye-Popping Recommendations

Megan Carpentier | November 10, 2010, 1:30PM

President Barack Obama President, with Erskine Bowles (left) and Sen. Alan Simpson (right.)

The White House's fiscal commission's co-chairs, Erskine Bowles and former-Sen. Alan Simpson today released their draft recommendations on how to reduce the country's budget deficit. But while the deficit, writ large, proved a potent political issue during the election season, the tough medicine recommended by Bowles and Simpson is likely to be met with more than a few raised eyebrows.

Their recommendations are more or less a list of the third-rail issues of American politics, including cuts in the number of federal workers; increasing the costs of participating in veterans and military health care systems; increasing the age of Social Security eligibility; and major cuts in defense and foreign policy spending. They also encompass a range of tax system reforms that have been floated by many in Washington for years to little effect, including funding tax rates reductions by eliminating many beloved credits and deductions.

Some of the recommendations:

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Fiscal Commission

Breaking: Fiscal Commission Draft Report To Be Released This Afternoon

Brian Beutler | November 10, 2010, 12:25PM

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

This afternoon, the chairmen of the White House's fiscal commission -- officially, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform -- will unveil a draft of its recommendations for reducing budget deficits in the coming years, two sources tell me.

This is the "chairman's mark," authored by co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, which commission members agreed should be made public. The final report, representing recommendations to Congress, would require the assent of 14 of 18 members of the commission.

Over the last several months, members of the commission had reportedly been struggling to reach consensus on big ticket items including Social Security, Medicare and tax revenue.

We'll keep you posted about what made it into the draft.

Late update: This post has been modified since first published.

Social Security

1500 Tits For An A**: NOW Delivers Nipples To Alan Simpson

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2010, 12:53PM

The National Organization for Women had an unusual gift for Alan Simpson this morning. One thousand five hundred nipples. Or, as they termed it, "1500 Tits for an Ass."

Simpson, who co-chair's President Obama's deficit commission, regained notoriety this summer when he compared Social Security to a cow with 310 million tits. The milky metaphor was part of an angry email he sent to a critic -- Ashley Carson of the Older Women's League.

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Medicare

Republicans Dominate Medicare Discussions On White House Fiscal Commission

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2010, 10:40AM

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

The White House's fiscal commission has become a target for progressive activists in large part because a number of reports and public statements indicate that the panel will recommend benefit cuts to Social Security. Most of the backlash has come from critics calling on the commission's co-chair, Republican Alan Simpson, to resign over controversial public statements he's made about the popular program.

But the commissioners are also grappling with another sensitive entitlement program: Medicare. For a number of reasons, the commission is farther from consensus on Medicare than it is on Social Security: Medicare is a more unwieldy program; the commissioners differ wildly on how to prevent its soaring costs from bankrupting the government; and members have already had a working group meeting dedicated to Social Security in isolation. But the ideological conservatism of the Republicans on the commission -- and, indeed, of the commission as a whole -- combined with Democratic fatigue over health care reform mean that the center of gravity of discussions is tilted to the right.

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Social Security

House Democrats To Obama: No Cuts To Social Security

Brian Beutler | September 2, 2010, 3:38PM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Democrats led by Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Raul Grijalva are drawing a line in the sand before the White House's fiscal commission: If your report recommends cuts or other changes to Social Security, they will say, you'll lose our support.

In a letter to be sent to President Obama, obtained by TPM, House Democrats will pledge to vote against any legislation based on the commission's report unless Social Security is taken off the table.

"We oppose any cuts to Social Security benefits, including raising the retirement age," the letter reads. "We also oppose any effort to privatize Social Security, in whole or in part.... If any of the Commission's recommendations cut or diminish Social Security in any way, we will stand firmly against them."

The effort is intended to tie the commission's hands, at least on this issue.

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Veterans

Vet Group Calls On Obama To Fire Alan Simpson

Brian Beutler | September 2, 2010, 12:36PM

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

In a letter to President Obama, Vote Vets chairman John Soltz demands that Alan Simpson lose his job as co-chair of the White House's fiscal commission. Key quote:

"[O]n Tuesday, Senator Simpson actually put veteran's benefits on the chopping block...blaming disabled veterans for the country's fiscal situation. And for us, that is the final straw," Soltz wrote. "We ask that you remove him from his current position so that the commission can continue its work in a way that will give the military community--and all Americans--confidence in the conclusions it reaches."

This week, citing a program that covers veterans exposed to Agent Orange for diabetes testing and treatment, Simpson said, "The irony (is) that the veterans who saved this country are now, in a way, not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters this week that Simpson will stay on the commission.

You can read the entire letter below the fold.

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Alan Simpson

Simpson: Veterans 'Not Helping Us' Save Country From Debt

Brian Beutler | September 1, 2010, 9:22AM

National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility co-chairman Alan Simpson

If Social Security is "a cow with 310 million tits" then what's the proper metaphor for veteran's benefits? We don't know. But Alan Simpson seems to think they're too expensive. Or too overused. Or something. Anyway, it's bad.

"The irony (is) that the veterans who saved this country are now, in a way, not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess," said Alan Simpson, co-chair of the White House's fiscal commission, according to the Associated Press.

Simpson was referring specifically to the disability benefits the Department of Veterans Affairs dispenses to Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange.

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Social Security

Gibbs: Despite Titgate, Simpson 'Will Continue To Serve' On Debt Commission

Brian Beutler | August 30, 2010, 3:52PM

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

Progressive activists have one more reason to be dissatisfied with the White House. A growing coalition of groups, along with members of Congress and Congressional hopefuls, have called in recent days for Social Security foe Alan Simpson to be fired from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Today, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said it's not gonna happen.

"Senator Simpson sent an email that he's now apologized for," Gibbs said at the daily White House press briefing today. "We regret that he sent that email. We don't condone those comments. But Senator Simpson has and will continue to serve on the commission."

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Social Security

Meet The 18 People Who Could Determine The Fate Of Social Security

Brian Beutler | August 30, 2010, 11:55AM

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

Last week former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, who co-chairs the White House's fiscal commission, drew a storm of criticism for comparing Social Security to a "cow with 310 million tits." But Titgate isn't really about language. It's about both Simpson himself -- who has long viewed Social Security as a bloated program for spoiled old people -- and about the commission as a whole. Comprised of nine tax-averse Republicans and nine Democrats, many of whom have expressed support for Social Security changes in the past, the commission will almost certainly be biased toward benefit cuts, and away from raising taxes, when it presents its report on December 1. Below, the cast of characters who will be making the calls.

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Social Security

Tit's A Big Deal: Alan Simpson's Long History Of Advocating Social Security Cuts

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2010, 1:00PM

Alan Simpson, co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

When Alan Simpson stepped in it late Tuesday he probably didn't think he'd find himself on the receiving end of a barrage of criticism and calls for him to resign his position as co-chair of the White House's fiscal reform commission. After all, comparing Social Security to a "milk cow with 310 million tits" is inartful and inapt, but hardly a terminal offense.

Except Alan Simpson isn't just any old Social Security commentator, and progressives, say what they will, weren't really reacting to the analogy or the questionable language. They were reacting to Simpson himself, who's spent much of his life looking for ways to fundamentally alter (he would say "enhance", but most would say "cut") Social Security. To them, Simpson's criticism was a harbinger of how the 18-member commission will propose to change the most popular entitlement program in the country, and it raises the question, again, of why President Obama appointed him in the first place.

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Social Security

Simpson Apologizes For Comparing Social Security To Cow With 310 Million Tits

Brian Beutler | August 25, 2010, 3:41PM

National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility co-chairman Alan Simpson

In an email to Ashley Carson, the executive director of the Older Women's League, Alan Simpson has apologized for comparing Social Security to a cow with 310 million tits.

"I apologize for what I wrote," Simpson writes.

I can see that my remarks have caused you anguish, and that was not my intention. I certainly did not intend to diminish your hard work for the Older Women's League. I know you care deeply about strengthening Social Security, and so do I, just as deeply. I remember your testimony at our public hearing in June about the importance of retirement security for women. Over the last 40 years, I have had my size 15 feet in my mouth a time or two. To quote my old friend and colleague, Senator Lloyd Bentsen, when I make a mistake, "It's a doozy!"

Progressive groups have called on Simpson to resign, and the AARP has declared that Simpson's initial remarks undermine the credibility of the White House's commission on fiscal reform, which he co-chairs.

AARP

AARP: Simpson's Remarks Cross The Line, Undermine Confidence In Deficit Commission

Brian Beutler | August 25, 2010, 3:22PM

Alan Simpson, co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

The AARP -- one of the most influential advocacy groups in the country -- isn't taking too kindly to Alan Simpson's off color characterization of Social Security: "Senator Simpson's latest attack on Social Security is offensive for several reasons, particularly for belittling a bedrock program that is the foundation of family security for all generations," reads a statement from AARP Senior Vice President Drew Nannis.

The vast majority of the 310 million Americans he insulted - particularly 156 million women and younger Americans for whom the traditional pension will be a relic of history - don't have access to the type of traditional pension retirement security that Sen. Simpson has from his decades in Congress. Perhaps that's why his comments demonstrate a woeful disconnect from or disinterest in the challenges facing many American families for whom Social Security is literally a lifeline.

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Alan Simpson

Fiscal Commission Chair Simpson Goes After Another Critic In Social Security Debate

Brian Beutler | August 25, 2010, 1:37PM

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

You probably already know all about how Alan Simpson, co-chair of President Obama's commission on fiscal reform, compared Social Security to a "milk cow with 310 million tits" in an angry email to one of his critics. Well, it turns out he has a bit of a habit of hitting send before thinking.

Shortly after influential progressive economist, Dean Baker wrote this post at TPM Cafe, Simpson sent him an intemperate, condescending missive as well, seemingly unaware that one of Baker's main areas of expertise is Social Security.

"I only recently came across your column Alan Simpson: A Man Who intensely Wants to Cut Social Security," Simpson wrote. "If this is the way that you do your reporting, I would think that you would have damn few fans or readers! I'm not out to 'cut' anything. I'm out to stabilize the Social Security system and so, let me share with you what Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration shared with the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform on May 12, 2010."

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Social Security

Alan Simspon Calls Social Security 'Cow With 310 Million Tits,' Causes Uproar

Brian Beutler | August 25, 2010, 12:05PM

The progressive group Social Security Works is calling on Alan Simpson to resign as co-chair of the White House's Commission on Fiscal Reform for comparing the entitlement program to "a milk cow with 310 million tits."

"Alan Simpson's comments are offensive and sexist and clearly demonstrate that he is unfit to continue to lead the President's Fiscal Commission," says Eric Kingson, co-director of Social Security Works. "His comments not only show his true view of women and older Americans but also his disdain for the very program he claims he is trying to protect - Social Security. Social Security Works is demanding that he resign immediately. If he will not, the President must fire him. Alan Simpson has no business deciding the fate of hundreds of millions of Americans' retirement future. He should have no power over Social Security, which provides vital economic support to millions of children and people with disabilities, as well as seniors and their families."

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Debt Commission

Source: Debt Commission Fights Over Freezing Military Pay, Slashing Benefits

Brian Beutler | August 5, 2010, 2:30PM

President Barack Obama with Defense Secretary Robert Gates (left), and Navy Admiral Michael Mullen (right)

Republicans would like you to think that Democrats have sinister plans for the post-election lame duck session of Congress, and Democrats are at pains to insist otherwise. But the one winter initiative progressives fear most is being crafted off the Hill by the White House's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Though most of the commission's work occurs behind closed doors in small working groups, early reports indicate that the GOP's unwillingness to support any significant tax increases are pushing the group toward proposed entitlement slashes and larger budget cuts.

And while Americans might expect that the commission would look at all spending, some members are seemingly using their positions to advance professional interests. A source familiar with the proceedings of the working group on discretionary spending tells TPM that some commissioners, including one military contractor, would prefer to save money by freezing military pay and scaling back benefits, rather than by eliminating waste in defense contracting.

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Fiscal responsibility

Debt Commission Leaders: Everything -- Even New Health Care Law -- On Table For Cuts

Christina Bellantoni | April 26, 2010, 10:48AM

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

When President Obama's Debt Commission holds its first meeting Tuesday at 10 a.m. they will consider nothing too sacred to be examined for cuts -- even the new health care reform law, the leaders said.

Former Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles (D) and former Sen. Alan Simpson (R) said on "Fox News Sunday" they can't be limited if Obama really wants to make the tough choices to cut the deficit significantly.

Simpson said the commission will use "only" Congressional Budget Office figures and not use their own projections to estimate the future cost of Social Security and health care.

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Sunday Shows

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | April 23, 2010, 3:29PM

Austan Goolsbee, Chief Economist on the Economic Recovery Advisory Board

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: White House Economic Adviser Austan Goolsbee, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).

• CBS, Face The Nation: National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers.

• CNN, State Of The Union: Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI), Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

• Fox News Sunday: National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Co-Chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles.

• NBC, Meet The Press: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).