TPMDC Finance Committee
Chris Van Hollen
Dems Get A Boost For Super Committee Tax Bump
With less than a month before their November 23 deadline, Democrats on the deficit Super Committee are facing serious pushback from their Republican counterparts for proposing a broad deal that would reduce deficits by nearly $3 trillion -- including cuts to popular programs like Medicare -- because it also includes more than $1 trillion in new tax revenues, according to aides briefed on private negotiations.
Sources remain mum on the specifics of the cuts and taxes Dems have put forward. And they caution that most, but not all, of the Democrats on the panel support the push -- an effort to achieve multiple Republican votes for a plan modeled on the "grand bargain" President Obama tried to strike with John Boehner.
But they got some unexpected help from Congressional Budget Office director Doug Elmendorf who testified before the panel Wednesday. He cited analysis his office did about a year ago, which found that allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire would carry greater reward than risk -- that the hole they punch in the budget overwhelms the positive impact they have on productivity.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, CBO, Chris Van Hollen, Congressional Budget Office, Doug Elmendorf, Finance Committee, John Boehner, Max Baucus, Medicaid, Medicare, Super Committee, Taxes
Chuck Grassley
Snowe, Hatch Poised To Take Top GOP Slots On Major Committees In January
Republicans didn't pick up the Senate last week. But they did pick up six seats and will have several new members coming to town next year, which means the committees will be rejiggered -- and the leaders of those committees will play the biennial game of musical chairs.
According to top aides, the reshuffling won't be too dramatic this time around. On any particular committee, Democrats adhere to a seniority system to determine who moves up the ladder. Republicans let the members choose who gets the top spot.
With that in mind, here's one likely reshuffling scenario.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Blanche Lincoln, Chris Dodd, Chuck Grassley, David Vitter, Finance Committee, Kenya, Kit Bond, Olympia Snowe, Orrin Hatch, Patrick Leahy, Patty Murray, Tim Johnson, Tom Harkin
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