–Panel Stays Quiet: Other Lawmakers, Press, Speculate Over Its Progress
–Deficit Panel To Hold Public Hearing Wednesday With CBO Chief
–Former GAO Chief Walker Says Panel Must Decide On Baseline First

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Those who are trying to follow the progress of
Congress’s new deficit reduction panel can be forgiven for being
confused.

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction has gone mostly
quiet in recent weeks, with its 12 members meeting in private sessions
and saying nothing of substance to reporters.

Rushing into this information vacuum are dozens of reporters who
are expected to file daily, sometimes hourly, updates on the progress of
the panel.

The result has been confusing to readers.

The New York Times, for example, ran a lengthy story Wednesday that
said the panel “has not gained much traction” and is still battling over
basic issues of scorekeeping and overall goals. The story said that
Republicans remain steadfast in opposing tax increases and that until
they move off this position, Democrats won’t even discuss entitlement
reform.

The next day, the Washington Post ran a very similar story that
emphasized the panel was faltering and has been unable to make any
tangible progress. “Debt Panel’s Lack of Progress Raises Alarm on Hill,”
blared the story’s headline.

But that same day, Politico ran a front page story that was
headlined, “Deficit Panel Starts To Show Signs of Life.” It began with
this lede: “The icy secretive Joint Select Committee on Deficit
Reduction is finally beginning to see a slight thaw.”

The story cited the panel’s decision to hold a hearing next week
with Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf as evidence of
some movement. Elmendorf will testify on discretionary spending trends
Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET.

The article also argued, with little supporting detail, that there
has been an intensification of back channel communications among key
lawmakers and greater congressional leadership interest in the panel.

CQ Today, in a Thursday story, said House Republican leaders have
begun to develop a plan for moving the final package that the deficit
panel constructs through the House–even though it remains unclear if
the committee will even reach an agreement.

“What we have,” says one former congressional staffer, “is a
classic Washington situation. Those who know what’s going on are keeping
their mouths shut. Those who have no idea about what is going on feel
totally free to speculate. And what we are hearing about now are their
speculations,” he said.

“So be very skeptical about what you are reading in the press,” he
added.

Stories and op-eds about the deficit panel are often full of advice
for what the committee should do.

For example, David Walker, the former Comptroller General, has an
essay in Friday’s Politico. He argues the panel must soon make critical
decisions about what baseline it uses when calculating the savings
generated by policy changes–and how large future budget deficits are
likely to be.

Walker said the panel should focus on three goals: meeting its
deficit reduction target, including policies to boost economic growth,
and beginning to make deficit reduction progress in 2012 and 2013.

Congress’s Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is charged
to submit a report to Congress by Nov. 23, 2011 that reduces the deficit
by between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion for the 2012 and 2021 period.

The final package, if one is agreed to by the majority of the
panel’s 12 members, must be voted on without amendment by the House and
Senate by Dec. 23, 2011.

If the panel fails to agree on a spending cut package or Congress
rejects its plan, a budget enforcement trigger would secure $1.2
trillion in budget savings through across-the-board cuts.

The cuts would be equally divided between defense and non-defense
programs but would exempt Social Security, Medicaid and low-income
programs.

Analysts have said that the deficit reduction panel needs to submit
its recommendations to the CBO by early November so the CBO can score
the package by Nov. 23.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic member of the panel, has said
the panel needs to secure an agreement in the next three weeks.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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