–Senate Budget Chair Conrad: Simpson-Bowles Panel Trying Hard For Deal
–Budget Commission Needs Agreement With ‘Specifics’
–Prefers ‘Fundamental’ Tax Reform To Extend Bush Tax Cuts

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad
said Tuesday that it will be “very difficult” for the presidential
commission on deficit reduction chaired by Erskine Bowles and Alan
Simpson to reach an agreement on a sweeping deficit reduction plan.

But he added that an agreement by the panel would be an important
step toward getting American fiscal policy back on track and winning
confidence of global markets.

“This is a defining moment for the country,” he said at a briefing
on fiscal issues that was hosted by the Peterson Foundation.

Conrad is a member of the Bowles-Simpson panel and said the
deliberations of the panel have been serious and intense but have not
yet focused on the details of a package.

Conrad said it will be “very hard” to craft a plan supported by 14
of the 18 members — as is required by the executive order creating the
commission.

“I remain hopeful,” he said, adding “pressure is building to act.”

Conrad said he conferred with Bowles Monday but is not certain when
the panel will begin its final push to reach an agreement. The panel is
charged to issue its final report by Dec. 1.

Conrad said that the panel must go beyond a statement defining the
fiscal problem or offering a menu of options or a outlining a broad
framework.

“This situation requires specifics,” he said.

Conrad said that he doesn’t believe Congress will decide on the
fate of the Bush tax cuts until after the bipartisan panel concludes its
deliberations.

“Everything is connected,” he said.

Conrad said he could support a short-term extension of the Bush tax
cuts but believes it is much wiser for Congress to focus on “fundamental
tax reform” rather than a long term extension of the current code.

At the briefing, former Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete
Domenici said that a fiscal task force that he is co-chairing with
former White House budget director Alice Rivlin will release its report
next week.

He said a package that blends spending cuts with revenue increases
is needed to fix the nation’s bleak fiscal situation. “You’ve got to
have some of both,” he said.

Domenici said the U.S.’s deteriorating fiscal situation threatens
the American way of life as seriously as did World War II.

“This is war,” he said, adding that if a fiscal situation is not
found soon the U.S. will fall into “second class status.”

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

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