CHAIRMEN

BILL FRENZEL JIM NUSSLE TIM PENNY CHARLIE STENHOLM

Democrats and Republicans Putting Out Ideas That Can Move Us Toward a Deal November 10, 2011
In recent weeks, Democrats and Republicans on the Super Committee have offered differing proposals for how the Super Committee could forge an agreement to achieve its $1.2 trillion savings mandate or more. Democrats have put forward a plan that would save about $2.3 trillion over ten years, while Republicans have offered a $1.5 trillion plan. Importantly, Republicans on the Committee have reportedly offered $300 billion in new revenues, while Democrats have put forth real savings in health care entitlements. It is encouraging to see that both Republicans and Democrats have been willing to put forth reforms that are the most difficult from where they sit, said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Democrats deserve a lot credit for proposing significant savings in health care entitlements, and Republicans deserve real credit for suggesting new revenues. The willingness of both sides to put on the table policies that ideally they might prefer to avoid shows a serious desire to compromise and bodes well for the Super Committee ultimately coming to a deal. While there is no one right set of policies, the experiences of past bipartisan efforts have shown that serious entitlement reforms must be at the center of a deal, tax reform is a desirable way to raise revenues, distributional impacts must be taken seriously, all parts of the budget must be on the table, and going big can actually improve the chances of success. The new proposals coming out of the Super Committee reflect many of these lessons. With the November 23 deadline approaching, this is when the negotiations become really difficult but it does appear that success is within reach, added MacGuineas. Given the ramifications of failure with businesses, investors, and credit markets watching these negotiations closely, it is critically important that they come to a deal. It is heartening to watch how hard members of the Super Committee are working to succeed, and lets hope that their stepping out of their comfort zone builds the environment where a deal can be reached.

PRESIDENT
MAYA MACGUINEAS

DIRECTORS
BARRY ANDERSON ROY ASH ERSKINE BOWLES CHARLES BOWSHER STEVE COLL DAN CRIPPEN VIC FAZIO WILLIS GRADISON WILLIAM GRAY, III WILLIAM HOAGLAND DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN JIM JONES LOU KERR JIM KOLBE JAMES MCINTYRE, JR. DAVID MINGE JUNE ONEILL PAUL ONEILL MARNE OBERNAUER, JR. RUDOLPH PENNER PETER PETERSON ROBERT REISCHAUER ALICE RIVLIN CHARLES ROBB MARTIN SABO ALAN K. SIMPSON JOHN SPRATT GENE STEUERLE DAVID STOCKMAN JOHN TANNER LAURA TYSON GEORGE VOINOVICH PAUL VOLCKER CAROL COX WAIT DAVID M. WALKER JOSEPH WRIGHT, JR.

SENIOR ADVISORS
ROBERT STRAUSS

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