Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Statement from Co-Chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:00:01 EST

(Washington D.C.) – Today, the Co-Chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, Representative Jeb Hensarling and Senator Patty Murray, released the following statement.

"After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee’s deadline.

"Despite our inability to bridge the committee's significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation's fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve. We remain hopeful that Congress can build on this committee’s work and can find a way to tackle this issue in a way that works for the American people and our economy.

"We are deeply disappointed that we have been unable to come to a bipartisan deficit reduction agreement, but as we approach the uniquely American holiday of Thanksgiving, we want to express our appreciation to every member of this committee, each of whom came into the process committed to achieving a solution that has eluded many groups before us. Most importantly, we want to thank the American people for sharing thoughts and ideas and for providing support and good will as we worked to accomplish this difficult task.

"We would also like to thank our committee staff, in particular Staff Director Mark Prater and Deputy Staff Director Sarah Kuehl, as well as each committee member's staff for the tremendous work they contributed to this effort. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Douglas Elmendorf and Mr. Thomas Barthold and their teams at the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation, respectively, for the technical support they provided to the committee and its members."

Full Transcript

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:43:00 EST

Hearing - Overview of Previous Debt Proposals

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:00:01 EST

Panel Witnesses: Senator Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles, Senator Pete Domenici & Dr. Alice Rivlin

Video | Senator Murray's Statement | Representative Hensarling's Statement

Erskin Bowle and Senator Alan Simpson's Statement

Senator Pete Domenici and Dr. Alice Rivlin's Statement

Co-Chair, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:08:00 EST

“What I do believe we will hear from each of our witnesses is that America at least does indeed face a legitimate debt crisis. Not only are we operating on borrowed money, we are operating on borrowed time as well. In that vein, I never tire of reminding not only myself but the public and my colleagues that although we have a statutory goal to reduce the growth of the deficit over ten years by $1.5 trillion, backed up by a $1.2 trillion sequester should we fail, more importantly we have a statutory duty to proffer legislation that would significantly improve the nation?s long term fiscal balance.

“What could not be clearer is that unless we offer fundamental and structural reforms to our nation?s entitlement programs, especially health care, we will not only end up failing in our duty, we may fail our nation as well. Health care costs measured by GDP roughly have doubled since the time of my birth until I entered the workforce and have risen about two-thirds since then, and are growing at what all acknowledge to be an unsustainable rate. Every agency and think tank I am aware of, every academic study, shows that Medicare will go broke in 9-13 years.

“The president himself has said that, „the major driver of our long term liabilities, everybody here knows it, are Medicare and Medicaid, and our healthcare spending, nothing comes close.? I continue to agree with the president. Unfortunately, Social Security faces its problems as well, my children will likely put more money into Social Security than they take out; at best generational unfairness, at worst a form of generational theft.

“We have previously heard from the Congressional Budget Office that tax revenues upon the recovery of this economy will once again produce roughly 18.5 percent of GDP, we also know that there are many tax increases already built into current law. But spending, principally driven by our health care and retirement programs, is due to roughly double in size to 40 percent of GDP over the course of a generation from where it was just a few short years ago.

“Certainly we cannot tax our way out of this crisis, we cannot solve it by simply tinkering around the edges of our entitlement programs. For the sake of our economy, our jobs, our national security, and our children?s future, many people say it is time to „go big.? I agree, but „going big? is not merely measured by slowing the rate of growth of the deficit over the next ten years. „Going big? must be measured in solving the problem—in other words, fundamental and structural reforms of our entitlement programs, giving every American the opportunity for quality healthcare and quality retirement security at a cost that does not harm our jobs and diminish our children?s future.”

Co-Chair, Bipartisan Policy Center Debt Reduction Task Force — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:14:00 EST

Senator Murray, Representative Hensarling and Members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction , thank you for inviting us to testify on the enormous fiscal and economic challenges confronting our nation.

The testimony we have submitted summarizes more than one and a half years of deliberation by nineteen former senior policy makers ranging from former Democratic mayors of large cities to former governors, to former members of presidential cabinets. The Task Force represented a very diverse cross-section of the nation’s economic and political interests.

The United States faces two huge challenges: (1) accelerating growth and job creation and (2) reducing future deficits to stabilize the debt so that it is no longer growing faster than the economy. These objectives reinforce each other. Faster growth will reduce deficits, and stabilizing the debt will cut future interest rates, reduce uncertainty and enhance growth. This Committee, with its extraordinary powers, has both the opportunity and the obligation to address both challenges.

Co-Chair, Bipartisan Policy Center Debt Reduction Task Force — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:06:00 EST

Co-Chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:01:00 EST

Chairman Hensarling, Chairwoman Murray, members of the Committee, thank you for inviting us here today to discuss the recommendations of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and thank you for your continued hard work to improve our nation’s fiscal situation. We know, a little too well, how difficult your job is.

As Co-Chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, we spent more than half of 2010 studying the cold, hard facts concerning our nation’s fiscal situation, which you are undoubtedly over familiar with at this point. When asked why we did it, we originally said that it was for our 15 grandkids. However, the deeper we got into the numbers, the more dire we understood our Country's financial situation to be. And we quickly realized we were not doing this for our kids, much less our grandkids, we were doing it for all of us.

Full Statement

Co-Chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:50:00 EST

Full Statement

Co-Chair, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:45:00 EST

“Thank you Representative Hensarling. And I want to thank all of my colleagues, our witnesses, and members of the public joining us today.

“We have been working hard together for the past two months, but with twenty three days left to go until our deadline, and with even less time before we need to have a plan ready to be voted on—we are now entering the critical final phase of this process.

“And as we all know, the consequences of failure are unacceptable. The triggers that have been put in place would be devastating for our national defense and for middle class families and the most vulnerable Americans who depend on education, housing, and nutrition assistance for women and infants.

“Markets, ratings agencies, and businesses across the country are watching closely to see if Congress can solve this problem.

“And the American people are looking to us to break out of the gridlock and partisan rancor that has dominated D.C recently, and to deliver the kind of results they expect and deserve.

“That’s why members of this Committee have been clear: we need to find a way to come together around a bipartisan deal.

“So I believe it’s very appropriate that we are having this hearing, with these witnesses, as we move into the final few weeks.

“Before us we have Democrats and Republicans who were able to come together around big and balanced proposals that tackle some of the most difficult challenges facing our nation.

“The two groups went about it in slightly different ways, and I don’t agree with every piece of each plan—but they provide serious models for big and balanced bipartisan proposals.

“And as I know we will hear more about today—these proposals achieved bipartisan support and came together only because they were balanced, they included concessions from all sides, and they required all Americans to share in the sacrifices that this endeavor calls for.

“Neither of these bipartisan proposals included only spending cuts, and they didn’t simply address entitlements—or only raise revenue.

“They put everything on the table, they made the tough decisions—and because of that, they were able to put together balanced packages that garnered bipartisan support.

“So as this committee moves into the home stretch, hearing more about the importance of a balanced approach is going to be very helpful. Because as our witnesses today can address—a bipartisan deal isn’t possible if members refuse to come out from their partisan or ideological corners.

“It’s not enough for either side to simply say they want to reduce the deficit—now is the time when everyone needs to be putting some real skin in the game and offering serious compromises.

“Democrats have made clear we are prepared to do that. We’ve said we are very open to painful concessions and compromises if Republicans are as well—and we have put forward serious ideas that reflect this.

“But these concessions would only be made—and only considered—in the context of a balanced deal that doesn’t just fall on the middle class and most vulnerable Americans—but that requires big corporations and the wealthiest among us to share in the sacrifices.

“The American people realize this. They overwhelmingly support a balanced approach.

“Which is why this is the kind of deal every bipartisan group that has successfully tackled this issue has made—it’s the kind of deal I am looking forward to hearing more about from our witnesses today—and it’s the kind of deal I am hopeful every member of this committee is prepared to make.

“So again, I want to thank our witnesses for being here with us today to have this critical conversation. The bipartisan, balanced work you’ve done provides a strong foundation for this committee. And I look forward to hearing your testimony and asking some questions.”

Hearing - Overview of Previous Debt Proposals

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST

Members of the Committee held a hearing entitled “Overview of Previous Debt Proposals” on Tuesday, November 1 at 1:30 p.m. in 1100 Longworth (House Ways and Means Committee) House Office Building. Panel Witnesses: Senator Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles, Senator Pete Domenici & Dr. Alice Rivlin

Full Transcript

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:39:00 EST

Co-Chair, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:34:00 EST

“I thank the co-chair for yielding, and want to thank her again for her leadership on this committee and the spirit of negotiation that she brings.

“There is no such thing as an un-important hearing when it comes to dealing with our nation’s structural debt crisis, and certainly within our nation’s discretionary budget are contained many challenges and, frankly, many important priorities that have to be debated and negotiated. Not the least of which is what many view as the number one function of our federal government, and that is to protect us from all enemies foreign and domestic, and specifically our national defense budget which continues to shrink as a percentage of our economy, shrink as a percentage of our budget, as we continue to live in a dangerous world.

“When I look at the totality of our discretionary budget, I do again find some common ground with my co-chair. And again, although there is no such thing as an unimportant hearing or unimportant section of the budget, in many respects today we may be debating the ‘pennies, nickels and dimes’ in a debt crisis that is demanding ‘half dollars and dollar bills.’ There have been huge run-ups in our discretionary spending since the president has come to office. This is not the forum to debate the policies but I think the numbers speak for themselves: without the stimulus program the Commerce Department has increased from ’08 to ’10, 102.9 percent; without the stimulus, EPA has increased 35.7 percent; subtracting the stimulus, Housing and Urban Development has increased 22.2 percent; the State Department without the stimulus, up 132.2 percent, and the list goes on. Again, it is not at this forum to debate these particular polices, but it is important to note the numbers—that when these particular budgets are growing, the family budget which pays for federal budget has unfortunately contracted, and it is the family budget that has to pay for the federal budget.

“As an order of magnitude, we know that the discretionary spending of our nation is roughly 40 percent and shrinking, our entitlement spending is roughly 60 percent of the budget and growing. We know outside of interest payments on our national debt that our mandatory spending is principally driven by our health care and retirement programs, which are simultaneously starting to disserve their beneficiaries and driving the nation broke as they grow at 5 and 6 and 7 percent a year where unfortunately our nation, over the last few years, has actually seen negative economic growth.”

“So to put this in even a larger context, under the Budget Control Act, we collectively have a goal—a goal of $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, but we have a duty—a duty to provide recommendations in legislative language that will significantly improve the short-term and long-term fiscal imbalance of the federal government. Thus the challenge before us remains, that we must find quality health care solutions, quality retirement security solutions, for our nation at a cost that does not compromise our national security, does not compromise job growth and our economy, and does not mortgage our children’s future.

“Everything else we do, including dealing with the discretionary budget, will be helpful. Nothing else will solve the structural debt crisis or allow this committee to meet its statutory duty; only these reforms. And so prudent stewardship of our discretionary budget is going to be helpful. It alone cannot solve the crisis. It continues, though, to be an important matter. I look forward to hearing from our witness, and with that I will yield back, Madam Chair.”

Co-Chair, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:06:00 EST

“The Committee will come to order. First, I want to thank my co-chair Representative Hensarling, my fellow committee members, and Dr. Elmendorf for joining us today—as well as the members of the public here in person or watching at home.

“This committee has been working hard over the last few weeks to come together around a balanced and bipartisan plan to reduce the deficit and rein in the debt.

“We have received input from: our colleagues, standing House and Senate Committees, groups from around the country, and close to 185,000 members of the public through our website, deficitreduction.gov. And we continue our work today with a hearing on “Discretionary Outlays, Security and Non-Security.”

“I am glad we are talking about this today, because it’s important for us to understand how these pieces fit into our overall deficit and debt.

“Non-defense discretionary spending represents less than one-fifth of total federal spending. But listening to the debates here in D.C. over the last few months—you would think this small piece of the pie was a whole lot bigger.

“As I expect we’ll hear more about from Dr. Elmendorf today, Congress has gone back to this relatively small pot with cuts and spending caps again and again—while leaving many other pieces of the budget essentially untouched. Including the law that created this Joint Committee, which cut roughly $800 billion in discretionary spending.

“And all the focus on this one area is especially striking given that we are spending roughly the same on non-defense discretionary programs in 2011 as we did in 2001—while mandatory programs have increased, defense spending has increased, and revenues have plummeted.

“So as this committee works together toward a bipartisan plan to reduce the deficit, we need to keep in mind the cuts that have already been made, the role discretionary spending plays in our overall deficit and debt problem, and the impact irresponsible slashing could have on our economic recovery and middle class families across the country.

“Because as we all know—these aren’t just numbers on a page. They affect real people, in real ways.

“When food assistance for women and infants is cut—that means greater challenges for struggling families.

“When infrastructure investments are shelved—that means fewer jobs and more crumbling roads.

“And when research, education, and student loans are slashed—that means fewer opportunities for our businesses and the next generation of workers. Which is really no savings at all—since we end up paying for it in the future.

“So while we should certainly examine every piece of the budget to see where we can responsibly make additional cuts—it doesn’t make sense to simply keep slashing at one small part of the budget that disproportionally affects middle class families and the most vulnerable Americans.

“There needs to be balance.

“Today, Dr. Elmendorf will also be discussing discretionary security spending, which has grown significantly in the years since 9/11.

“This is an area where the stakes for our nation are high. From both a national security as well as a budgetary perspective—we need to get this right. And as many of my colleagues have noted over the past few weeks, it’s an area that would be hit especially hard if this Committee doesn’t come to a deal and we move to sequestration.

“So I’m looking forward to a robust conversation today with my colleagues and Dr. Elmendorf about these critical pieces of our federal budget.

“Before I turn it over to my co-chair, I just want to say that over the last few weeks this committee has been working hard to find common ground and a path toward a balanced and bipartisan plan that can pass through Congress and get signed into law.

“We aren’t there yet, but I’m confident we are making progress. And I’m hopeful we are moving quickly enough to meet our rapidly-approaching deadline.

“As I have said from the start, if this committee is going to work—and I believe it must—we all need to be willing to make some tough decisions and real compromises. I am willing to do that. And I know many of my colleagues are as well.

“Every day we hear more and more about what the effects of failure would be on our nation’s long-term fiscal health and creditworthiness. And over the next few weeks, it is going to be up to all of us to demonstrate to the American people that we can deliver the kind of results they expect and deserve.

“I would now like to recognize my co-chair, Representative Hensarling, for his opening statement.”

Dr. Douglas Elmendorf

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:21:00 EST

Discretionary Spending...

Hearing - Overview: Discretionary Outlays, Security and Non-Security

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST

Members of the Committee held a hearing entitled “Overview: Discretionary Outlays, Security and Non-Security” on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. in 216 Hart Senate Office Building. Dr. Doug Elmendorf, Director, Congressional Budget Office, Washington DC, testified.

Hearing - Overview: Discretionary Outlays, Security and Non-Security

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST

Members of the Committee held a hearing entitled “Overview: Discretionary Outlays, Security and Non-Security” on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. in 216 Hart Senate Office Building.

Dr. Doug Elmendorf, Director, Congressional Budget Office, Washington DC, testified.

Video | Senator Murray's Statement | Representative Hensarling's Statement

Dr. Elmendorf's Testimony

Full Transcript

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:25:00 EST

Full Transcript

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:45:00 EST

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:26:00 EST

Opening Statement...

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:19:00 EST

Opening Statement ...