“We continue to dangle the carrot of Social Security and Medicare,” said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.). “They’re not biting. All it does is call into question where our party stands on those issues.”
If a bare majority of the panel agrees on a debt-reduction plan, it would move through Congress with special procedural protections against any amendment or filibuster in the Senate. If the committee fails, across-the-board reductions will be triggered in January 2013 and fall heavily on the Pentagon. This has prompted House GOP leaders to begin a series of intense education sessions for rank-and-file lawmakers, urging them to support whatever deal the committee reaches, considering it better than the deep cuts to the national security budget.
According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the trigger would also endanger other fast-growing programs such as health care for veterans and Pell grants for college students.
With leaders in both parties now focusing on hitting the bare minimum of $1.2 trillion in savings, a bipartisan group of dozens of House members Republicans have emerged to push the supercommittee to aim much higher. With its letter expected to continue circulating Friday in search of more support, the bipartisan group is supporting cuts to discretionary programs and mandatory entitlements, as well as increased tax revenues.
“It’s a darn good start,” said Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), a moderate Democrat who signed the letter and often criticizes both parties for intransigence, said of the dozens of members who had signed on. “This is essentially the voice of the back bench--the cry of the country, before we’re doomed.”
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Staff writers Lori Montgomery and Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report.
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