A who's who of the debt supercommittee

First elected: 1990

Age: 58

Dave Camp was tapped last December to chair the House Ways and Means Committee, overseeing tax and entitlement policy. He has already been at work with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on tax reform issues as well as on a bipartisan agreement to move three long-pending trade deals through Congress, and he has placed the goal of comprehensive tax reform -- something the super committee may try to tackle -- high on his agenda. He also played a key role in drafting the 1996 welfare reform bill. He also served on the Bowles-Simpson commission, opposing its recommendations.

First elected: 1994

Age: 69

The Senate Minority Whip since 2008, he is close to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), respected by conservatives and a major supporter of defense spending. In addition to being the No. 2 GOP leader, he is a senior member of the Finance Committee and will be retiring after next year. He has deep knowledge on debt issues -- he served as a lead Republican negotiator on the issue over the summer, including participating in talks led by Vice President Biden. Kyl has signed a pledge pushed by Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform promising not to raise taxes. He served eight years in the House before winning his Senate seat.