New Friends and a Big Deal
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 8:50AM
In what could be considered an arranged political marriage, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) have the daunting task of leading efforts to find between $1.2 and $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. It’s hard to believe that the two co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction had never met before the committee assembled for the first time on September 7.
Handpicked by their respective caucus and party leaders, the two are like apples and oranges. Hensarling is a staunch conservative who has a strong record of fighting to end earmarks and reduce federal spending. Murray is his ideological opposite, standing firm on the importance of channeling federal dollars to specific projects. Ultimately, the two don’t have to agree or become best friends. They just have to steer the other 10 members toward an agreement that can pass the GOP-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate.
The pressure is on. Murray and Hensarling have approximately 10 weeks to produce a grand bargain, so most would prefer they forego forming a strong bond and focus solely on the task at hand. The so-called supercommittee must gather and study expert opinions, work out differences, craft a proposal, receive a score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and manage the politics to adopt a deficit reduction plan that trims at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade — all by November 23.