Assuming this debt ceiling bill actually passes, the next freak-out is going to be over the composition of the 12-member SuperCommittee that will be making recommendations for an additional $1.5 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade. Now, the obvious choices on the Democratic side are the chairmen and ranking members of the Budget Committees, the House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, plus someone from the leadership of both houses. That’s basically what went down with the Bowles-Simpson commission, although it had 18 members instead of twelve. In any case, here’s a likely lineup for the Super Committee:
Democrats
Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI)- ranking member of Way & Means
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)- ranking member of the Budget Committee
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC)- Minority Whip [or Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)- Vice-Chair of the House Democratic Caucus]
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)- Chairman of the Finance Committee
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)- Chairman of the Budget Committee
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)- Majority Leader Whip of the Senate
Republicans
Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI)- chairman of Ways & Means
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)- chairman of the Budget Committee
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)- Majority Leader of the House
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)- ranking member of the Budget Committee
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)- ranking member of the Finance Committee
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)- Minority Whip
That’s not a very encouraging line-up, is it? That’s why we should start asking for someone from the Progressive Caucus to sit on this committee.