–Panel’s Co-Chairs Brief Senate Majority Leader on Progress of Panel
–Sen. Reid: Debt Panel Should ‘Focus On Everything’
–Ex-Sen. Simpson: Annual Debt Service Payments Will Hit $1 Trillion
–Ex-White House’s Bowles: Panel Has ‘Good Opportunity’ To Craft Plan

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – The co-chairs of the National Commission on
Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, former senator Alan Simpson and former
White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles briefed Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid Wednesday, telling the Senate leader that they are determined
to work for bipartisan solutions to the nation’s huge fiscal challenge.

In a briefing outside of Reid’s Senate office, the Senate Majority
Leader said that he urged Bowles and Simpson to address the nation’s
fiscal challenges directly.

“The Commission should focus on everything,” Reid said. “This isn’t
going to be a fluff job … It’s not going to be easy.”

Reid said the recent surge of deficit spending in the U.S. is
regrettable, but was necessary to prevent a “world wide Depression.”

But he added the U.S.’s fiscal outlook is grim.

“It’s a crisis,” he said.

Simpson said the deficit reduction panel had a good meeting earlier
in the day, it’s second public meeting, and understands the urgency of
finding fiscal solutions.

Simpson said the U.S. is moving toward a situation in which annual
debt service payments of $1 trillion are on the horizon. The panel is
trying to educate the public and also build a consensus for a package
that can be brought before the House and Senate.

Bowles said the U.S. budget deficit is leading the nation toward
“the most predictable economic crisis in history.”

But he said he believes his panel can develop ideas that will help
turn around the nation’s economic mess. It is also imperative to explain
the “depths of our problems” to the American people.

“I think we got a real good opportunity,” he said.

President Barack Obama created the commission Feb. 18 by executive
order after an attempt by lawmakers to create a panel by statute failed
in the Senate.

The commission is charged to issue a report by Dec. 1 that would
cut the deficit to about 3% of gross domestic product by fiscal year
2015 and begin slowing the growth of debt over the long term.

In order for the panel to issue recommendations, 14 of the 18
members need to reach an agreement.

The commission includes the chairmen and ranking members of the
Senate and House Budget committees, the chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee, and a former White House budget director and vice chairman of
the Federal Reserve Board.

The panel includes some of the fiercest partisans of recent budget
battles, including five congressional Republicans who appear to believe
that tax increases should be off the table for fixing the U.S.’s fiscal
challenges and several Democrats who say all key social programs should
be kept off limits.

Analysts say it will be very difficult for this panel to reach an
agreement, but some hope the debate generates ideas that could be useful
in future budget deliberations.

In addition to the Bowles-Simpson commission, there are other
efforts underway to outline steps to shore up the nation’s weak fiscal
position.

The Pew-Peterson Commission on Budget Reform began working in
January 2009 and will continue to deliberate until December. The panel
of budget experts is trying to outline a bipartisan package of fiscal
changes to tackle massive budget deficits.

The Bipartisan Policy Center has created a fiscal task force that
will be chaired by former Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici
and former White House director Alice Rivlin.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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