–Retransmitting 15:25 ET Story, Correcting Coding
–Sen. Murray, Rep. Hensarling Say Little After Three Hour Session
–Rep. Van Hollen: Idea That Dems Don’t Want Deal Is ‘Total Nonsense’
–Rep. Van Hollen: Working Hard To Get An Agreement

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Congress’s Joint Select Committee on Deficit
Reduction met Tuesday afternoon for nearly three hours behind closed
doors and its members left the session in typically tight-lipped
fashion.

However, compared to the other members of the committee, Sen. Patty
Murray, the co-chair of the panel, was garrulous. She called it a
“constructive meeting.”

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the other co-chairman, said he “agreed” with
Murray’s assessment.

Most other members of the committee declined any comment.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget
Committee and a member of the deficit reduction panel, told reporters
that the idea that Democrats don’t want a deficit reduction agreement in
the so-called Supercommittee is “total nonsense.”

He said that members of the panel are meeting hard to reach an
agreement.

Congress’s Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is charged
to submit a report to Congress by Nov. 23, 2011 that reduces the deficit
by between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion for the 2012 and 2021 period.

The final package, if one is agreed to by the majority of the
panel’s 12 members, must be voted on without amendment by the House and
Senate by Dec. 23, 2011.

If the panel fails to agree on a spending cut package or Congress
rejects its plan, a budget enforcement trigger would secure $1.2
trillion in budget savings through across-the-board cuts.

The cuts would be equally divided between defense and non-defense
programs but would exempt Social Security, Medicaid and low-income
programs.

Budget experts have said the deficit reduction panel needs to
submit its recommendations to the Congressional Budget Office by early
November so it can score the package by Nov. 23.

The deficit reduction panel will hold a rare public meeting
Wednesday with CBO Director Doug Elmendorf.

Elmendorf will testify on discretionary spending trends at 10 a.m.

The deficit reduction panel has held only three public hearings so
far: its organizational meeting on Sept. 8, a budget overview hearing on
Sept. 13 with Elmendorf and a revenue overview on Sept. 22 with Thomas
Barthold, the chief of staff of Congress’s Joint Tax Committee.

The deficit reduction committee received a private briefing last
week from the members of a bipartisan group of senators who have
developed a far-reaching deficit reduction plan.

In the last several weeks, the 12-person panel has been meeting
several times a week in often lengthy private sessions. Members have
left those sessions tight-lipped, saying nothing that might provide a
hint about where the panel is headed.

Some Republican members of the panel, such as Sen. Jon Kyl, has
said the panel should focus on achieving the $1.2 trillion to $1.5
trillion deficit cutting goal.

Some lawmakers and outside groups have urged the panel to come up
with a $4 trillion deficit reduction plan over 10 years.

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

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