Deficit panel begins fiscal fitness effort

WASHINGTON – The first meeting of the supercommittee on deficit reduction opened in outwardly bipartisan fashion, with members unanimously approving ground rules as it begins the daunting task of cutting federal deficits by $1.5 trillion by Thanksgiving.

That may be the only uncontested vote the 12-member panel takes in the months ahead.

Skeptics abound as the committee seeks to reach political consensus on bold reforms that other deficit-cutting efforts failed to achieve. The political math is simple: Republicans refuse new taxes and Democrats are unwilling to cut Medicare and other programs unless new revenue is part of the deal. With six Republicans and six Democrats, the panel could deadlock.

But members of the committee put their best foot forward at its opening meeting on Thursday. The co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, entered the hearing room together.

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was created from the deal Congress struck in August to raise the debt ceiling. It has until Nov. 23 to agree on a proposal to slash $1.5 trillion over 10 years or spending cuts to defense and domestic programs will be made starting in 2013.

Both sides want to avoid that outcome. The committee may need to unveil its package by the end of next month to ensure a full public airing of its proposal – a tight timeline, one member said.

“I sense an optimism we can succeed,” said Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate and a veteran of past efforts at deficit reduction.

But at a speech later in Washington to members of a conservative forum, Kyl threatened to quit. He said that he would not be part of any agreement that deeply cut the defense budget, his spokesman said.

Many economists and budget experts have said a mixed approach of new taxes and budget cuts, as President Barack Obama has proposed, is needed to stem the record deficits. Experts have also warned against sudden cuts that would weaken the already sluggish economy.

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, warned Thursday about cutting too much from the budget in the short term.

“There is ample room for debate about the appropriate size and role for the government in the longer term, but – in the absence of adequate demand from the private sector – a substantial fiscal consolidation in the shorter term could add to the headwinds facing economic growth and hiring,” Bernanke said in a speech at the Economic Club of Minnesota in Minneapolis.