Obama Names Debt Commission Picks

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's four appointments to the bipartisan debt panel he established last week include the head of manufacturing giant Honeywell and a former top-ranking Federal Reserve official.

Obama on Friday named David Cote, chief executive officer at Honeywell International, and former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alice Rivlin to the panel. He also appointed Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, and Ann Fudge, the former chief executive officer of Young & Rubicam Brands.

"For far too long, Washington has avoided the tough choices necessary to solve our fiscal problems," Obama said in a statement announcing the new members. He thanked them for being willing to serve.

Obama established the panel last week to find a way to get the country's massive budget deficit under control. He named Democratic former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, as co-chairs, and gave himself the authority to appoint four additional members to the 18-person panel.

Republican and Democratic leaders can each appoint six additional members to the panel. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made his selections earlier in the week, naming Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois to the panel. The rest of the commission is yet to be named.

With the total federal debt next year expected to exceed $14 trillion – about $47,000 for every U.S. resident – the 18-member commission is charged with coming up with a plan by Dec. 1 to reduce the government's annual deficits to 3 percent of the national economy by 2015.

But the panel is a weak substitute for what Obama really wanted – a commission created by Congress that could force lawmakers to vote on remedies to reduce the debt. That proposal was defeated by lawmakers, leading Obama to use his executive powers to create a commission that can make recommendations to Congress, but can't require a vote.

Comments

[TahomaCam]

01:25 PM on 02/26/2010

I think it's good that Obama is actually doing something to try and reduce the national debt instead of adding to it with the stimulus package. The only problem I foresee is how are they going to regulate spending in order to decrees the debt. I mean what are they going to cut from the budget? Are they going to get rid of funding for companies that need it just to save some money? They should have people from the appropriations committee and financial committee on the debt committee in order to add experience. The best way to go would be to have half republicans and half democrats on the committee in order to have an equal representation that will balance out the spending cuts that might be made. All in all it seems like a good idea and could defiantly benefit the country.

[thefutureisnow]

10:00 PM on 03/22/2010

Oops, I found latest figure: Would you believe $2.5 trillion bucks has been "borrowed" by the government out of social security funds? Interest that's supposed to be paid from the gov't on those social securiy "loans"...$120 billion this year alone. But again, I repeat: The gov't. doesn't have the money to pay back the loans nor the interest unless it borrows from a foreign invester.

[thefutureisnow]

10:20 PM on 03/22/2010

What they're gonna go after: "Entitlements." Translate; Social security. A social security program that the gov't has borrowed heavily from, and now doesn't have the funds to pay back the money it borrowed from us.