New Senate Debt Plan Emerges (with bipartisan support.. but will the House of Reps care?)

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

JULY 19, 2011, 1:29 P.M. ET

WASHINGTON—A surprise jolt of bipartisan support emerged Tuesday for a $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction plan that had been in development for months, though it was thought to be dead just several weeks ago.

Roughly half of the Senate's 100 members sat through an hour-long briefing on the plan, which was designed by a group of lawmakers known as the "Gang of Six" and would cut spending, overhaul entitlement programs such as Medicare, rework the tax code, and make significant changes to Social Security.

...

A key question remains whether the plan might receive any support in the House, where Republicans have strongly resisted any new proposal that could bring in new taxes. The gang's plan would bring in $1 trillion in new tax revenue over 10 years by narrowing several tax breaks. But Mr. Conrad said it would also lower tax rates and end the alternative minimum tax. He said the combination of tax changes would be viewed by budget experts as a $1.5 trillion tax cut.

"I think the vibe in the room was very positive," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.), who attended the meeting. "My first impression is that this is a very credible plan."

...

"In the next 24 hours, you are going to see a significant portion of the Senate come behind this, bipartisan," Mr. Coburn said.

Central parts of the plan would:

• Impose immediate spending cuts and caps that reduce the deficit by $500 billion over 10 years.

• Make changes to Social Security to make the program solvent over 75 years.

...

"No one is going to agree with every single thing in this plan," said Sen. Michael Bennet (D., Colo.). "There is no plan that everybody is going to agree with in its entirety. But this plan meets those broad tests and I hope that we can move it forward."

Sen. Mike Johanns (R., Neb.) said he's "become more and more convinced that this is the vehicle that gives us the best opportunity to deal with a whole range of issues. I'm excited about the possibilities here."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303661904576456042405686316.html?mod=e2fb

The $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction plan would come from roughly 74% spending cuts and 26% new taxes, Mr. Conrad said.

Not exactly the movers and the shakers in the Senate, are they.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Not exactly the movers and the shakers in the Senate, are they.

is that bad?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

is that bad?

We have seen this movie before. The film breaks before we see how it ends. The final solution will be hammered out behind closed doors by the leadership and the Whitehouse staff, with lots of gaps to be filled in after the legislation is signed by the President, much like the disastrous healthcare bill.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

We have seen this movie before. The film breaks before we see how it ends. The final solution will be hammered out behind closed doors by the leadership and the Whitehouse staff, with lots of gaps to be filled in after the legislation is signed by the President, much like the disastrous healthcare bill.

They should just sign this one

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Not exactly the movers and the shakers in the Senate, are they.

They have a vote, don't they?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I believe that rosy baseline projection is based on a rosy growth forecast - much better than 2 percent.

Much less rosy than the assumptions it took to make the Ryan plan's numbers work. That was the only bold thing about the Ryan plan, really - the assumptions that lead to the eventual deficit reduction in a few decades: 5% sustained economic growth and 2.4% sustained unemployment rates. You buy either of these? I've got bridges to sell.