Deficit Commission Braces for Marathon Public Hearing
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS,
Posted: June 29, 2010
The president’s deficit-reduction commission will hold a marathon hearing on Wednesday to hear from the public at large – or as close to the public as it gets in Washington. It remains unclear how many “real people,’’ as opposed to organized interest groups, will offer their views to the 18-member bipartisan panel. But about 90 individuals and representatives of advocacy groups have signed up. Each person is supposed to get the microphone for about four minutes, starting at 1 p.m. If they all show up, the hearing could run well into the evening.
You can watch the commission’s morning hearing and the afternoon public forum live. The meetings take place in room 608 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.
Until now, the commission has only heard from government policymakers and outside budget experts. Wednesday’s event is in part a substitute for field hearings around the country at which members of the public get a chance to express their views. The commission lacks both the funds and the time to hold such hearings. With a budget of only $500,000, the panel doesn’t pay any of its 18 members and those who live outside Washington (except for the co-chairs, Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles) have to pay their own way to meetings. As a result, Wednesday’s event is likely to be the only time the public at large will be able to voice concerns about how best to handle the government’s long-term debt problems.
The meeting will have plenty of clashing views. Business and conservative groups are expected to testify against using tax increases to narrow the deficit. Left-of-center groups are expected to call for protecting Social Security and Medicare. And the day is almost certain to include raucous disagreement between deficit hawks, who want to begin the belt-tightening now, and supporters of more stimulus spending who fear that the economy could slip into another recession.
The cacophony will include critics of the commission from both the right and the left. They include Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, who has accused Simpson of being a stealth supporter of higher taxes. And they include Roger Hickey, head of Campaign for America’s Future, who has accused the commission of being little more than a front for wealthy conservatives who want to dismantle programs for the poor and the elderly.
One extremely powerful group that will not be on hand is the AARP, the nation’s biggest association representing elderly people. AARP officials didn’t say why they decided against testifying, but the group has already fired off a warning shot against efforts to shore up the budget by cutting Social Security.
“Some in Washington want to reduce the deficit by cutting Social Security benefits,’’ warned John Rother, AARP’s executive vice president, in a recent statement. “But Social Security is itself vital to the economic security of most Americans today and future generations, and it hasn’t contributed a single dime to the current deficit. However, our members have been very clear that they do not want Social Security to be cut to reduce the deficit; in fact, enhancing Social Security’s solvency and adequacy is critically important and should be addressed sooner rather than later.
Mary Liz Burns, senior manager of media relations for the seniors’ group, said Tuesday that: “AARP will continue the public dialogue on Social Security and ways to protect and enhance the important benefits the program provides to millions of Americans. We use our publications and other channels regularly to hear from our members on the issue and to update them about the status of Social Security.”
The commission has until Dec. 1 to submit recommendations to the White House and Congress for reducing the deficit. Twelve of the 18 commissioners are senators or House members with tight schedules, so the idea of arranging a set of regional meetings around the country was dismissed as unrealistic. “With time constraints and getting members around, there’s no way to get them together in a smart way. So we decided to invite [the public] to come to us,” said Fred Baldassaro, a spokesman for the commission.
Eric Pianin contributed to this story.
Click here to read the previous Debt Watch post.