New Hampshire's outgoing U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg -- citing it as a "blueprint for action" -- has challenged the incoming Congress to support the bipartisan deficit commission recommendations to drive down the nation's debt.
The Republican lawmaker and noted deficit hawk was one of 18 members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which was created by President Barack Obama "to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run." The debt currently stands at about $13.8 trillion.
The commission's recommendations needed 14 votes in order for Congress to take them up as legislation in and up-or-down vote. But the vote fell short. Gregg was one of the 11 commission members to send the recommendations to Congress.
“Despite the fact that the Commission did not reach the 14 votes needed to send this plan to Congress for a vote, the majority of the Commission supported the plan. This was an essential step toward getting action on our out-of-control federal spending, deficits and debt," Gregg said in a statement.
The recommendations were received with skepticism by both the political right and the political left. Many Democrats described the recommendations as an assault on the middle class and the elderly. Some Republicans criticized it for not suggesting reversal of health care reform legislation.
The panel's proposal called for cutting $4 trillion from the budget over the next decade through 59 proposals broken down in six areas from tax and Social Security reforms to freezing discretionary spending and altering health care policy.
Read the full report (PDF) here.
Here are some of the highlights:
-- Enact tough discretionary spending caps;
-- Adopt the tax code rewrite originally suggested in February by Gregg and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that creates three tax brackets of 15 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent;
-- Increase the federal gas tax gradually by 15 cents beginning in 2013;
-- Pay doctors and other providers less, but improve efficiency and reward quality;
-- Adopt comprehensive tort reform, particularly comprehensive medical malpractice liability reform;
-- Reduce farm subsidies by $3 billion per year;
-- Increase retirement age by one month every two years after it reaches 67 under current law (retirement age would hit 69 in 2075).
Gregg, at first, took a wait and see attitude on the commission chairmen's recommendations. But came out in support when it came to a vote.
"I urge my colleagues to advance the Commission’s efforts in the next Congress, to have the courage to take bold steps to get our fiscal imbalance under control. Now is the time to govern, and the Commission has provided a blueprint for action," said Gregg.
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