We have word from Talking Points Memo that the Cat Food Commission, aka the official deficit commission put together by President Obama, is slated to release its recommendations TODAY from the two chairmen. The vote for this final report draft isn't still scheduled for the full commission. Here's the story from TPMDC:
This afternoon, the chairmen of the White House's fiscal commission -- officially, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform -- will unveil a draft of its recommendations for reducing budget deficits in the coming years, two sources tell me.
This is the "chairman's mark," authored by co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, which commission members agreed should be made public. The final report, representing recommendations to Congress, would require the assent of 14 of 18 members of the commission. Over the last several months, members of the commission had reportedly been struggling to reach consensus on big ticket items including Social Security, Medicare and tax revenue.
Apparently the two chairmen of the deficit commission have decided to release their own draft report early, and the release was supported by the members of the commission. If the recommendations are to cut the deficit by cutting Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age, and paring back benefits, then we need to get ready immediately to start fighting to save Social Security right now even though it's a draft report released by Bowles and Simpson.
Here's where you can get started in helping push back against the deficit peacocks' desire to jeopardize our senior's retirement and the retirement of our children:
Take ACTION To Save Social Security!
UPDATE: It's apparently the Chairman's mark that's going to be released:
President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform -- the Erskine Bowles-Alan Simpson co-chaired debt commission -- will release it proposed recommendations within the hour, sources tell TPM. We're being told this is the "chairman's mark" -- not the final recommendations that will have to be voted upon by the commission. A press conference coming at 1 p.m. ET should give us a clearer picture.
UPDATE 2: Responses from members of the deficit commission:
"This is not a package that I could support," Representative Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, said during a break in a private meeting by the commission. She said any package able to win 14 votes on the panel would have to look "very different" from the options being discussed.
Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, called the plan a "starting point for the conversation." "We’re not going to have an up-or-down vote on this," said Durbin. "There are proposals in there that are painful. I told them I said there are things in here which inspire me and other things which I hate like the devil hates holy water. I’m not going to vote for those things."
Some Republicans also expressed skepticism that the report would survive in its current form. New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg called the plan a "starting point." Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas said "some of it I like, some of it disturbs me."
This draft report by the two chairmen of the Cat Food Commission isn't endorsed by the full commission board.
UPDATE 3: There's a live webstream of the press conference right now!
UPDATE 4: Here's a snippet from Sam Stein about what's in the report:
In the process of pursuing their reforms for Social Security and Medicare, the commission chairs are expected to suggest that the end result will be a 70 percent cut in benefits and 30 percent increase in revenues, according to the source familiar with the upcoming announcement.
"What a crazy proposal, what a crazy proposal," said a Democratic source briefed on the finding. "I expect that the White House is going to distance itself big-time from this, saying this is just the chairman not the commission."
UPDATE 5: Here are the recommendations by Bowles and Simpson. The report can be found here as well. Put in more info from TPMDC.
* Index the retirement age to longevity -- i.e., increase the retirement age to qualify for Social Security -- to age 69 by 2075.
* Index Social Security yearly increases to inflation rather than wages, which will generally mean lower cost of living increases and less money per average recipient.
* "Increase progressivity of benefit formula" -- i.e., means test part of Social Security benefits by 2050.
* Increase the Social Security contribution ceiling: while people only pay Social Security taxes on the first $106,800 of their wages today, that's only about 86% of the total potentially taxable wages. The co-chairs suggest raising the ceiling to capture 90% of wages.
* The co-chairs suggest capping both government expenditures and revenue at 21% of GDP eventually.
* Freeze federal worker wage increases through 2014; eliminate 200,000 federal jobs by 2020; and eliminate 250,000 federal non-defense contractor jobs by 2015.
* Establish co-pays in the VA medical system and change the co-pays and deductibles for military retirees that remain in that system.
* Eliminate NASA funding for commercial space flight.
* Require the Smithsonian museums to start charging entrance fees and raise fees at the national parks.
* Eliminate funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- which many conservatives suggested in the wake of the firing of former NPR contributor Juan Williams.
* Reduce farm subsidies by $3 billion per year.
And here's TPMDC's take on it:
The White House's fiscal commission's co-chairs, Erskine Bowles and former-Sen. Alan Simpson today released their draft recommendations on how to reduce the country's budget deficit. But while the deficit, writ large, proved a potent political issue during the election season, the tough medicine recommended by Bowles and Simpson is likely to be met with more than a few raised eyebrows.
Their recommendations are more or less a list of the third-rail issues of American politics, including cuts in the number of federal workers; increasing the costs of participating in veterans and military health care systems; increasing the age of Social Security eligibility; and major cuts in defense and foreign policy spending. They also encompass a range of tax system reforms that have been floated by many in Washington for years to little effect, including reducing tax rates by eliminating many beloved credits and deductions.
UPDATE 6: More cuts listed below:
* Reduce Congressional & White House budgets by 15 percent.
* Freeze federal salaries, bonuses, and other compensation at non-defense agencies for three years.
* Cap the number of federal political appointments at 2,000.
* Eliminate the Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools.
* Eliminate all earmarks.
* Reduce unnecessary printing costs.
* Reduce funding to the Smithsonian and the National Park Service and allow the programs to offset the reduction through fees.
* Cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, responds, and it's a pitch-perfect response:
Tucson, Ariz. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, today released the following statement on the presidential debt commission’s proposed budget plan:
"If the co-chairs of the deficit commission were dead set on gutting Social Security and Medicare from the beginning, they could have saved time and effort by releasing this proposal the day after the commission was formed. Instead, we have waited through nine months of backroom negotiations only to be told that the American people will have to tighten their belts another notch while defense spending continues to grow and corporate bonuses continue to expand.
The path this plan would set is not good for the public. Congress should be having a realistic, productive conversation right now about how to reduce our budget deficit and maintain a secure retirement system for those who have earned it. Instead, we’re debating a proposal from a commission dedicated to cutting crucial social programs and reducing corporate and upper-income taxes at the same time. This is not a recipe for a healthier American economy.
Real budget reform must begin by allowing the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of earners to expire, as they were always designed to do. This would reduce the debt by at least $680 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Department of the Treasury. The middle class has already been hit extremely hard by the ongoing economic downturn and the housing crisis. The last thing we should do is take more money out of their pockets in the name of a conservative tax cut agenda that favors the wealthy over the rest of us."
TPMDC has the WH's response. They're not commenting on the proposed cuts themselves:
"The President will wait until the bipartisan fiscal commission finishes its work before commenting. He respects the challenging task that the Co-Chairs and the Commissioners are undertaking and wants to give them space to work on it. These ideas, however, are only a step in the process towards coming up with a set of recommendations and the President looks forward to reviewing their final product early next month," said White House spokesperson, Bill Burton.