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Jul 19, 2011

Gang Of Six Back From Near Death Experience -- With Undisclosed Social Security Plan

 From TPM Media:
President Obama likes it. A wide array of Senators, including influential conservative Tom Coburn (R-OK), have given it their blessings. Out of nowhere, the Gang of Six's bipartisan plan for addressing the country's fiscal imbalance has returned from legislative hinterlands -- and has become the only viable, publicly available framework by which Congress can make good on its supposed desire for a grand bargain on deficit reduction.
But according to an aide briefed on the Gang of Six's negotiations, the fledgling framework is still too new and incomplete to be included in a package to raise the debt limit before August 2nd -- and it's more likely to become the basis for a bigger-deal in the weeks and months ahead.
"It will play into getting us through August 2nd in absolutely no way," the aide said. ...
The plan would also address Social Security's long-term shortfalls, through undisclosed reforms, on a separate table, so that any cuts or revenues would be funneled back into the Social Security Trust Fund to keep it solvent.

4 comments:

  1. The talking heads I trust seem to believe the plan borrows heavily from Simpson-Bowles.

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  2. Obama jumped on this long-dormant plan solely to distract from the cut-cap-balance bill that passed the House today. It is an attempt to show that he has some semblance of leadership on the deficit-reduction issue, which is a complete joke. No one has discussed the Gang of Six for months, but he was desperate to keep the House from gaining the hign ground in the battle.

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  3. http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=190351

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  4. Meanwhile, Sen. Coburn has plans of his own for SSA: http://coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=4769bf89-7b00-429e-a020-79c43f33913a

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