Republicans named a mix of partisans and pragmatists to the new congressional committee charged with striking a debt-cutting compromise. While members of both parties expressed urgency over controlling budget shortfalls, others were pessimistic that the bipartisan panel would overcome deep political divides. Here are five things to know about the panel and the challenges ahead:
What you need to know about the debt panel
1 Goal and consequences: With nine of the 12 members selected, Washington began calculating whether the chaotic financial markets could spur the panel to produce a bipartisan plan trimming $1.5 trillion from the government's debt over the coming decade. Failure -- a real possibility, considering GOP opposition to tax increases and Democratic hostility to cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits -- would trigger automatic spending cuts, equally drawn from security programs and those that benefit the middle class.
2 The timeline: The panel has until Thanksgiving to complete its work and send the plan to the House and Senate floors for fast-tracked votes by Dec. 23. Looming in the background is a presidential and congressional election year when the calendar flips to 2012. That will produce pressure on panel members that will be "pretty extreme" to follow party leaders' policies, said J. David Hoppe, a former Senate GOP aide.
3 Who's on the panel: Speaker John Boehner named Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas -- who will be GOP co-chairman -- and two Michigan Republicans, House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell named confidante and No. 2 Senate GOP leader Jon Kyl of Arizona and freshmen Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Rob Portman of Ohio. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has chosen Sens. Patty Murray of Washington -- who will be Democratic co-chair -- John Kerry of Massachusetts and Max Baucus of Montana. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is required to name three members by next week.
4 One will have to be won over: With the panel split evenly between the two parties, seven of the 12 members will have to approve a debt-cutting plan before it can be sent to Congress for votes. That means at least one lawmaker would have to agree to a plan backed by the opposite party.
5 How likely is that? Hensarling, a rising force among House Republicans, and Toomey, elected with Tea Party backing, are considered two of Congress' most conservative members and the least likely to budge on tax cuts. Kerry is a liberal who seems unlikely to consent to benefit cuts while Kyl, Murray and Hensarling are party leaders in their chambers. Kyl, is retiring in 2013, but he is a solid conservative. Baucus, Portman -- viewed as a possible vice presidential pick next year -- and Upton are widely viewed as among the more pragmatic lawmakers picked for the panel, but observers said it was hard to imagine them abandoning their parties on such a high-profile issue. "These are nine people who are there to protect established positions as they walk in the door," said Stanley Collender, a partner with Qorvis Communications and a former Democratic congressional budget aide.
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