ANOTHER COMMISSION?….Lori Montgomery reports on a proposal for putting our country’s financial house in order after the stimulus bill is passed:
At the moment, discussions are focused on whether to name a special panel to make the difficult decisions that would be required to right the nation’s finances….The task force would wrestle with the details of Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and the tax code, and deliver a reform plan to Congress for a vote later this year.
Under the proposal, the task force’s recommendations could not be amended; the House and Senate would be required to accept or reject them without changes or additions, similar to the process lawmakers use to close military bases.
….”Some people have said we don’t need a commission. But you know and I know it’s never going to happen” without one, said Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), a longtime champion of overhauling the budget who is still smarting from Bush’s failure to push comprehensive tax reform.
Obama supports the idea (though apparently Nancy Pelosi doesn’t), and blue ribbon commissions are a long-time staple of Washington politics. So sure, something like this will probably happen. But does anyone really think that Congress will agree to a straight up-or-down vote on the recommendations with no chance to amend them? Never say never, but that sounds pretty unlikely to me.
