Federal Tax Report:
Deficit Reduction Commission Chairs Appointed
President Obama has issued an Executive Order creating an 18-member commission to provide recommendations on deficit reduction. The commission's task would be to put the US on a course to reduce the deficit to no more than 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Currently, the deficit is about 10% of GDP. The commission is to have 18 members, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Fourteen votes will be needed for any recommendation to be advanced. Recommendations are to be made to the President following the November midterm elections.

The Chairs for the commission are former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY-Ret.) and Erskine Bowles. Bowles was most recently president of the North Carolina University system. During the second Clinton Administration he was the White House Chief of Staff. He directed the project that put the government on course for a balanced budget. That budget resulted in the surplus that was in place by 2000. Congress is responsible for nominating most of the commission members. As yet, no appointments have been made.