By William Douglas and Daniel Lippman, The Sacramento Bee
WASHINGTON – Republican leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate appointed six conservative lawmakers Wednesday to the so-called super committee that’s charged with finding ways to trim the federal deficit by more than $ 1 trillion by year’s end.
The six, along with three Senate Democrats whom Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., tapped Tuesday, bring a diverse knowledge of fiscal affairs to a committee created as part of last week’s deal that allowed Congress to approve a measure to raise the federal debt ceiling.
But they also carry some fixed beliefs that may make reaching compromise on spending cuts and tax issues difficult. Three more Democrats, to be selected by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, are to be named to the panel by Tuesday.
The Republican senators whom Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., named to the panel are Jon Kyl of Arizona, Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania and Rob Portman of Ohio. Toomey and Portman are serving their first terms in the Senate.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, chose three experienced chairmen for the panel: Republican Conference Chair Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp of Michigan, and Energy and Commerce Chair Fred Upton of Michigan.
On Tuesday, Reid announced that Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Max Baucus of Montana and Patty Murray of Washington state were his supercommittee choices.
To read more, visit: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/11/3830109/gops-picks-on-panel-against-tax.html
