The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction has already received more than 175,000 recommendations on how to find more than $1 trillion in savings, according to a Politico report.
Under the debt reduction plan, also known as the Budget Control Act, the committee is charged with finding $1.2-1.5 trillion in savings by Thanksgiving. Failure to submit the recommended savings or failure by Congress to enact the recommendations by that time will result in across-the-board automatic cuts, including a 2 percent cut in Medicare payments.
The suggested cuts come from think tanks, government committees, advocacy groups and public members and are just as diverse as their supporters, ranging from tax reform, Medicare and Medicaid cuts, pay freezes for federal employees and more.
Although the committee has been meeting behind closed doors, sources close to the discussions said the committee will also take a second look at the "Gang of Six" plan, according to a Reuters report. The proposal was introduced in July amid negotiations over a debt reduction plan. The Gang of Six plan, which was penned by a bipartisan group of senators, fell through the cracks and the Budget Control Act was passed just before the August deadline.
The Gang of Six bipartisan plan is estimated to close the country's deficit by nearly $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years and features a long list of sweeping measures, including deep cuts to the Medicare program, medical malpractice reform and limits to healthcare spending.
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Under the debt reduction plan, also known as the Budget Control Act, the committee is charged with finding $1.2-1.5 trillion in savings by Thanksgiving. Failure to submit the recommended savings or failure by Congress to enact the recommendations by that time will result in across-the-board automatic cuts, including a 2 percent cut in Medicare payments.
The suggested cuts come from think tanks, government committees, advocacy groups and public members and are just as diverse as their supporters, ranging from tax reform, Medicare and Medicaid cuts, pay freezes for federal employees and more.
Although the committee has been meeting behind closed doors, sources close to the discussions said the committee will also take a second look at the "Gang of Six" plan, according to a Reuters report. The proposal was introduced in July amid negotiations over a debt reduction plan. The Gang of Six plan, which was penned by a bipartisan group of senators, fell through the cracks and the Budget Control Act was passed just before the August deadline.
The Gang of Six bipartisan plan is estimated to close the country's deficit by nearly $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years and features a long list of sweeping measures, including deep cuts to the Medicare program, medical malpractice reform and limits to healthcare spending.
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AMA: Deficit Reduction Must Include Repeal of Sustainable Growth Rate