Republican and Democratic Senators and House Members are calling for a fiscal commission to recommend solutions to the problem of skyrocketing federal debt and deficit. The proposed commission would include 16 members chosen by Congressional leadership – 12 lawmakers along with four outside experts. Its mission would be to recommend policies to stabilize the national debt at 100 percent of the economy by 2039 and achieve 75-year solvency for the federal trust funds. Recommendations receiving a majority vote by the commission, including two votes from each party, would receive expedited consideration in the Senate and House.

In the Senate, the proposal is embodied in S.4012, the Fiscal Commission Act, introduced by Sens. John Curtis (R-UT) and Angus King (I-ME). The measure has eight cosponsors from both sides of the aisle; Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Todd Young R-IN).

House-side, similar legislation (H.R. 3289) has been introduced by the leaders of the House Bipartisan Fiscal Forum, led by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), and supported by the House’s Problem Solvers Caucus. Historically, over the past few years more than 260 lawmakers have supported the idea of a fiscal commission.

Prospects: If Congress gets past its current partisan gridlock (unlikely this close to the November mid-term elections), the odds for enacting legislation to create a fiscal commission are decent. However, prospects for the commission succeeding in its mission are much less rosy. Previous commissions (e.g., the 2010 Simpson-Bowles Commission) failed to reach consensus on how to address the growing problem of the federal debt and deficit.

NAIFA Staff Contacts: Diane Boyle – Senior Vice President – Government Relations, at dboyle@naifa.org; Mike Hedge – Senior Director – Government Relations, at mhedge@naifa.org; or Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org