United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

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Background United States Congress • United States Senate • United States House of Representatives • United States Constitution • 113th United States Congress • 112th United States Congress

The United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the Supercommittee, was a joint and select committee of the U.S. Congress. It was established by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

This committee was decommissioned in 2012.

Leadership

112th Congress

The committee co-chairs in the 112th Congress were Jeb Hensarling (R) and Patty Murray (D).

Membership

2011-2012 (112th Congress)

Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction Members, 2011-2012
Democratic members (6)	Republican members (6)
• Patty Murray - Senate (Washington) Co-Chair	• Jeb Hensarling - House (Texas) Co-Chair
• Max Baucus - Senate (Montana)	• Dave Camp - House (Michigan)
• John Kerry - Senate (Massachusetts)	• Fred Upton - House (Michigan)
• Xavier Becerra - House (California)	• Pat Toomey - Senate (Pennsylvania)
• James Clyburn - House (South Carolina)	• Jon Kyl - Senate (Arizona)
• Chris Van Hollen - House (Maryland)	• Rob Portman - Senate (Ohio)

Conclusion

On November 21, 2011, the chairs of the committee issued the following statement, regarding the committee's failure to reach an ultimate bi-partisan plan.

"After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee’s deadline.

"Despite our inability to bridge the committee's significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation's fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve. We remain hopeful that Congress can build on this committee’s work and can find a way to tackle this issue in a way that works for the American people and our economy.

"We are deeply disappointed that we have been unable to come to a bipartisan deficit reduction agreement, but as we approach the uniquely American holiday of Thanksgiving, we want to express our appreciation to every member of this committee, each of whom came into the process committed to achieving a solution that has eluded many groups before us. Most importantly, we want to thank the American people for sharing thoughts and ideas and for providing support and good will as we worked to accomplish this difficult task.

"We would also like to thank our committee staff, in particular Staff Director Mark Prater and Deputy Staff Director Sarah Kuehl, as well as each committee member's staff for the tremendous work they contributed to this effort. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Douglas Elmendorf and Mr. Thomas Barthold and their teams at the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation, respectively, for the technical support they provided to the committee and its members."

Jurisdiction

According to the official but retired Congress website, the jurisdiction of the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction included the following:

1. Issuing a formal recommendation on how to reduce the deficit by at least $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.

See also

• U.S. Congress

External links

• Official (Retired) Committee Page