The Catfood Commission Is Back

Per Tiger Beat’s afternoon email thingie, it’s baaaaa-ack:

When congressional veterans hear the term “bipartisan commission,” they often dismiss it as a toothless group, one that makes recommendations lawmakers will inevitably ignore.

They’d be wrong to think that about the latest Republican-pushed fiscal commission, though. This one has bite — it would force the House and Senate to vote, without amendment or committee tweaks, on whatever bill the commission writes to shrink the national debt and keep Social Security and Medicare from insolvency. All the renewed chatter about cutting Social Security benefits is about this, the 25-page measure the House Budget Committee approved last week.

That’s why many Democrats are fiercely against it.

First I’ve heard of it, but oh, boy here comes the killjoy. Or would that be kill Joy?

Fiscal hawks are calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to add the plan to whatever government funding package materializes before the new March shutdown deadlines. Such a group would be charged with finding a way to thwart looming insolvency for Social Security and Medicare by either cutting spending, raising taxes, or both.

A Republican Commission. Gonna go out on a limb and guess they will cut spending and raise eligibility or privatize the whole damn thing. Republicans got donors to feed and bribes to accept.

read more