GOP Tax Expert Tapped To Lead The ‘Super Committee’
The selection of Mark Prater, who has served as chief tax counsel for Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee for nearly two decades, was announced in a joint statement by the panel's co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex. Many view his appointment as an encouraging sign that the deficit committee will produce a plan to control federal borrowing.
The Washington Post: GOP Tax Expert To Help Run Debt-Reduction 'Super Committee'
A veteran Senate GOP tax expert with long experience working across the aisle was tapped Tuesday to help run a powerful new congressional debt-reduction committee, buoying hopes that the panel would produce a plan to tame borrowing. … The announcement comes as the panel … gears up for its September debut. Created this summer as part of an epic battle to raise the legal limit on government borrowing, the 12-member panel must identify a plan by Thanksgiving to slice at least $1.2 trillion from projected borrowing over the next decade or risk triggering across-the-board cuts in January 2013 (Montgomery, 8/30).
The Wall Street Journal: GOP Tax Expert To Lead Deficit-Committee Staff
Part of the committee's preparation has been a review of recommendations made by other budget groups, such as the Bowles-Simpson bipartisan fiscal commission, which called for $4 trillion in deficit cuts over 10 years, and the ad hoc group of leaders convened by Vice President Joe Biden earlier this year. Some aides to committee members had expected the top staff post to be filled by someone without a party affiliation, such as a staffer from the Congressional Budget Office or Congressional Research Service. The Republican senators Mr. Prater works for on the Finance Committee have strongly opposed Democratic demands that any deficit-reduction deal include tax increases. But Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) said, "Mark has a proven track record of putting partisanship aside and reaching across the aisle to find balanced solutions — and that's exactly what this Joint Committee needs" (Hook, 8/31).
Los Angeles Times: Tax Counsel To Lead Staff Of Deficit 'Super Committee'
A veteran Senate Finance Committee GOP staffer has been named to the top spot on the bipartisan congressional "super committee" on deficit reduction, which is beginning to take shape with just 12 weeks to accomplish its ambitious budget-cutting goals. Every step of the creation of the 12-member panel is a political minefield in this hyper-partisan congressional era (Mascaro, 9/30).
