When a "super committee" of just 12 U.S. House members and senators works out a plan to cut the federal budget deficit, South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn will be one of them. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi named him to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Thursday.
But the South Carolina Republican Party says Clyburn is the wrong choice for the committee. SC Republican Party Chairman Chad Connelly says, "He doesn't have any inclination of deficit reduction or spending reduction or cost reduction. He's been committed to liberal tax and spend policies his entire career. In fact, I was reading about him not too long ago and he's spent more on earmarks in the last six years than the entire South Carolina delegation combined. So it kind of tells you he's the wrong guy for the commission."
By November 23rd, the committee has to come up with at least $1.5 trillion in spending reductions over the next ten years. If members can't agree on a plan, or if they do agree but Congress doesn't approve those recommendations by December 23rd, automatic cuts in federal programs would kick in.
In a written statement after his appointment, Congressman Clyburn said, "Too often, the human side gets lost in the Washington debates about our nation's debt and deficits. I will seek to keep those interests on the table."
Meeting with reporters in Columbia Tuesday, two days before he was appointed, Clyburn talked about some of the changes he thinks need to happen. He says there shouldn't be cuts in programs like Medicaid and Social Security without the wealthiest Americans also making sacrifices.
"Every expert will tell you, if you ended the Bush tax cuts right now, the whole budget would be in balance in two years," he says. He says Congress should also close tax loopholes and make changes like ending tax subsidies to oil and gas companies that are making record profits.
He says ending tax cuts and closing loopholes are not tax increases. "I think that the worst thing that my Republican friends have ever visited upon the American people is the definition of loophole-closings being a tax increase," he says.
But Connelly says Clyburn's call for shared sacrifice is really just a call for more taxes.
The super committee consists of three Democrats and three Republicans from the House and three Democrats and three Republicans from the Senate.
Besides Clyburn, the members are: House Democrats Xavier Becerra of California and Chris Van Allen of Maryland; House Republicans Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Dave Camp and Fred Upton, both of Michigan; Senate Democrats Patty Murray of Washington, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Max Baucus of Montana; and Senate Republicans Jon Kyl of Arizona, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Rob Portman of Ohio.
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