Crs Report for Congress

In the 111th Congress, Members have introduced several proposals to establish a commission that would make potentially far-reaching recommendations on how to address the federal government’s long-term fiscal situation. Generally speaking, the measures would include Members of Congress as some or most of a commission’s membership, provide for a majority of commission members to be appointed by congressional leaders, have varying degrees of partisan balance in membership, and require supermajority votes of commission members to approve recommendations. Each of the bills also would provide special legislative procedures to encourage expedited consideration of a commission’s recommendations. This report provides a comparative analysis of four fiscal commission proposals introduced in the 111th Congress that would address some, or all, aspects of the federal government’s long-term fiscal situation. The four proposals are S. 2853 (the “Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action Act of 2009,” sponsored by Senator Kent Conrad ); S. 1056 (the “SAFE Commission Act,” sponsored by Senator George Voinovich); H.R. 1557 (the “SAFE Commission Act,” sponsored by Representative Jim Cooper); and S. 276 (the “Social Security and Medicare Solvency Commission Act,” sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein). The report also discusses potential issues for Congress that may inform assessments whether the …