Senate rejects task force to tackle deficit

WASHINGTON - The Senate Tuesday rejected a plan backed by President Barack Obama to create a bipartisan task force to tackle the federal deficit this year despite glaring new figures showing the enormity of the red-ink threat.

The special deficit panel would have attempted to produce a plan combining tax cuts and spending curbs that would have been voted on after the midterm elections. The measure went down because anti-tax Republicans joined with Democrats who were wary of being railroaded into cutting Social Security and Medicare.

The Senate vote to kill the deficit task force came just hours after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted a $1.35 trillion deficit for this year as the economy continues to slowly recover from the recession.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35077901/ns/politics/

Supporters actually garnered 53 votes for the plan co-sponsored by Gregg and Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D. But 60 votes were required under special floor rules. Thirty-six Democrats and independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut voted for the plan as did 16 Republicans.


Grover Norquist told the Republicans that if they voted for it they would be voting for a tax hike.

So much for bi-partisanship

as a means to cutting entitlements without anyone being able to point the finger at them directly.

It was a cowardly ploy right from the start.

will simply create the commission by Executive Order.