Republican leaders in the House and Senate Friday named the six members they would appoint to the deficit commission established by President Barack Obama.
The commission, which Obama created via executive order after the failure of the Senate to set up a legally binding panel, is composed of 10 Democrats and eight Republicans and will be co-chaired by former Clinton chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appointed the ranking GOP member of the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., to the panel along with Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a leading senate critic of earmarks, and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. "Americans are rightly concerned about the growth of government, while the rest of the country has been tightening their belts," McConnell said. "Sens. Gregg, Crapo, and Coburn are serious defenders of the taxpayer, and I am confident they will provide common sense recommendations to reduce Washington spending."
Gregg, who had favored establishing a commission by legislation that would force Congress to accept or approve its recommendations without change, said that while he had reservations he would nevertheless serve.
"Although I have reservations about the viability of this effort, the President's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is the only game in town," he said. "I will put forward my best effort to ensure that we produce a strong plan promoting fiscal solvency."
House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he was tapping "leading fiscal conservatives" Reps. Dave Camp, R-Mich., Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, for the panel.
Ryan, the ranking GOP member of the House Budget Committee, has emerged as one of the Republicans' most serious budget hawks, including releasing his own alternative budgets to the President and offering a plan that would cut the federal deficit by gradually phasing out Medicare.
Hensarling is also a former head of the coalition of the most conservative GOP members of the House, the Republican Study Committee, while Camp publically clashed with Obama over the issue of insurance mandates in health reform legislation at a recent summit convened by the White House.
"Our nation is in a fiscal crisis and our future depends on stopping the spending spree in Washington that is saddling our children and grandchildren with trillions of dollars in debt," Boehner said. "Dave Camp, Paul Ryan, and Jeb Hensarling know what it takes to address our long-term challenges while protecting taxpayers."
Some Washington observers Friday found it interesting that Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who is seen as one of the Republicans most open to working with Democrats, was not named to the panel.
The panel's recommendations, which are due to be submitted to Obama by December 1, must be approved by 14 of the 18 members.
Last month Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., named his top lieutenant, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to the panel along with the chairmen of the Finance and Budget Committees, Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has yet to name her appointees as has Obama for some of his remaining slots.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.