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Oct. 31, 2011 – 10:45 p.m.

Conservatives Wary of Deficit Compromise

By Richard E. Cohen, CQ Staff

Conservative House Republicans, some of them still unhappy about the outcome of the debt limit and discretionary spending showdowns, are expressing doubt that the joint deficit committee will produce anything they can support.

Many conservatives are urging like-minded colleagues to be prepared to resist whatever the joint committee may propose rather than support a deal likely to be blessed by many Senate Democrats and President Obama.

The unease among the majority’s rank and file compounds the challenge facing Speaker John A. Boehner and the Republican members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction as the panel attempts to produce a bipartisan plan to reduce deficit spending by at least $1.2 trillion.

GOP leaders knew when the joint committee was established last summer by the debt limit law (PL 112-25) that any agreement reached by the panel will be centrist in nature, and unlikely to win the support of those in the party’s right flank, especially among lawmakers who voted against the agreement that set up the process.

Since no one expects them to support the panel’s recommendations, the most conservative Republicans have relatively little ability to influence the joint committee’s direction. And the clout of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) has been weakened by controversy surrounding its chairman, Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who has kept a low profile since being criticized for working against the GOP leadership during the spending and deficit showdowns.

Those on the right flank of the House GOP appear united against any deficit reduction plan that includes revenue increases. Some would prefer that Republican leaders resist compromise with Democrats and the president, even though not enacting the joint committee’s recommendations would trigger discretionary spending cuts.

Conservatives view the potential automatic cuts, or budget sequester, as a lesser evil, even as they acknowledge that such an outcome would hit programs Republicans support as hard as those they oppose. Republican Policy Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., said that lawmakers may soon face “the $64,000 question of whether the budget sequester is worse.”

“We have backed ourselves into a corner with the defense cuts,” said Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, a leader of the 87 GOP freshmen.

Mulvaney said that Congress could revise or repeal the sequester, which under the debt limit law would take effect in January 2013. But he acknowledged that Republican leaders have shot down that idea, which would result in no additional deficit reduction.

The yearlong interval between the conclusion of the joint committee’s work and the sequester leaves open the possibility of revisiting the automatic spending cuts after next fall’s elections.

Many conservatives have been cool to the joint committee from the start — wary in part because it was initially proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. They also have objected to its unusual structure, which essentially gives veto power to either party.

Conservative grumbling grew louder when Republican leaders began holding listening sessions last month to gauge the sentiments of rank-and-file lawmakers.

Mulvaney said that some other House conservatives conditioned their August vote for the debt limit package on an understanding that the joint committee would produce a substantial proposal to reduce the deficit. “Many members who voted for the debt ceiling would be very unhappy, and we would lose the faith of the American people,” Mulvaney said of a meager proposal. “This would be the worst possible result for our party.”

Conservatives Wary of Deficit Compromise

Scott Garrett, R-N.J., chairman of the RSC’s budget and spending task force, points to the work of earlier budget commissions to support his view that the joint committee is unlikely to recommend the amount of spending cuts he considers necessary to reverse the deficit’s growth. Garrett voiced growing concern among conservatives that Congress is preparing to defer the most challenging decisions for another day. “It’s never good to keep kicking the can down the road,” he said.

Conservative Concerns

Mindful of conservative mistrust of the deficit committee and its substantial powers, Boehner has made sure that committee co-chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, regularly briefs conservatives about the panel’s work. Hensarling has held more frequent discussions with House conservatives than has Boehner, including presentations to the RSC at its weekly meetings.

“Jeb always gives me confidence. But he doesn’t control the outcome,” Garrett said.

As a past RSC chairman, a Boehner ally and the current Republican Conference chairman, Hensarling is well positioned to reach out to conservatives. Conservative lawmakers said that although they have received few details about the joint committee’s internal discussions, the briefings have made clear the negotiating position of House Republicans. “The members are giving 110 percent to get to a palatable — but not great — solution,” Garrett said.

But there is little doubt that the panel faces an uphill challenge in satisfying the most conservative lawmakers.

“Bad process makes bad policy,” said Tom McClintock, R-Calif. “The super-committee circumvents the constitutional separation of the two chambers of Congress. Twelve members will make a deal and drop it in our lap.”

McClintock said he would prefer that the House and Senate each produce a proposal and allow a conference committee to resolve the differences.

Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, pointed to the Senate as the major obstacle to deficit reduction. “My hope is in the House. My fear is in the Senate,” he said. “The House has done its work. I just don’t see a willingness in the Senate. Why should anything change?”

Chaffetz took the lead in adding a provision to the debt ceiling increase that calls for House and Senate votes by December on a constitutional amendment that would require a balanced federal budget under most circumstances. “I want a solution to our budget woes, not a deal,” he said, voicing concern that the joint committee’s plan may jeopardize support for a constitutional amendment. Along with Mulvaney, Garrett and McClintock, Chaffetz was among 66 Republicans who voted against clearing the debt limit package.

Conservatives have not, however, abandoned hope of influencing the joint committee. Garrett said he is working with other conservatives on a letter to the panel that will suggest spending cuts from a list of earlier proposals.

Republican leaders are urging conservatives to keep an open mind about the panel’s prospective action. “I encourage members to keep their powder dry,” Price said. “It matters what the product is. Members and the public are paying attention.”

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