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Pelosi Names Three To Finalize Debt 'Super Committee'

The 12 members of the Debt "Super Committee" are now official, as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi named her three appointees Thursday. She chose Reps. James Clyburn of South Carolina, Xavier Becerra of California, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.

As reported here yesterday, the other nine members have already been chosen. Here's the panel's full lineup:

  • Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) - co-chair
  • Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI)
  • Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI)
  • Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) - co-chair
  • Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
  • Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
  • Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
  • Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)
  • Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
  • Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)
  • Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
  • Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
  • The special congressional committee has until Thanksgiving to come up with a plan to shave $1.2 trillion off the federal deficit over the next decade. If it fails to do so, automatic cuts will kick in.

    Announcing her picks, Pelosi told the AP, "We must achieve a 'grand bargain' that reduces the deficit by addressing our entire budget, while strengthening Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security."

    As the AP reports, "critics noted that none of the Senate's so-called Gang of Six, a bipartisan group of senators who proposed trillions inspending cuts and tax boosts this year, was named to the panel."

    Correction at 7 a.m. ET, Aug. 12: Baucus represents Montana. Earlier, the postal abbreviation we used with his name was Minnesota's. We've corrected the post.

    Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.