Sen. Jon Kyl
(R-Ariz.)
Continue ReadingThe Senate minority whip?s retirement next year frees him from the political pressures of a reelection bid. But Kyl, 69, a conservative stalwart, has already injected the supercommittee with what he called ?a dose of realism,? threatening to drop out if it pursues deeper cuts to defense programs. He?s played this role before. Along with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Kyl bolted the Biden-led deficit talks earlier this year when Democrats insisted on tax increases.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling
Co-chairman
(R-Texas)
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) turned to Hensarling, the House Republican Conference chairman and one of his top lieutenants, to co-chair the supercommittee. The five-term Dallas congressman did a previous stint on the Simpson-Bowles fiscal commission that failed to send a deficit package to Congress. While he?s proclaimed everything is on the table, Hensarling, 54, is a hard-line fiscal conservative who?s unlikely to do an about-face on new taxes or back off his calls for deep cuts to entitlements. ?I approach our task with a profound sense of urgency, high hopes and realistic expectations,? he said.
Sen. Pat Toomey
(R-Pa.)
The freshman?s appointment is a nod to the tea party, which propelled him into office last year. As a past president of the conservative Club for Growth, expect Toomey, 49, to be one of the deficit panel?s most vocal critics of tax increases. He voted against two bipartisan compromises this year that staved off a government shutdown and debt default and has said he?ll push his fellow members to go beyond its $1.5 trillion deficit-cutting goal. But Toomey has signaled he?s open to overhauling the tax code, giving some Democrats hope he?s interested in a deal.
Rep. Dave Camp
(R-Mich.)
Camp, 58, is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has authority over taxes and entitlement programs. He?s recently collaborated with his Senate counterpart, Montana Democrat and fellow supercommittee member Max Baucus, on ways to overhaul the tax code to create jobs and spur economic growth. With tax reform central to the new round of negotiations, their partnership will continue on the deficit-slashing committee.
Rep. Fred Upton
(R-Mich.)
Upton snagged the chairman slot on the Energy and Commerce Committee just last fall, but the 58-year-old Upton has served in the House for nearly a quarter century. He cut his teeth in the Reagan White House, working under then-Budget Director David Stockman, a former House member whose seat Upton later won. On key votes, he?s sided with GOP leadership over the tea party wing and is seen as the House Republican on the committee most likely to cut a bipartisan deal.
Sen. Rob Portman
(R-Ohio)
Portman has a thick r?sum? and budget expertise that belies his freshman title. After 12 years in the House, he served as President George W. Bush?s U.S. trade representative and budget director and advised top GOP leaders during the recent debt talks. While fiscally conservative, Portman, 55, is regarded by both parties as a pragmatist and has a record of working across the aisle on issues as diverse as energy efficiency and pension reform, signs he?ll likely be part of any bipartisan compromise that emerges. He opposes tax hikes but wants to close tax loopholes and end other special preferences so long as the revenue is used to lower overall rates.
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