Super Committee Braces For Failure, Preps For Fallout

Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a political showdown following the seemingly inevitable collapse of super committee negotiations.

Though the 12-member panel technically has until Wednesday to reach an agreement on a deficit-reduction package, a potential deal must first be reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office and be made available to the committee for two days prior to a vote, making Monday the effective deadline.

Democratic and Republican members of the super committee took to the airwaves over the weekend to prepare the nation and Congress with an approaching truth; the bipartisan, bicameral unit has failed to reach an agreement.

“From the Democratic side, it was the same thing. Raise taxes, pass the presidnet’s jobs bill, no entitlement reform,” said Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) on NBC’s “Meet the Press. “On the Republican side, you had the one true breakthrough and that was this new concept of tax reform which could generate revenue from upper brackets.”

Democratic Sen. Xavier Becerra (Calif.) countered on “Fox News Sunday,” arguing that the concession made by Republicans on revenues was of little significance.

“Remember, we have 1,400 multimillionaires in this country who didn’t pay a single bit of income taxes in 2009. Why should they escape participation when we’re akin seniors to help cover the costs of deficits… that the didn’t even cause?” he said.

Aides close to the negotiations admit that, as unlikely as it may be, a last minute deal could still make its way to the CBO before the end of the day.

“I’m at the table,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I want to solve this. I know Americans want us to solve this. I remain hopeful that someone on the other side will say, this is too important to fail.”

Despite the potential for a last ditch effort to reach an agreement, partisan finger pointing has already begun within the 12-member panel as Democrats blame Republicans for digging their heels in the ground on taxes and Republicans have charged Democrats with being unwilling to put entitlements on the table.

“On the other side, there was an insistence that we have a trillion-dollar tax increase [and] and unwillingness to cut any kind of spending at all unless there was a huge tax increase,” said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

If, in fact, the super committee does announce failure Monday, a series of automatic cuts would shed $1.2 trillion from the deficit over ten years which includes a big chunk from defense spending. Republicans will attempt to alter the required cuts so as to lessen the impact on the nation’s defense system, but according to reports, Democrats will block this move unless the GOP allows the Bush-era tax cuts to expire for the wealthiest Americans.

Boehner Downplays Norquist's Influence On GOP

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that the attitude surrounding the “super committee” and congressional leadership is “one of nervousness,” once again urging members of the 12-member panel to find common ground before a fast-approaching Thanksgiving deadline.

“I think the mood is one of nervousness,” Boehner told reporters during a Thursday press conference. “This is hard, and everybody knows it’s hard. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the work of all the members of the committee and their effort to try and come to an agreement. “

A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter Wednesday recommending that both entitlement cuts and new revenues be included in a grand bargain deal that would make a significant dent in the nation’s debt. The letter seemed to have instilled a sense of hope in Congress that a deal was not as improbable as many had thought.

However, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist offered his skepticism of 40 Republican signatures attached to the letter, saying “there’s nothing wrong with considering all options. Consider anything. Just don’t vote for a tax increase,” according to reports.

Norquist, who heads the group Americans for Tax Reform has collected signatures from nearly every Republican in Congress - including Boehner - pledging to oppose the inclusion of any tax increase in a potential “super committee” deal.

During his remarks, Boehner side-stepped questions regarding Norquist’s influence on the Republican conference. Boehner, who signed Norquist’s pledge opposing tax increases, referred to the anti-tax activist as “some random person” and shied away from acknowledging his clout among rank-and-file Republicans.

“Our focus here is on jobs. We’re getting everything we can to get our economy moving again and get people back to work. It’s not often I’m asked about some random person in America,” Boehner answered. “Our conference is opposed to tax hikes because we believe that tax hikes will hurt our economy and put Americans out of work.”