Admin. official: Obama to announce deficit panel similar to one Congress rejected
By Philip Elliott, APTuesday, February 16, 2010
Admin. official: Obama to appoint deficit panel
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order Thursday establishing a bipartisan deficit commission similar to one that Congress rejected.
A senior administration official says Obama would appoint former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senate Whip Alan Simpson as the co-chairs of the body.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the White House has not yet announced the details.
Obama had backed a congressional plan for a bipartisan panel that would study the issue for much of the year and, if 14 members agree, report a deficit-reduction blueprint after the November elections.
Lawmakers — including some of its original GOP champions — rejected that idea.
