All 18 members of President Obama’s bipartisan commission on reducing the national debt have been named now that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday announced three Democratic lawmakers as her choices.
They are Representative John M. Spratt Jr. of South Carolina, a moderate Democrat who is chairman of the House Budget Committee; Representative Xavier Becerra of California, a liberal lieutenant of Ms. Pelosi who is vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and a member of the Budget and Ways and Means committees; and Representative Jan Schakowsky, a liberal from Illinois and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
In recent weeks, Ms. Pelosi was delayed in making her picks by her all-consuming push for passage of health insurance legislation. Since Mr. Obama established the fiscal commission by executive order more than a month ago, his co-chairmen — Erskine Bowles, the former Clinton White House chief of staff, and Alan K. Simpson, the former Republican senator from Wyoming — have been trying to get organized and have expressed mild irritation at the hold-ups.
They have tapped Bruce Reed, the former chief domestic policy adviser to former President Bill Clinton, to be executive director. He is expected to take a leave for the rest of the year from his post as chairman of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council. The debt commission has until Dec. 1 to make short-term and long-term recommendations for reducing the debt.
“Addressing the challenge of our national debt requires bold leadership and tough choices from members of both parties,” Ms. Pelosi said. “Our children and grandchildren are counting on us to chart an effective course toward responsible stewardship of the public purse.”
The Pelosi picks join six officials chosen by Mr. Obama, and three lawmakers each named by the Republican House and Senate leaders and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The panel has 10 Democrats and eight Republicans, but a requirement that 14 members support any recommendations it sends to Congress effectively gives the Republicans veto power.
Mr. Obama’s other four choices include Dave Cote, a Republican executive who is the head of Honeywell; Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union; Ann Fudge, a former executive at several corporations; and Alice Rivlin, a former vice chairwoman of the Federal Reserve and director of both the Congressional Budget Office and Mr. Clinton’s White House budget office.
The three Democratic senators are Kent Conrad of North Dakota, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee; Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the Senate majority whip.
The three Republican senators are Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, an unabashed obstructionist of many spending measures; Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, the senior Republican on the Budget committee; and Michael D. Crapo of Idaho, a member of the Budget and Finance committees.
The three Republican House members are Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, the senior Republican on the Budget committee; Dave Camp of Michigan, the ranking Republican on the Ways and Means panel; and Jeb Hensarling of Texas, a leader in the House’s ideologically conservative Republican Study Group.
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