Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

A committee created by the Budget Control Act of August, 2011, which is responsible for reducing the deficit by $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion, through increases in revenue or reductions in expenditures. The membership of the committee is split equally between Democrats and Republicans, and also between the Senate and the House (for identity of the members, see our commentary). Under the terms of the deficit reduction legislation, the joint committee is to release a report of its findings and legislative proposals, with Congressional Budget Office scoring, no later than November 23, 2011.