Baucus takes on tough task

Montana’s Sen. Max Baucus sure has put himself out there again with his selection to the so-called deficit reduction “super committee,” a panel of six Democratic and six Republican lawmakers that will get plenty of attention in the months to come.

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Baucus had a leading role in the development and passage of Obamacare, at considerable political risk, and in joining this commission, his role will surely be scrutinized by many Montanans.

The committee’s task is to come up with at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction measures by the end of November. Hopefully It will not amount to an extension of the standoff leading to the debt ceiling deal, and the bipartisan committee can reach agreement.

Considering the massive size and expense of the federal government, $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years just doesn’t seem that far out of reach. Frankly, the committee should do even better than that.

As we recall, Rep. Eric Cantor has said that in recent negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden, about $3 trillion in spending reductions were identified. But those didn’t see the light of day, and neither did several deficit-reduction bills that were passed by the GOP-controlled House.

Democrats stiffly resisted significant spending cuts, while Republicans rejected any tax increases, and voila! Deadlock. One would think the subsequent downgrade of the nation’s AAA credit rating would have gotten the full attention of “super committee” members, particularly Sen. Baucus, to a degree that we can expect substantive, serious recommendations to the full Congress.

It is highly likely that the committee’s recommendations would then go through the same sawmill that previous deficit-reduction proposals have gone through. But this time around, there is incentive to act: If Congress doesn’t approve at least $1.2 trillion, that amount in federal spending will automatically be cut across the board.

There is a theory that those selected to the committee are powerful enough that they will have the influence to get enough of their colleagues on board to make serious headway on this continuing crisis. Depending on what the committee recommends, we hope that’s the case.