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No Time Extension for Deficit Committee

Time extension would require new law.

More time to deal with the budget deficit? Not without new legislation. A time extension for the committee tasked to reduce the budget deficit would be almost impossible, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday. It would require a new law. The so-called supercommittee, which seems to be dragging its feet, could not extend its own deadline, but could ask Congress to do so, said Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland on Wednesday. On Nov. 23, the committee must vote on a plan to reduce the budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. McConnell also said it would be in President Obama’s interest were the committee not to meet its deadline. “I’m now convinced that the president actually believes he would be benefited by the committee not succeeding, because it would step on his storyline that we can’t do anything on a bipartisan basis.”