Senate Finance Republicans will make recommendations to deficit-reduction panel

Senate Finance Republicans will produce a series of recommendations for the new debt supercommittee to consider, the panel's leading Republican said Tuesday. 

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), ranking member of the committee, announced that Republicans will submit their ideas within the panel's jurisdiction to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction by Oct. 14.

“Finance Committee Republicans agreed that putting real deficit reduction ideas on the table is something that we should pursue,” Hatch said in a statement. 

Hatch made this decision after consulting with Republican members. 

“The deficit reduction committee is ultimately charged with finding over a trillion dollars in savings, but we still have the ability to provide constructive solutions and put forward creative ideas," he said. 

The 12-member bipartisan panel will aim to reduce the debt by $1.5 trillion. 

The supercommittee’s recommendations must be reported out by Nov. 23 and voted up or down in the House and Senate by Dec. 23. 

"That’s exactly what we’ll do, by carefully scrutinizing every program and agency that falls under the Finance Committee’s jurisdiction to bring our over $14.5 trillion debt under control," he said. 

Hatch cited the Budget Control Act of 2011 that permits congressional committees of jurisdiction to submit recommendations. The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, welfare and trade and tax policy.