Sen. Warner to brief New Dems in House on Gang of Six plan

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) will brief members of the New Democrat Coalition on the Gang of Six deficit-reduction proposal Wednesday afternoon, a Democratic aide said, as the bipartisan Senate group begins the process of selling the House on its $3.7 trillion plan.

Warner is a member of the Gang of Six with close ties to the business-friendly House coalition, whose 43 members have sought to play a larger role in the debt-limit debate after the more conservative Blue Dog coalition was decimated in the 2010 elections.

Led by Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), the New Democrats have been meeting frequently to discuss the debt-limit talks, and the group’s leadership on Tuesday issued a statement endorsing an unspecified “grand bargain” to reduce long-term deficits and raise the debt ceiling. Given the coalition’s predisposition to a comprehensive agreement, it may be among the easiest factions in the House to sell on the Gang of Six plan.

One of its members, Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.), has already penned a letter along with GOP Rep. Frank Wolf (Va.) asking Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to bring the Gang of Six proposal to a House vote with any other legislation to raise the debt ceiling.

---