The Commission to Study Deficits is Broke

"President Obama's bipartisan fiscal commission is operating on a shoestring budget and some panel members and lawmakers worry that it may run short of money.

"The 18-member commission faces the daunting challenge of coming up with proposals by Dec. 1 to tame the federal government's trillion-dollar budget deficit.  But the panel's own budget is only $500,000, barely enough to cover office rent and the salaries of four staff members.

"...Despite the seeming enormity of the commission's task, budget analysts say the panel doesn't need a huge staff because both the basic problems and the mix of possible solutions has been known for years...the Simpson-Bowles commission will eventually need to assess the impact of any potential proposals by running them through the complex budget modeling systems used in Congress and the executive branch."