Aug 24 2011
With the work of the 'super committee' picking up steam, news outlets report on how, while back in their districts for the August recess, some of the panelists are hearing concerns about Medicare and other entitlement programs. Meanwhile, former GOP Senator John Danforth recollects his first-hand experiences with the politics of deficit-cutting commissions.
Politico: The Perils Of The Super Committee
The event is an early glimpse of what the 12 super committee members could face after they try to slice $1.2 trillion in spending this fall: they'll head home to sell their decisions to voters, many of whom are wary of losing Medicare and Social Security benefits, afraid of seeing their taxes increase - or will be peeved that Congress could not shift the fiscal trajectory of the country (Sherman, 8/23).
The Seattle Times: Groups Press Murray For 'Listening Session' On Committee Work
A coalition that includes many important Democratic Party backers is asking Sen. Patty Murray for a public "listening session" about her role on the debt-reduction "super committee." The groups, representing low-income, medical, labor and senior-citizen advocates, say they want Murray to hold a public session to hear their concerns about the future of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, according to a copy of their letter obtained by The Seattle Times (Brunner, 8/23).
Kaiser Health News: Danforth On Super Committee's Task: 'The Problem Is The Cost Of Health Care'
Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with Republican former Senator John Danforth about the politics of deficit-cutting commissions and what it will take to tackle the ballooning federal deficit (8/23).
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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When health insurance costs more than the mortgage