this is similar to the plan that alice rivlin -- we offered this plan. i believe there is a center- right coalition in the making. premium support is basically the same thing fedal employees and members of congress have. you get a list of guaranteed coverage options, which works like medicare advantage, plans that are pre selected by medicare competing against each other for our business as patients, and then medicare subsidizes are premium based on who we are. doing it that way, according to the actuaries, makes the program solvent and wipes out trillions of unfunded liability and keeps our debt load it is debt levels from getting out of control. it also helps us get at held inflation. that is a longer conversation, but i think it is the right way to go with reform. the alternative is command and control, price control from this on license board of 15 bureaucrats that or appointed next year. what the medicare actuary is telling us is that by the end of the decade, medicare will be merged ad rates lower than medicaid. they will start at 60 cents on the d

this is similar to the plan that alice rivlin -- we offered this plan. i believe there is a center- right coalition in the making. premium support is basically the same thi federal employees and members of congress have. you get a list of guaranteed coverage options, which works like medicare advantage, plans that are pre selected by medicare competing against each other for ourusiness as patients, and then medicare subsidizes are premium based on who we are. doing it that way, according to the actuaries, makes the program solvent and wipes out trillions of unfunded liability and keeps our debt load it is debt levels from getting out of control. it also helps us get at held inflation. that is a longer conversation, but i really think it is t right way to go with reform. the alternative is command and control, price control from this on license board of 15 reaucrats that or appointed next year. what the medice actuary is telling us is that by the end of the decade, medicare will be merged ad rates lower than medicaid. they will start at 60 cents on the do

but this is a two-part plan, led by alice rivlin, former budget office director, head of the omb under president clinton, that would also include a provision for future seniors to say in traditional fee-for-service medicare but use the power of patient choice and competition to save and strengthen the program. so we put that on the table as well. >> you do not sound like a man who believes you're going to get a deal in ten days. >> i wouldn't say that. listen, it's been a roller coaster ride. i will say this -- i respect my democratic colleagues. i have an excellent working relationship with senator patty murray. we haven't given up hope. but if this was easy, the president of the united states and the speaker of the house would have gotten it done themselves. >> so what about the revenue side? i know there's now -- what's on the table inside that committee in terms of revenue from the republican side? be they tax increases -- first, give me that figure. like in terms of actual tax increases, which democrats have said, look, you got to put some skin here in the game. how much are you a

you heard the warnings from alan simpson and bowles and alice rivlin and everybody else yesterday. what are the chances your committee will go big and come up with a bigger deal phased in down the road when the economy is stronger, but a big enough deal to, you know, impress markets, to try to set the economy on a better path, and to, of course, avoid the sequestration, the automatic cuts? >> and i yeah, for all the reasons you just mentioned and because we've seen examples of how you can go big, you can be bold and do it all by being balanced in your approach, we should follow the guidance offine bowles, former senator alan simpson, pete dmen chirks former senator and former budget director alice rivlin and go big and be bold and do it in a balanced way so that everybody in america knows they have a little skin in the game. everyone is putting little in to get a little out. >> what about the possibility of entitlements? a balanced approach would mean taxes, entitlements, defense cuts, and that would mean you'd have to be going up against your base, the democratic caucus, in this l

i will first asked alice rivlin, who we all know is one of the country's greatest economists and budget experts, to talk about where we stand. alice was part of two deficit reduction committees to set of proposals on where the country might go, which have been central to the debate, but have not yet produced the major we had hoped for. then bruce katz, who runs our metropolitan studies program, will speak. one of the things we do keep in mind is where do we need to invest, even as we are cutting? that is front and center of what bruce works on with his colleague, thinking about those areas of infrastructure, science, research, education, and those other areas where spending may be needed. at least we need to be careful about how we cut, if we are going to watch out for our country's long-term interest. then i will speak briefly as a panelist about the defense budget. then after a bit of the change, we will go to you. without further ado, i want to thank alice and burst for being here, as well as all of you. alice, give us a sense of how you feel on this monday morning, and more generall

. >> picking up on what senator coburn just said, this is from alice rivlin, who as you know, formerbo but was also on the national commission on fiscal responsibility. she's said in the "new york times" wednesday, "i fear the president is missing a huge opportunity for leadership at a crucial moment. president could greatly enhance the chances of such a bargain by getting visibly involved. it is not only the right thing to do, it is his only chance of getting his jobs program. has the president -- we have not seen the president a's fingerprints at all on the debt commission, not much on his jobs program, though he's been out campaigning. he's now with ten days left gone overseas to attend to his commander in chief duties and leader of the free world and all of that, but should he be more involved? >> i think we saw the president and the speaker try to weigh in at the end of the debt debacle in early august. it didn't end up producing a result. >> right. >> and we saw the president come forward saying he would support the gang of six. i do think with this president, whatever he comes

we're expecting that simpson and bowles and alice rivlin and the others are going to give some reallyeither stand up and deliver by november 23rd and don't let congress delay the sequestration if you don't deliver, or this country's going to be in really sad >> reporter: yeah, they're going to deliver a very serious message, andrea. as one aide told me, they're really going to tell the members of the super committee to drink their medicine and really realize the monumental task they have before them and what exactly it would mean if they were to fail. it's expected that bowles and simpson will essentially say today that failure is not an option, something we've heard a lot here on capitol hill, but specifically suggesting that an type of failure would lead to a huge credit downgrade, possibly, and really could reflect badly on congress and the future of the united states economy. however, moody's, the credit rating agency, did release a report today that said if the super committee would fail to reach that $1.5 trillion target they want to hit, it wouldn't necessarily be grounds for

reduction commission, erskine bowles and alan simpson, and the co-leaders of a separate task force, alice rivlin and pete domenici. bowles was chief of staff in the clinton white house. he and simpson want nearly $4 trillion in deficit cuts over the course of a decade. >> we didn't make $4 trillion up because the number four bus rode down the street. $4 trillion is not the maximum, it's not the ideal amount-- it is the minimum amount we need to stabilize debt. >> holman: rivlin was director of the office of management and budget in the clinton administration. she, too, urged the committee to set $4 trillion as a target. >> we must go well beyond the minimum charge of $1.2 trillion. even savings of this magnitude would leave the debt rising faster than the economy can grow. >> holman: on the republican side, former new mexico senator pete domenici called for the super-committee to tackle entitlement programs and tax reform. >> let me be blunt-- a plan that does not fundamentally restructure medicare and other health entitlements will fail to adequately address the debt crisis we face. both sides-

this is similar to the plan that alice rivlin -- we offered this plan. i believe there is a center- right coalition in the making. premium support is basically the same thing federal employees and members of congress have. you get a list of guaranteed coverage options, which works like medicare advantage, plans that are pre selected by medicare competing against each other for our business as patients, and then medicare subsidizes are premium based on who we are. doing it that way, according to the actuaries, makes the program solvent and wipes out trillions of unfunded liability and keeps our debt load it is debt levels from getting out of control. it also helps us get at held inflation. that is a longer conversation, but i really think it is the right way to go with reform. the alternative is command and control, price control from this on license board of 15 bureaucrats that or appointed next year. what the medicare actuary is telling us is that by the end of the decade, medicare will be merged ad rates lower than medicaid. they will start at 60 cents

guest: what i would like to see is something much like the alice rivlin-pete domenici task force imposedparticularly because i was on the task force. but the basic premise was to look at the tax expenditures, the exemptions, credits, and deductions, and severely cut back and eliminate a lot, maybe cut back on others. and it that way we would bring in more revenue and that would allow us to have lower rates and a simpler tax system that i think people would be less suspicious of. the big tax expenditures by the exclusion of employer-provided health insurance, the home mortgage deduction. it is not just corporate jets. we have to be realistic about that. these are entitlements as well. they run through the tax code but they are entitlements. they tend to benefit upper income people. so, you could do tax reform along the lines that i suggested that is progressive. we made sure in our plan thatthu would not want to continue to provide some support for, particularly on the savings side of the budget. we want to encourage people to save. on the other hand, a lot of saving incentives incentiviz

the way we like to proceed, get right to it, is that i will first ask alice rivlin who as all know is one of the country's great economists and budget experts, to talk about where we stand and he was about a year ago that alice was part to deficit reduction commission's laid out some proposals on whether country might go, that have been central to the debate we've had ever since but, of course, have not yet produced the major changes in our deficit picture that were hoped for. and after alice speaks for that, bruce katz the runs are metropolitan studies program will speak. and the court of the things we need to keep in mind in this whole conversation is where do we need to invest even as in general we are cutting. that's front and center of what bruce works on with his colleagues in the metropolitan studies program. think about those areas of infrastructure, science research, education and so forth that are crucial to economic recovery where more spending actually be needed, or at least won't have to be very careful about how we got if we're going to be watching out for our country lo

we are talking the former senators alan simpson and pete domini, ci, erskin bowles and alice rivlin. a clear message and dire predictions of what could happen if the committee fails. the message, you cannot fail. you need to go big and you need to go beyond the 1.2 trillion in deficit savings minimum that's required by law. listen here. >> i know most of you. i have worked closely with almost all of you on both sides of the aisle. i have great respect for each of you individually. but collectively i'm worried you're going to fail. fail the country. >> so this is the toughest thing you have ever been in or ever will be in without question, what you are doing. you have my deepest admiration and respect, all of you. and you all know what you have to do. in your gut you know what you have to do. >> now all four of the budget experts basically laid out to the committee. what we have heard from budget experts all along is that this committee in order to succeed in their view and stabilize the country's debt they have to take on the tough stuff. politically sensitive, difficult and charged

guest: our co-chairs were pete domenici of new mexico and alice rivlin, the founding director, vice chair of the federal reserve board and a bunch of other things. host: and the two of them will be testifying before the supercommittee, live coverage on c-span3 and c-span radio. danielle, republican, from ohio, last phone call here. caller: ok let's make this very quick and bust this bubble right here, right now. in 1944, the united states supreme court ruleded in helvering vs. davis; which is on the social security's webpage that social security is not and never has been a trust fund. it is not and never has been a retirement format. it is called nothing more and nothing less than an income tax which is paid into the u.s. treasury and to be spent by the congress on whatever they desire after it is paid into the treasury. you can shake your head no but it's right there on the supreme court webpage, it's there on the social security webpage. so for you to constantly sit there and say trust fund, is a myth at best, hypocritical at worst and a lie outright. host: let's get a response. guest:

host: alice rivlin and pete domenici also testified.ler: what happens to the social security that someone pays but they died before they can use it? guest: if the spouse is not there, then that money goes back into the treasury department. host: this headline in the "washington post." guest: i am sorry, it goes back into the social security fund. it says here, a quick agreement on spending priorities for the areas of government in the bill. then they passed a resolution -- guest: no substitute for passing a budget. when we were in control, we did not pass that budget in time because we could not get 60 votes in the senate to do anything. on the other hand, we need to adjust it. we will have the appropriations and we will debate on the floor today or tomorrow whether we can even have a program. as a reflection of this big huge debate going on, that is one issue that i feel relief enunciates the differences between the two parties. i would rather talk about the similarities. i believe that there are people in the republican party that sup

we will hear from former congressional budget office director alice rivlin.the brookings institution hosts this 90 minute discussion. >> we are talking today about the nation's fiscal future and when i last saw a lot of you in this room, it was probably august. it was a happier day. we had dreams of the redskins in the superbowl and we had dreams in washington and the country of a balanced federal budget and the super committee that might come to the rescue and give us great holiday cheer, before christmas when the congress would pass at the school renewal bill. it doesn't appear that any of that is happening, so we are here to talk about what happens next. i am sure the prospects for any small sliver of hope that the super committee may still be grasping onto may come up in conversation, but i suspect we may be talking more about what happens next, assuming the failure of this group to produce a bill that the congress can pass. therefore, the likelihood of a sequestration and all that follows there after at the automatic spending cuts kick in and we think of

yesterday with alice rivlin wheat covered a panel at the brookings institution where health care and social security were two of the topics, both short and long term. but thank you for the call. from the front page of "the washington post." oftograph of the co-chaire the committee. patty murray. she says i will keep working every day until we get there. the washington democrat went on to say -- she returned to office after issuing a statement. some on the panel, including senator pat toomey from pennsylvania, tweetec this message. "usa today" has this editorial. from inside "usa today." joe is joining us from des moines, iowa. good morning. caller: it is a terrible shame. in 2011, going into the election of 2012, that we have a situation going on. we are a lot smarter than this. i can't even believe this stuff is going on. as far as grid lock. the republicans are locked into grover norquist and the tea party. they are on the side of the money because they are always talking about taxes, which is money. and the democrats which is on the side of the people, which is also security and m

i have friends from alice rivlin, alan greenspan -- they never stopped working. they are in their 80's. i am not going to stop. i work 24/7. i work hard. and i will work longer. i am sorry that you do not want to. i understand you are tired. we are all tired. that is part of the economy. if that is the way we can save it, i am all for saving the economy. host: diane swonk is a born-and- bred midwesterners. -- midwesterner. guest: when your means testing multimillionaires -- you are yous testing millionairess, may not have extra money to pay for your country club. i do not think people should be using social security to subsidize things like that. i believe in social security. my grandmother died at 99. she walked 2 miles a day she died. she had social security for very long time. she had her husband's social security as well. she had two me surgery's -- knee surgeries. should not have paid more for that? as her granddaughter, i think so -- should i have paid more for that? as her granddaughter, if i could afford it, i think so. we're talking about saving social s

alice rivlin, who was a vice-chairman chairman of the federal reserve, direct or read the omb in the first clinton administration and the founding during the congressional budget office and served with senator domenici on the bipartisan task force for debt reduction. again, i want to thank each of our witnesses for their work. there are many other fine organizations and think tanks that it added value to the process this committee chose to hear from these were individuals and these two bodies. with that, the chair will now yield to himself for an opening statement. what i do believe we will hear from each of our witnesses is that america at least does indeed face a legitimate debt crisis. not only are we operating on borrowed money, we are operating on fire time as well. in that the income i never tire of reminding not only myself, but the public and my colleagues that although we have a statutory goals to reduce the growth of the deficit over 10 years by $1.5 trillion backed up by $1.2 trillion sequester should we fail, more importantly we have a statutory duty to proper legislation

you'll hear from co-chair alice rivlin and michael o'hanlan. >> our purpose and mission is to describe journalistically the events of the day. there's nothing that says we have to present the american foreign policy, but, i mean, that's a huge reason why we exist because people want to know what is the american position. they want it explained, and they want to know how it came about. they want to know, is it unified? they want to know all those answers. they are not getting that from the local media. >> the communicators tonight at 8 eastern on c-span2. [inaudible conversations] >> it's been very good as you know going around the country. it's joe and gary and the chief editorial writer, and gary's taken on 6,000 new assignments in the last few weeks, and he'll be in the state house bureau for us when he's not here. we said, gary, come down here to do this one. we got some good in-depth interviews with the candidates in the last few weeks, and right off the bat, i want to ask you about what is in the news overseas, which is the report that perhaps a dozen cia informants have been capt

alice rivlin is a vice chair of the federal reserve, served in the clinton and in the station, and isdirector of the congressional budget office. he served with senator day medici on a bipartisan policy center's task force for debt reduction. i want to thank each of the witnesses for their work. there are many other fine organizations and think tanks that have added value to the process. this particular chose to hear from these four individuals and these two bodies. the chair will not yield to himself for an opening statement. we did the chair will now yield to himself for an opening statement. -- the chair will now deal to sell for an opening statement. i believe we will hear that we are facing a genuine crisis. we're operating on borrowed money and time. i never tire of reminding myself and the public and mcauliffes the although we have a statutory goal -- and my colleagues that although we have a statutory gold to reduce the deficit -- we have a statutory goal to reduce the deficit, more importantly, we have a statutory duty to legislation that would improve the nation's long-term

along with alice rivlin and pete domenici who led an effort for the bipartisan policy center here in washington. the committee is tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit savings by november 23rd. live coverage of that meeting in just under and hour on c-span3. >> would you continue your statement please. you will receive the answer in due course. don't worry. >> i'm prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over if that is your decision. pppppppppppppppppppppp@ >> when i got into the public started selling my books every person i worked with you had rejection letter from which is kind of cool. we go to meeting. we love your stuff. what about this? >> the white house counsel on environmental quality kicked off a 2011 green gov symposium feeting you are environmental and energy policy leaders discussing the ways that federal government can lead in sustainability. among the speakers white house budget director jack lew. >> well con to green.gov. happy halloween. we're thrilled to have you here today and so grateful for your to your engagement and commitment to gree

pure >> we will hear from alan simpson and peak demand and she and alec -- erskine bowles and alice rivlinou can watch this online at the c-span video library. everything is archived and searchable. watch what you want when you want. former president bill clinton says in economic inequality is not sustainable and encourages lawmakers to overcome their differences to work on the economy. he spoke for an hour on friday at an event hosted by the clinton foundation. >> i first met bill clinton in 1991. i was 21 years old. the first political event i have ever attended, and i had been given the honor of being the person meeting the governors motorcade. i was very excited about the process. in reality, it was a little less glamorous. it consisted of standing in a parking lot in a cold rain storm in boston with the wind blowing waiting for the cars to arrive. then i got to show them where to park and that was the end. i was greeting the motorcade, not the governor. but hearing him speak for the first time that day, his energy, his hope for the future, his optimism -- they came through and inspire

alice rivlin, vice chairman of the federal reserve, director of the omb in the first clinton administration, and the founding director of the congressional budget office and served with senator domenici on the bipartisan task force for debt reduction i want -- debt reduction. i want to thank each of you for your belly of a work in this process. this particular committee chose to hear from these four individuals in this body. with that, i would yield for an opening statement. what i do believe we will hear from each of our witnesses is that america does, indeed, face a legitimate debt crisis. not only are we operating on borrowed money, but we are operating on borrowed time as well. in that game, i never tire of reminding not only myself, but the public and my colleagues that although we have a statutory goal to reduce the growth of the deficit over 10 years by $1.5 trillion backed up by a $1.2 trillion sequester should we fail, more importantly, we have a legislative duty to improve the nation's long-term fiscal imbalance. what could not be clearer is that unless we offer fundamental struct