Earlier this week, the New York Times reported the efforts of a new bipartisan “gang” in the U.S. Senate to hammer out a framework for federal deficit reduction prior to the upcoming lame duck session of Congress. Along with grappling with long-term federal deficits, the gang is looking to address the looming fiscal challenges associated with the expiration of tax cuts passed under Presidents Bush and Obama and the threat of sequestration, the across-the-board spending cuts to critical defense and non-defense programs set to begin taking effect in January.

While the broad outlines seem encouraging, particularly the commitment to finding new revenues through tax reform, there are some concerns in the emerging framework that need to be addressed.  Along with ensuring that Medicare and Social Security benefits remain stable, perhaps the most pressing issue involves the ways in which the gang actually plans to find these new revenues.

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