With 5 Weeks to Go, No Consensus on Deficit Panel

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/us/politics/congressional-deficit-panel-still-not-close-to-a-plan.html?_r=1&hp

With just five weeks until its deadline, a secretive Congressional committee seeking ways to cut the federal deficit is far from a consensus, and party leaders may need to step in if they want to ensure agreement, say people involved in the panel’s work.

The 12-member committee is just over halfway through the 76-day interval from its first meeting to the date its final report is due on Nov. 23, but has not gained much traction. The lawmakers have not agreed on basic elements like a benchmark against which savings will be measured.