House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has appointed three Democrats -- including Maryland's Chris Van Hollen -- to Congress' new debt-reduction supercommittee, completing the 12-member panel's roster.
Besides Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, Pelosi also appointed Reps. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina and Xavier Becerra of California, who are both members of the party's House leadership teams.
Pelosi's appointments bring racial diversity to the supercommittee because Clyburn is black and Becerra is Hispanic.
The panel is divided evenly among Democrats and Republicans. It has until Thanksgiving to propose $1.5 trillion in 10-year budget savings. If it does not propose a package or if Congress doesn't approve it, $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts will be triggered.
While Maryland will be represented on the supercommittee, it appears that Virginia will not have a voice. On Tuesday, Harry Reid selected Sens. Max Baucus, John Kerry and Patty Murray to be part of the supercommittee. As the Richmond Times-Dispatch noted, Reid did not pick Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who was on the Senate's bipartisan "Gang of Six."
Republicans have selected Sens. Jon Kyl, Rob Portman and Pat Toomey, and Reps. Dave Camp, Jeb Hensarling and Fred Upton.
