Everyone Is Setting A Low Bar For Budget Committee, Including TN Congressman Black

Rep. Black speaks at the first meeting of the budget conference committee. The bi-partisan panel is made up of 29 House and Senate members. Image: Rep. Diane Black/Instagram

Gallatin Congressman Diane Black is hedging on whether Congress will come up with a budget deal by mid-December. The Republican is the only Tennessean on the 29 member, bi-partisan budget committee.

Black is an advocate for simplifying the tax code. It’s an issue she hopes the committee will address, but she’s not sure it will be part of any final budget agreement.

“Maybe not coming out of there with a reform, but coming out of there with some instructions for reform,” she said after the committee’s first meeting on Wednesday.

Even the committee’s bi-partisan co chairs are managing expectations. Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan admitted, “the bar is pretty low” for the panel to reach an agreement by its December 13 deadline.

Washington Democrat Patty Murray says the very least the committee can do is find replacements for the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.