The line-up cards haven’t even been turned in, but eager beaver freshman Sen. Mark Kirk wants the game to start already.
Kirk called Wednesday for the new congressional “Super Committee,” charged with coming up with $1.2 trillion in budget savings, to start work immediately. The committee has a Thanksgiving deadline, but that’s not soon enough for Kirk.
“I think the Joint Commission should start meeting next Monday,” Kirk said.
The problem with that: the committee is supposed to be made up of three Democrats and three Republicans from each house, but House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi hasn’t made her picks yet. Kirk has no control over the committee’s schedule, because he was not one of the Republican senators chosen. He was passed over in favor of Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and Rob Portman of Ohio. Dick Durbin, a member of the “Gang of Six,” which produced a bipartisan compromise during the debt debate, won’t serve on the committee, either.
However, Kirk is also calling to forego congress's traditional August recess and go back into session.
“Given the economy and the roller coaster of a stock market in recent days, Congress should come back to Washington to restore the public’s confidence and to reassure the public that the U.S. will not go into another recession,” a statement from Kirk’s office said.
Or maybe, as a newly single 51-year-old, he has nothing better to do with his summer vacation.
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