law made no requirement that either chair be from a specific house or a specific party. The Los Angeles Times predicted before the committee was constituted that the "most important players" in the process would be the four leaders selecting the twelve committee members. Commentators noted that the plan would advance with a seven-member majority if any single member deviated from party lines. Members On August 9, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, announced the Senate's Democratic members of the committee. Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the Republican appointments to the committee from both houses on August 10, 2011. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced her choices on the following day. Murray was serving as the Senate Democratic Conference Secretary, chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Hensarling was vice-chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, chairman emeritus of the Republican Study Committee, and House Republican Conference Chair. Kerry and Baucus were each chairing standing Senate committees (Foreign Relations and Finance, respectively), members of the Senate Finance Committee and were among the ten most senior members of the U.S. Senate. Kyl was Senate Minority Whip. Toomey was a member of the Joint Economic Committee. Portman was a former Director of the Office of Management and Budget and a former U.S. Trade Representative. Camp was chairing the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Joint Committee on Taxation. Upton was chairing the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Clyburn was the third-ranking House Democrat. Becerra was the ranking member of the Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee and was vice-chair of the House Democratic Caucus. Van Hollen was the ranking member of the House Budget Committee and had formerly chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Baucus, Becerra, Camp, and Hensarling had served on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform; all four had voted against the Simpson-Bowles plan that emerged from that committee. Operation The Budget Control Act increased the debt ceiling by $400 billion in August 2011. Concurrently, it required the federal government to make $917 billion in spending cuts over a ten-year period as a first installment. This was based on estimates by the Congressional Budget Office using current-law economic baseline, including the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Under the Act, government revenues were projected to rise after 2012. Recommendation The committee