“The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) [October 18, 2012)] released a Framework for a Grand Bargain that would allow the 112th Congress in its lame duck session to both avoid the impending “fiscal cliff” and set the stage for the 113th Congress to undertake spending cuts and revenue increases in order to stabilize the nation’s debt trajectory. This framework is an outgrowth of the continuing work of BPC’s Debt Reduction Task Force, co-chaired by former Senator Pete V. Domenici and former Office of Management and Budget Director Dr. Alice Rivlin. The framework legislation, intended for consideration during the lame duck session following the November election, consist of four major elements:

• A requirement that the committees of jurisdiction of the 113th Congress achieve a specified target of debt reduction over the coming decade;
• A parliamentary procedure – “accelerated regular order” – which would reduce the threshold for passage of such a debt reduction package to a simple majority;
• A backstop of automatic cuts to mandatory spending and tax expenditures that would replace the fiscal cliff as a forcing mechanism for Congress to act;
• A down payment of spending cuts and revenue increases to be enacted immediately.”