The drive to create a bipartisan commission to help control the cost of health spending and address mounting deficits picked up momentum as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a handful of moderate Democrats and Republicans voiced support for the effort. The commission would draft proposals to control the long-term costs of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, which together account for 40% of all federal spending other than interest on the debt. The recommendations would require a swift vote by a supermajority of members of Congress, to assure bipartisan support for unpopular measures to cut sensitive spending programs or to raise taxes if necessary.
