Pelosi Picks Leadership Democrats for Super Committee

POLITICS -- August 11, 2011 at 1:49 PM EDT

Pelosi Picks Leadership Democrats for Super Committee

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced Thursday her selections for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, rounding out the group with three prominent Democrats who represent the base of the party.

Pelosi selected Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn, D-S.C., Ranking Member of the Budget Committee Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. and Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.

Both Van Hollen and Clyburn were part of the bipartisan debt limit negotiations led by Vice President Biden, which ended after Republicans walked away from the table over objections to any increases in taxes.

All three men are leaders in the House Democratic caucus.

"We must achieve a 'grand bargain' that reduces the deficit by addressing our entire budget, while strengthening Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Our entire Caucus will work closely with these three appointees toward this goal, which is the goal of the American people," Pelosi said in a statement.

Pelosi has said repeatedly that social welfare programs like Social Security and Medicare must be protected in any deficit reduction package. The committee is charged with finding $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by the end of the year that would then be put before a vote in both chambers of Congress.

Read about the GOP picks here.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

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