Pelosi reveals "super committee" picks
Updated: 2:20 p.m. ET
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced her appointments to the bipartisan congressional "super committee" on Thursday , tapping Democratic Reps. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Xavier Becerra (Calif.) and James Clyburn (S.C.) to join nine other lawmakers tasked with reducing the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion by Thanksgiving.
In a tweet announcing the selection, Pelosi said the three lawmakers will "focus on economic growth & job creation--which reduces deficit."
And in a subsequent statement, she said she hoped the committee could still work toward achieving a "grand bargain."
"We must achieve a 'grand bargain' that reduces the deficit by addressing our entire budget, while strengthening Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security," she said. "Our entire Caucus will work closely with these three appointees toward this goal, which is the goal of the American people."
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Pelosi also called for the committee to work in an "open" and "transparent" environment.
"Because the work of this committee will affect all Americans, I called last week for its deliberations to be transparent; the committee should conduct its proceedings in the open," she said in her statement.
Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat, and Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee and former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, were both involved in the failed bipartisan deficit discussions led by Vice President Joe Biden earlier this year.
Becerra, vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, was among those who voted against the debt limit deal, arguing that the bill "does not speak to the values of America."
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"It is not balanced nor does it ask for shared sacrifice," he said.
The selection of the three House Democrats rounds out the bipartisan, 12-person group. Republican leaders in the House and the Senate announced their appointees on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made his decision public on Tuesday.
House Speaker John Boehner tapped House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, to serve as co-chair of the committee. He also appointed House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., to the committee.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell appointed Sens. Jon Kyl (Ariz.) Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Rob Portman (Ohio). Reid named Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) to co-chair the committee, and also appointed Sens. Max Baucus, (Mont.) and John Kerry (Mass.) to serve on it.
