McClatchy reports that “the bipartisan ‘super-committee’ of six Democrats and six Republicans has a goal of finding at least $1.5 trillion more in deficit reduction by Thanksgiving … will hold its first meeting on Sept. 8 [Thursday].”

A coalition of organizations from both sides of the political spectrum recently released Green Scissors 2011, a report urging in $380 billion in cuts to what it sees as environmentally and economically harmful government spending. The group presents the cuts as a way to “protect our natural resources, reduce the growth of government spending, and make a significant dent in the national debt by eliminating harmful spending.”

See the full report at: GreenScissors.com

TYSON SLOCUM, TSlocum at citizen.org
Slocum is the director of the energy program at Public CItizen, a consumer watchdog group that contributed to the report. He said today: “At a time when working families are expected to belt-tighten, so too must wasteful public investments in mature, polluting technologies. For too long lobbyists kept these undeserving programs and tax preferences for the fossil fuel and nuclear industry funded.”

ELI LEHRER, elehrer at heartland.org
Lehrer is the vice president of the Heartland Institute, a think tank promoting limited government that also contributed to the report. He said today: “The Green Scissors report documents the breadth and depth of damage that government spending does to our environment. Cutting government in the right places can make for a cleaner, healthier environment.”