HotAir trumpets baseless claim that deficit commission will not consider spending cuts

HotAir.com is linking to video of a floor speech by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) under the headline “Pence: Why is deficit commission barred from recommending discretionary cuts?” and reporting that a bipartisan commission to study deficit reduction would “be limited to one option” -- presumably tax increases.

In his floor speech, Pence stated that “the devil is always in the details in Washington, D.C.,” adding, “the president's proposal as I've heard about it is prohibited from recommending cuts in any discretionary spending.”

HotAir gave no further indication as to the source of the claim.

But The New York Times tells a different story:

President Obama plans to create a bipartisan commission to make recommendations to Congress on ways to reduce the federal budget deficit under an agreement reached Tuesday night at the White House.

The agreement is tentative, pending consultations between Congressional leaders and some House and Senate lawmakers. Some details remained in flux.

But according to people familiar with the deal, in principle it commits Democrats to work with Republicans to do what they have not been able to do for a decade through the regular process: compromise on spending cuts and tax increases to produce reductions in annual deficits that, under George W. Bush and now Mr. Obama, have reached the highest levels since World War II.