Conrad,Wikileaks reveals plans for North Korean collapse, D-N.D., said there were "things in this plan that I dislike intensely." Yet, he said he was prepared to support it "and support it strongly. I don't see another alternative."

The plan calls for sweeping tax changes that would affect millions of Americans,coach handbags, including trimming or doing away with many popular tax breaks such as the home mortgage deduction. It would also make deep cuts in military spending, slash the federal work force, raise the retirement age for full Social Security benefits and make cuts in Medicare. It aims to reduce federal red ink by nearly $4 trillion within a decade.

They were joined in supporting the package by panel members Alice Rivlin, White House budget director in the Clinton administration,David Cote, CEO of Honeywell International,and Ann Fudge, a former chief executive of Young & Rubicam.

Both Democrats and Republicans seem willing to extend most of the tax cuts. But Democrats want to let cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire, citing damage to the federal deficit from lost revenue as a main argument.

"The American people get it now. People want this to happen," Bowles said.

Winning over lawmakers who are also panel members appeared to be the biggest remaining challenge, given the politically incendiary nature of many of the proposals. The tax increases it includes are deal-breakers for some Republicans,ugg boots sale, likewise social program cuts for some Democrats.

"It's a template that gives people an opportunity to start discussing what we have to do to get our fiscal house in order," said Rep. Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat on the panel who hasn't said whether he'll support the package.

Gregg,moncler jackets, the New Hampshire Republican who is retiring from the Senate, took issue with some proposed tax hikes in the plan,ugg classic boots, sounding a familiar GOP theme that taxes should be lower, not higher, to promote growth. Still, he said, the overall plan was "moving dramatically in the right direction."

The 18-member bipartisan commission scheduled a vote on the plan for Friday. But as Wednesday's meeting demonstrated, the co-chairmen,christian louboutin wedges, Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson, face a difficult chore in rounding up the 14 votes needed to officially send the plan to Congress for consideration.

WASHINGTON – A painful package of spending cuts and tax increases drew sharp challenges from both the left and right on President Barack Obama's deficit commission Wednesday, putting approval in doubt. However,Economy appears headed for strong finish for 2010, both parties' Senate budget point men embraced the plan, and even opponents called it a starting point for efforts next year to control the nation's ballooning debt.

Meanwhile,High School Graduation Rates See Small Boost, Repo, as the deficit commission — formally the president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform — began moving toward a final decision,Republicans block child nutrition bill,ugg classic short boots, Sens. Kent Conrad and Judd Gregg, the Democratic chairman and top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, threw their high-voltage support behind the plan. Still,jimmy choo uggs, both expressed some misgivings.

While the deficit commission grappled with longer-term economic woes, congressional Democrats and Republicans worked separately to strike a deal with the White House on a more immediate financial issue: extending Bush-era tax cuts that expire Dec. 31. And despite talk of finding common ground, neither side seemed willing to yield much as negotiations began with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Budget Director Jacob Lew.