Pelosi names final members to debt supercommittee

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has appointed three Democrats to Congress’ new debt-reduction supercommittee, completing the 12-member panel’s roster.

The California Democrat appointed Reps. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina and Xavier Becerra of California, who are both members of the party’s House leadership teams. She also named Maryland’s Chris Van Hollen, top Democrat on the Budget Committee.

Pelosi’s appointments bring racial diversity to the supercommittee because Clyburn is black and Becerra is Hispanic.

The panel is divided evenly among Democrats and Republicans. It has until Thanksgiving to propose $1.5 trillion in 10-year budget savings. If it does not propose a package or if Congress doesn’t approve it, $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts will be triggered.