The chairmen propose to simplify the tax laws and reduce tax rates. But they also propose to cut some popular tax breaks. One target is deductions for interest paid on home mortgage loans over five hundred thousand dollars.

Another proposal would add two years to the full retirement age for Social Security -- raising it to sixty-nine by about twenty seventy-five.

The commission includes current and former lawmakers from both parties. The group is supposed to reach a compromise acceptable to at least fourteen of the eighteen members by December first.

Other groups are offering their own debt reduction plans. Former senator Pete Domenici and former Clinton administration official Alice Rivlin led a task force that presented its plan on Wednesday.

That plan aims to save six trillion dollars over ten years. It would freeze federal spending for several years, change the tax laws -- and create a national sales tax.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can download all of our programs, including transcripts, at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

Includes reporting by Gabe Joselow.