Bloomberg View: Get Behind the Gang of Six; Obama's Right on CFPB

Six stalwart U.S. senators delivered the outlines of an intelligent and ambitious deficit-reduction proposal on July 19. Although the details are not all clear, the senators say the plan would reduce deficits by $500 billion immediately and by $3.7 trillion over 10 years. It would overhaul entitlements, in part by switching to a so-called chained consumer price index to calculate benefits. It would tighten the budget process using triggers and enforcement mechanisms to protect against lawmakers with an itch to spend. And it would move toward a simplified and pro-growth tax code.

Enthusiasm expressed by senators not involved in the talks suggests there may be enough votes for passage in the Senate. The House will be a problem, perhaps an impossibility. To make the odds longer, it’s unclear how the plan might overlap with various proposals to increase the debt limit. But there’s reason for hope. Even staunch House conservatives should agree with the scope of the package’s budget cuts. They should also find its tax changes appealing: The plan would cut the top individual tax rate to 29 percent from 35 percent, establish a single corporate rate and change how foreign income is taxed, eliminate the alternative minimum tax, and bring in $1 trillion in new revenue over 10 years by reducing tax breaks.