Budget Deal Is Goal of Senators Guided by Bowles-Simpson

A group of U.S. senators is quietly attempting to do something almost unthinkable in Washington: craft a bipartisan solution to the nation’s growing deficit in an election year.

The group -- which includes Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, and Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat -- hasn’t been given a name like the “Gang of Six,” and members might fail like others before them. That hasn’t stopped them from joining forces when most lawmakers are focused on campaigning.